Below is a general skill sequence for introducing learners to building with blocks.

Toy play serves as a valuable medium for skill development, particularly in the area of visuo-spatial abilities. In this skill area, the clinician/teacher aims to introduce the learner to the fundamental aspects of building, serving as a stepping stone to more intricate tasks such as imitating pre-arranged block designs. Utilizing a variety of materials like wooden blocks, magnet tiles, and legos, the learner is guided through the simplest building tasks. The overarching goal is not only to improve spatial reasoning and fine motor skills but also to instill a sense of enjoyment and curiosity that could eventually generalize to more advanced building activities, such as working with erector sets or engaging in complex Lego projects. It's essential to monitor the learner's progress closely and to begin fading out the structured teaching component once fluency is attained. This ensures that the activity remains enjoyable and doesn't become aversive, encouraging the learner to continue exploring and building independently.

Treatment Plan Goal Ideas

This is a list of treatment plan goals. These are different from the goals you will find in the skill sequence below. Your treatment plan goals encompass any number of goals from the skill sequence. Sometime they will include multiple goals from the sequence (”Learner will label 5 toys”) and sometimes the treatment plan goal will be simply consist of a really important goal from the skill sequence (”Will label caregiver”). An analogy I like to use goes as follows: Each skill sequence goal (commonly known as a “target”) represent each stair in a flight of stairs. The treatment plan goal is the flight itself.

Treatment plan goal ideas for this particular skill area are as follows:

Learner will stack two blocks across three different kinds of building blocks.
Learner will stack three blocks across three different kinds of building blocks.
Learner will stack four blocks across three different kinds of building blocks.
Learner will make a simple structure across three different kinds of building blocks.

Component Skills

Your learner may need to be fluent in these component skills first before introducing this goal/skill area. Component skills for this skill sequence may include skill areas that are fundamental to other areas. Fluency in the skill areas listed below may increase the likelihood that your learner will succeed in this skill sequence and those afterward.

Intro to Reinforcer/Preference Expansion

Single Actions with Common Toys

Imitation with Uni-Functional Toys

Performs Actions with Uni-Functional Toys (LR)

Intro to Puzzles

Intro to Ring Stackers

Skill Possibilities

Below is a possible skill sequence for working on increasing your learner’s ability to play and stack blocks and tiles. Note that every learner is different and that you likely will need to tweak and vary some programming to their needs. Click the triangle icon to view the full description for each skill in the sequence/area.

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#1 Stacks 2 blocks on top of each other

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#2 Stacks 2 large legos on top of each other

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#3 Stacks 2 magnet tiles on top of each other

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#4 Stacks 2 small legos on top of each other

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#5 Stacks 3 blocks on top of each other

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#6 Stacks 3 large legos on top of each other

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#7 Stacks 3 magnet tiles on top of each other

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#8 Stacks 3 small legos on top of each other

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#9 Stacks 4 blocks on top of each other

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#10 Stacks 4 large legos on top of each other

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#11 Stacks 4 magnet tiles on top of each other

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#12 Stacks 4 small legos on top of each other

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#13 Makes structure with at least 3 blocks

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#14 Makes structure with at least 3 large legos

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#15 Makes structure with at least 3 magnet tiles

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#16 Makes structure with at least 3 small legos

Concurrent Skills

Working on these skills at the same time could help with goal mastery. Maybe your learner has mastered these skills already. Perhaps they are already listed as component skills above. That’s okay! Targeting other learning channels might help your learner.

Intro to Jigsaw Puzzles

Intro to Taking Turns

Performs Action with Multi-Functional Toys

Intro to Playgrounds

Imitating Block Designs

Composite Skills

These are the possible next steps for learners who have mastered, or are mastering, the skills listed above. Note that new skill areas may require fluency in other component skills not listed above. Also, you can introduce composite skill sequences prematurely to keep your learner progressing, as generativity may occur earlier than expected.

Imitates Block Designs (Coming Soon!)

Advanced Block Building (Coming Soon!)

Follow the link below to better understand component-composite analysis.

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Research and Resources

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Disclaimer

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