Bricks for Autism Camp Australia
We recently supplied (100kgs) of LEGO® Creativity Packs to Rachel, the wonderful lady behind Autism Camp Australia. The team at Bricktastics were particularly excited to supply LEGO to her as we had long heard of the benefits that LEGO can provide to Autistic young people. So along we went and sent her the LEGO, and here is the feedback she had to say about how it went.
Figure 1; A happy little Camper Enjoying our LEGO!
Rachel, I am so excited to hear, how did the first camp go?
The first camp was astonishing, the families all had the most amazing time. Great friendships were made, and serious capacity building goals kicked. One of our camp mums said that her son had achieved more in 5 days at the camp than with his Occupational Therapist in the last 3 years. The success of the first camp has resulted in selling out all of our camps until October 2020.
What are your camps designed to do?
The camps are about
improving the health and wellbeing of autistic young people and their families
through the provision of accessible and supported respite experiences,
therapies and life skills development. We have taken the holiday concept and
combined it with a program of therapies, education, self-care and life skills.
It’s like a fruit smoothie with some vegies snuck in! The young people build
self-confidence and communication skills, develop social skills, create
positive connections and increase social interactions with peers, carers and
other families. They actively participate in every-day and self-care tasks,
become more independent, and engage in new activities and new experiences.
improving the health and wellbeing of autistic young people and their families
through the provision of accessible and supported respite experiences,
therapies and life skills development. We have taken the holiday concept and
combined it with a program of therapies, education, self-care and life skills.
It’s like a fruit smoothie with some vegies snuck in! The young people build
self-confidence and communication skills, develop social skills, create
positive connections and increase social interactions with peers, carers and
other families. They actively participate in every-day and self-care tasks,
become more independent, and engage in new activities and new experiences.
What did you need the LEGO for? Can you describe the use case?
The autistic children were able to explore sensory and emotional regulation using proprioceptive and sensory supports, games and other positive behaviour support tools. It’s a critical part of the wind-down to release anxiety’s build-up throughout the day…. like a zone in/zone out space. Lego was an important part of the proprioceptive-sensory space.
Figure 2; The proprioceptive sensory space where all the fun LEGO was kept
What impact did our LEGO have at your Autism Camp?
The LEGO you provided was fantastic. It was one of the main activities in the proprioceptive-sensory
space. It was a go-to for certain children. The parents could join in and play as well. The kids really enjoyed
the sorting and had a great time picking out the large pieces like vehicle parts and house parts and building off them.
space. It was a go-to for certain children. The parents could join in and play as well. The kids really enjoyed
the sorting and had a great time picking out the large pieces like vehicle parts and house parts and building off them.
They loved all the special lego parts, they particularly loved building cars, trucks and planes.
Do you mind telling us, what was your experience buying LEGO from us?
The process was super easy and straightforward. It was easy to build trust and rapport with Bricktastics because you guys were so transparent and upfront about everything. Even though the order I placed was outside the norm and what was usually done on the website, you called straight away and helped to organise the entire process.
It was also amazing the variety and amount of LEGO you provided.
In the marketplace, out of all of the options available, what made you choose Bricktastics?
The biggest factor for me was being able to buy it at a price that was affordable, whilst being able to buy in Bulk. It was great to get a variety of LEGO as it was great to have that mixture. The kids loved it and loved having the ability to play with such a large selection all at once. It was a well-sorted and clean mix of LEGO, and I am thrilled at how clean and ready to use it was.
In what ways do you think our products inspired creativity within the kids?
The LEGO didn’t just inspire creativity, it helps with emotional regulation, and to improve fine motor skills. So it’s a win-win all around.
A note from Bricktastics
The real reason we love making creativity packs is to inspire creativity and open up a new world of possibilities for all who play with it.
The real angle of the business is to inspire creativity in kids. The unique thing about Bricktastics is that whilst LEGO sells all their lego in packs with instructions, it stifles creativity as they are limited by what they can create with that one box. Sometimes kids just can’t think outside the box and are limited by their imagination. We want to sell huge amounts of various LEGO, without instruction manuals to help users think outside the box.
We are all about providing kids with a whole bunch of different colours, pieces and mixtures so they can explore their own creative boundaries and explore their own creative thinking within the themes and styles of LEGO® they most enjoy.
Find out more about Autism Camp Australia at:
https://www.autismcampaustralia.org
https://www.autismcampaustralia.org