{"id":349637,"date":"2026-04-06T08:14:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T13:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/how-a-blind-man-made-it-possible-for-others-with-low-vision-to-build-lego-sets"},"modified":"2026-04-06T08:14:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T13:14:57","slug":"how-a-blind-man-made-it-possible-for-others-with-low-vision-to-build-lego-sets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/how-a-blind-man-made-it-possible-for-others-with-low-vision-to-build-lego-sets","title":{"rendered":"How a blind synthetic it doable for others with low imaginative and prescient to construct Lego units"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEWTON, Mass. — <\/span>Like a lot of young children, Matthew Shifrin loved building Lego sets. But because he was blind, Shifrin had to rely on friends and family to help him complete his creations \u2014 sometimes bribing them with tea to get them to come by his house.<\/p>\n

That all changed when he was 13. A family friend and babysitter came over to his house in Newton, Massachusetts and handed him a binder filled with accessible instructions for building a Middle Eastern palace. The instructions, written in braille, allowed him to complete the set without having to rely on the brightly colored pictures that typically come with Lego sets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the first time that I was able to build a Lego set on my own,\u201d Shifrin said at his home, surrounded by sets he has built including a Statue of Liberty figurine and NASA’s Apollo Saturn V rocket. \u201cIt was truly an amazing experience because I was completely in control of the whole building process. I knew where the pieces went and I was able to learn about the world around me.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Shifrin’s babysitter died, he wanted to honor her memory. So he set about fine-tuning the instructions the two had posted online to reach other blind builders.<\/p>\n

Three years ago, Shifrin launched Bricks for the Blind. The 28-year-old now works with a team of 30 sighted writers and blind testers. His website makes the downloadable instructions available for free to anyone who’s blind or visually impaired. They can either print the step-by-step instructions in braille, use braille computers or turn to screen readers, which are software applications that convert the text into speech.<\/p>\n

The instructions allow a blind person to build on their own, but Shifrin’s website also says a sighted person might be needed to sort Lego bricks<\/a>. Otherwise, the blind builder could turn to one of several apps that identify bricks using artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

So far, the nonprofit has created instructions for more than 540 Lego sets, ranging from a 100-piece car to a 4,000-piece bridge. About 3,000 builders have used their instructions across the United States and as far away as Australia.<\/p>\n

Shifrin also approached the Denmark-based Lego Group in 2017 about making their products more accessible, which inspired the company to create audio and braille instructions for a growing number of Lego sets. That launched in 2019.<\/p>\n

Separately, the company also introduced Lego Braille Bricks in 2020, which are available in French, English and Spanish, and feature studs on the bricks that correspond to letters, numbers and symbols. It also has introduced several characters in their sets with vision loss.<\/p>\n

Shifrin, who also is an actor, composer and opera singer, said he has gotten messages from many people who couldn’t build Lego until now.<\/p>\n

He’s heard from grandparents who are blind and say they’re now able to build with their grandkids. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t build with our kids. They didn\u2019t want our help, but now we can teach our grandkids about Lego,\u2019\u201d Shifrin said. \u201cOr blind parents who say, \u2018My kids are sighted, they don\u2019t want my help, but it\u2019s amazing to really understand what all this hype about Lego is about because now I can build on my own<\/p>\n

Daniel Millan, who lost his sight in 2024, turned to Bricks for the Blind after a tumor crushed his optic nerves. The 31-year-old master’s student from San Diego, who’s studying to be an assisted technology instructor, first completed a Lego ornament set. Then on his anniversary, he completed a Lego rose set with his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to do it independently, it\u2019s freedom,\u201d he said, adding that his sudden vision loss left him wondering about what he wouldn’t be able to do again.<\/p>\n

But after building Lego sets, he soon learned that \u201cIt\u2019s not about what I can\u2019t do anymore. It\u2019s more about what I can do,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

For Natalie Charbonneau, who is blind, the instructions have allowed her to complete sets without relying on her sighted husband. It’s also allowed her to have fun with her 5-year-old son \u2014 and build many fire trucks and other vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he has questions, I have the ability to check his work or to follow along instead of saying, \u2019You have to wait for your dad’ or \u2018You have to ask your dad.\u2019 It\u2019s something that I can now do with him as well, which is empowering,\u201d she said. Charbonneau, a tester for Bricks for the Blind, is a doctoral student who lives in Bellingham, Washington.<\/p>\n

Teri Turgeon, the education director for community programs at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts \u2014 where Shifrin went as a baby \u2014 said the accessible instructions allow blind children to experience the same pleasure as their sighted peers. It also helps them visualize a wider world and develop \u201cfine motor and tactile skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s created a space around innovation and accessibility that was otherwise not there prior and he\u2019s done so with a toy that children play with every day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Back at his house, Shifrin helped fellow blind builder Minh Ha to build a go-kart. Ha grabbed Lego bricks and elements from two bowls and began to first put together a driver figurine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just legs, torso, head, helmet. You\u2019ve built this before. It\u2019s a piece of cake. I believe in you,\u201d Shifrin told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cAwesome,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cAll right, I\u2019m gonna put the helmet on the head. And then \u2026 put the legs on the body.\u201d<\/p>\n

She reflected on a journey that began two years ago when she built a lotus flower. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of blind people have been left out of this cultural and kind of childhood phenomenon of being able to build Lego, play with Lego,\u201d Ha said. \u201cThere is something incredibly satisfying and also relaxing to be able to put together these very intricate, very beautiful and architecturally complex builds.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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