How a Blind Innovator Transformed Lego Building for the Visually Impaired
Like countless children, Matthew Shifrin adored constructing Lego sets during his youth. However, being blind meant he depended entirely on friends and family to assemble his creations, occasionally enticing them with tea to visit his Newton, Massachusetts home.
A Life-Changing Discovery at Age Thirteen
Everything shifted when Shifrin was thirteen years old. A family friend and babysitter presented him with a binder containing accessible instructions for building a Middle Eastern palace, meticulously written in braille. This groundbreaking resource enabled him to complete the set independently, bypassing the reliance on the brightly colored pictorial guides typically included with Lego kits.
"This was the first time that I was able to build a Lego set on my own," Shifrin recalled, surrounded by completed models such as a Statue of Liberty figurine and NASA's Apollo Saturn V rocket. "It 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."
Honoring a Legacy Through Bricks for the Blind
Following the passing of his babysitter, Shifrin was inspired to honor her memory by refining and expanding the accessible instructions they had previously posted online. Three years ago, at age twenty-eight, he officially launched Bricks for the Blind, a nonprofit organization.
Today, Shifrin collaborates with a dedicated team of thirty sighted writers and blind testers. The organization's website offers free downloadable instructions for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. These instructions can be utilized in multiple formats:
- Printed step-by-step guides in braille
- Braille computers
- Screen reader software that converts text to speech
While the instructions empower blind builders to work independently, Shifrin's website notes that a sighted person may occasionally assist with sorting Lego bricks. Alternatively, builders can employ artificial intelligence-powered applications designed to identify specific pieces.
Global Impact and Corporate Collaboration
To date, Bricks for the Blind has produced instructions for over 540 Lego sets, ranging from a simple 100-piece car to an intricate 4,000-piece bridge. Approximately 3,000 builders across the United States and as far as Australia have utilized these resources.
In 2017, Shifrin approached the Denmark-based Lego Group to advocate for enhanced product accessibility. This initiative inspired the company to develop audio and braille instructions for a growing selection of Lego sets, launching in 2019.
Separately, Lego introduced Braille Bricks in 2020, available in French, English, and Spanish. These specialized bricks feature studs corresponding to letters, numbers, and symbols. The company has also incorporated characters with vision loss into various sets.
Personal Stories of Empowerment and Connection
Shifrin, who is also an actor, composer, and opera singer, has received numerous messages from individuals who previously could not engage with Lego building. He has heard from blind grandparents who can now construct sets with their grandchildren, and from blind parents who finally understand the cultural phenomenon surrounding Lego.
Daniel Millan, a thirty-one-year-old master's student from San Diego studying to become an assisted technology instructor, lost his sight in 2024 due to a tumor crushing his optic nerves. After discovering Bricks for the Blind, he first completed a Lego ornament set, then built a Lego rose set with his wife on their anniversary.
"Being able to do it independently, it's freedom," Millan expressed. "It's not about what I can't do anymore. It's more about what I can do."
Family Bonding and Educational Benefits
Natalie Charbonneau, a blind doctoral student from Bellingham, Washington and a tester for Bricks for the Blind, reported that the instructions allow her to complete sets without relying on her sighted husband. She can now actively participate in building fire trucks and other vehicles with her five-year-old son.
"If he has questions, I have the ability to check his work or to follow along instead of saying, 'You have to wait for your dad,'" Charbonneau explained. "It's something that I can now do with him as well, which is empowering."
Teri Turgeon, education director for community programs at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts—where Shifrin attended as a baby—emphasized the broader benefits. Accessible instructions enable blind children to experience the same joy as their sighted peers while developing fine motor and tactile skills.
"He's created a space around innovation and accessibility that was otherwise not there prior," Turgeon noted, "and he's done so with a toy that children play with every day."
The Founder's Vision in Action
At his home, Shifrin recently assisted fellow blind builder Minh Ha in constructing a Lego go-kart. As Ha assembled pieces from two bowls to create a driver figurine, Shifrin offered encouragement: "It's just legs, torso, head, helmet. You've built this before. It's a piece of cake. I believe in you."
Ha, who began her Lego journey two years ago with a lotus flower set, reflected on the significance: "A 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." She added, "There is something incredibly satisfying and also relaxing to be able to put together these very intricate, very beautiful and architecturally complex builds."
