At first, Olivia struggled with braille. Then the 7-year-old, who is blind, played with Legos with braille on them and her interest soared.
“Before then, she found it hard to get started with the symbols but now she’s improving all the time,” mom Lisa Taylor said in a press release from Lego. “To have a set at home changes everything. We can play with braille together as a family and she can introduce braille to her little sister in a way they both love. Lego braille bricks are accessible for her without being really different for other kids, so she gets to play and learn just like every other child."
Lego announced it is offering braille bricks for the public to purchase starting Sept. 1. The first sets will be available in English and French with Italian, German and Spanish language versions coming in early 2024. The set retails for $89.99.
The "Lego Braille Bricks — Play with Braille" set comes with 287 pieces that are “fully compatible with other Lego products and the studs on each brick are arranged to correspond to the numbers and letters in the braille system.” The printed symbol or letter will on the brick under the studs. A baseplate, which people can build on, includes braille on it, as well. What’s more, the company will make its audio and braille building instructions available for other sets, allowing blind people of all ages to enjoy Lego building.
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While the Legos braille bricks can introduce blind, partially sighted and low-vision children to braille, the company said they’re for anyone hoping to learn the basics.
“For blind and partially sighted children, and adults for that matter, it makes all the difference if they can share their journey of learning braille with the people they love the most,” Martine Abel-Williamson, president of the World Blind Union, said in the press release. “For the blind community, braille is not just literacy, it’s our entry to independence and inclusion into this world, and to have Lego Braille Bricks made available for the wider public is a massive step forward to ensuring more children will want to learn braille."
Previously, Lego provided braille bricks to organizations that educate blind children and the company will continuing providing free sets to such groups. Groups that educate blind children were also involved in the development of this product.
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“The fact that the Lego Group is investing in inclusion is huge because so many people in the blind and low vision community already love and enjoy Lego products,” Mike Buckley, chair and CEO of Be My Eyes, said in the press release. “Be My Eyes is incredibly honored to partner with the Lego Group to enable and inspire the creativity of blind and low-vision builders across the globe.”
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