A young LEGO MOC builder strives to overcome Autism

dropcap We first met Lauren Winbanks and her mother Dianne about four years ago in Australia at the annual Brickvention expo in the old Royal Exhibition Building smack dab in the middle of the city of Melbourne. We learned then that Lauren had been diagnosed with low-functioning autism as a young child, yet still somehow finds joy and comfort in LEGO today as a 21-year-old adult. Building, designing -- ignoring limitations and pushing the envelope of ability and others' expectations -- Lauren went about her work with enthusiastic vigor and by all accounts with considerable therapeutic value. That concept is not a medical mystery. The connection between LEGO and combating the debilitating effects of autism is well known and medically documented. But to see it in such vivid practice in the person of Lauren Winbanks was truly heart-warming and inspiring. Now, with support, encouragement and some help from her mother Dianne, Lauren has reached a new plateau. Her love for music and playing the piano -- another effective treatment for autism -- has led to her design and build of a "Grand Piano" MOC that has caught the eye of AFOLs everywhere. Lauren's work has been picked up as part of the LEGO Ideas program and is now being publicly circulated for review and approval. It's a high bar of approval and 100s of votes are still needed to put Lauren and her work over the top. We thoroughly endorse her efforts and her wonderful design and hope others will take the time to let their opinions be known.

Please take a look at Lauren's creation and vote for her at LEGO ideas at this link.

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/169730

Thanks so much, and we all can do our part to assist those with autism. They are doing so much to help themselves and LEGO is a pathway to make that happen.