AssetID: 52978359
Headline: LEGO To Release 'Braille Bricks' For The Visually Impaired To Public For First Time Ever
Caption: **RAW VIDEO** LEGO is selling their ‘Braille Bricks’ for blind and partially sighted children to the public for the first time ever. The new product - LEGO Braille Bricks – Play with Braille – is aimed at kids aged 6+ and is not just for anyone blind, partially-sighted or sighted, but anyone wanting to have fun getting to know the braille system at home with their family members. Martine Abel-Williamson, President, World Blind Union, commented: “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 in the first place.” Until now, LEGO Braille Bricks have only been distributed free of charge to organisations specialising in the education of children with visual impairment. Since the launch of these educational kits in 2020, feedback from parents, carers, grandparents, children, and educators has been positive. In response, the Danish toy firm has released the Braille Bricks set to offer families the opportunity to enjoy the benefits at home. Lisa Taylor, mum to 7-year-old Olivia and 4-year-old Imogen, adds: “Olivia first discovered LEGO braille bricks at school and they had such a big impact on her curiosity for braille. Before then, she found it hard to get started with the symbols but now she’s improving all the time. 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.” The Braille Bricks set includes 287 bricks in five colours: white, yellow, green, red and blue. All bricks 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, with the printed version of the symbol or letter situated below the studs. Rasmus Løgstrup, LEGO Group Lead Designer on LEGO Braille Bricks said: “Play has the power to change lives; when children play, they learn vital life-long skills, so we were thrilled by the reception that LEGO Braille Bricks received in educational settings. We’ve been inundated with thousands of requests to make them more widely available, so we just knew we had to make it happen!” The set also includes two baseplates to build on and comes in packaging with braille embossing. To enhance the play experience and support pre-braille skill development, a series of supporting play starters are available on LEGO.com and will teach players how to orient, attach and stack the bricks through well-loved games such as Rock, Paper, Scissors, which all members of the family can take part in. Rasmus adds: “It’s been a fantastic journey collaborating with children, families and experts from around the world to develop the product and online activity packs. Our partners have been instrumental also in advising on what colourways should be used for the bricks, product packaging and digital experiences to ensure this is optimised for individuals who experience low vision and vision loss. We know this is a strong platform for social inclusion, and can’t wait to see families get creative and have fun playing with braille together.” LEGO Braille Bricks – Play with Braille will be priced at $89.99/£79.99 and is now available for pre-order in English and French versions ahead of launch September 1st 2023. In early 2024, the set will also be available in Italian, German and Spanish versions.
Keywords: lego,braille bricks,blind,blindness,toys,disability,children,visual impairment,feature,photo,video
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