Which Technic car for 11 year old with learning difficulties and on autism spectrum?

[Chilly]

Hi all

Looking for opinions on which set, old, very old or current to buy for an 11 year old boy who has learning difficulties and is autistic?

He loves cars, his dad has a blue Mitsubishi pickup, which he loves.  He has Lego, and builds from instructions, but never had Technic.  Yet.   

 

Love to hear your suggestions, thank you.

[Jeroen Ottens]

The 42077 is probably a good, widely available, start. It is a bit underwhelming functionwise though. Form over function so to say.

The 42039 is bigger, has more functions, but has been out of production for quite some time now.

The 42029 is the most recent pickup in the Technic line, but to be honest I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone, but for a partspack. I found it a very, very non-elegant build.

But it of course also depends on your budget. These are all 1:10 scale cars and that comes at a price.

[Murdoch17]

I don't normally post in this section of Eurobricks, but as a fellow person with Autistic-spectrum disorder I would start with something rather small, such as this set seen below.

I admittedly am not much of a Technic fan @Chilly, but I do know that a beginner Technic builder with learning difficulties *should* have little / no issue with the above 170-piece set.... unless he doesn't like stickers, then you might have to do that part. I suggested this set because if he doesn't like the Technic system, you don't want to spend gobs of money on a set he doesn't even want. If he does like it, there is a set coming out in 2019 (not out yet, should be by Jan 1st) he might like 579-part set number 42093 (Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1) as seen here:

Now, the older, smaller set isn't made any more and is numbered 42046 ( Getaway Racer ). If you can't find it on Amazon, their is always Bricklink. I know they aren't pickups, but they are a good start to his lego technic collection from my standpoint as fellow autistic person.

Edited November 22, 2018 by Murdoch17

[MxWinters]

Lego is a great resource for us autistic people, its not just a toy but a great tool for learning mechanics and physics, with for those of us with learning difficulties, it's much better, safer and cheaper to break Lego then to damage real world equipment. Technic is my theme of choice due to these reasons. Other themes like space, town and pirates ect are frankly boring to me, especially as I don't build my Lego models just sit on a shelf collecting dust, I build them to work hard (my last off roader 4x4 truck did like 50 miles (real miles, not scale miles)).

As for recommending a set, I'm not the best person to ask as I almost never buy sets, I just buy the parts I need to make the models I want to build. However I would suggest starting with a small, cheap set to start with and see how he reacts to Technic, how much enjoyment he gets from it and to find out how easily he can understand the instructions. If he enjoys it and is able to build it according to the instructions, buy him a biggest set, once done, buy a bigger set and so on. Personally I wouldn't see the point in buying him the a big expensive set like the Bugatti Chiron (42083) right away if he stuggles with something like the Stunt Truck (42059), which might be a good place to start and it comes with a little ramp that he can do jumps with, it is also blue and kinda pickup truck like. If you print off a little Mitsubishi logo and stick it to the front. He can do some huge crazy stunts that his Dad wouldn't dream of doing in his full size pickup . Lego's website currently has them for £17.99, it comes with a pull back motor which could be a neat way to teach him how coiled springs work as well as a couple of other useful parts.

Somewhat a little off topic but I believe my first ever Lego set was the 8815 Lego Speedway Bandit about 1991, That was about the only set my parents could afford at the time and the most complex set I was able to build, but you gotta start somewhere and that was a good little set for me to learn how to build with Technic so it was a wise choice by my parents....I've been hooked ever since.

[Shiva]

3 hours ago, Chilly said:

He has Lego, and builds from instructions, but never had Technic.  Yet.

What interests me: What has he built before? If it would possible to get some of the set numbers? That would give a hint of what he has built before and might like. Who knows, he might be a master builder.

The sets mentioned by Murdoch17 and MxWinters could be quite nice Technic starter sets.

[kiwinewt]

Honestly, if he's fine with instructions then any of the Technic sets. I work with autistic kids in a Lego group and most of them have a learning difficulty too - they have been perfectly fine with the Creator Expert sets I bring in to challenge them too.

He might need a little input on some parts, but apart from that should be fine with any that grab his interest :)

[Jurss]

I would also recommend 42077 from actual cars. It's big, with some basic car functions, but, I woulds say, pretty easy to build.

[Yevhen]

Edited November 23, 2018 by Yevhen

[Vectormatic]

42048 is a pretty good suggestion imho

 

Id also suggest 42075, it has most features of the bigger cars (engine, diff, suspension, steering), extra playability (opening doors, hood, hatches at the back, winch, flip-up floodlight) and quite attractive design. I feel like for an 11 year old kid who has no prior technic experience going straight to the bigger models might be overreaching a bit, especially if sets like 42048 and 42075 can deliver 90% of the experience in <50% of the parts/price.

 

Also, if the kid digs pickups, 42029 is pretty cool if you can still find one.

[Yevhen]

Guys, place pictures to help the woman understand what you are suggesting.

[Jurss]

I (and Joren ottens) suggest 42077 https://shop.lego.com/en-GB/Rally-Car-42077 

which can be also turned in to this

Good things:

- it is not expensive, I think, if comparing to similar products from Lego

- it has suspension

- fake engine

- openable doors, hood

- most of all - it has HOG steering in right place

[Chilly]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions.  I'll probably work my way through them over the next few years. 

I've bought 42059 as a starter, see how he gets on.

 

His mum did tell me which sets he's into, but I didn't catch (remember) what she said.  Might have been Ninja or Something like that.  Anyway, we'll see.

No problem with no pics, Yevhen, I coped.  

(I have 8880, 8435, 8466, 9398, 8455, 8462, 8110, 8094, 8485 so should be able to help if needed.)

[nerdsforprez]

Feel free to PM me if interested.  I am a clinical neuropsychologist and while I mainly work with adults I have done my share of working with adolescents and children. 

Good comments above, but to be more specific perhaps if you PM me let me know if the areas of difficulty are verbal or nonverbal.  I would assume verbal, due to that is a main characteristic of anyone who falls on the spectrum, but, to borrow from old categorization, if he falls more in the Asperger's range then perhaps verbal abilities are fine.  Hopefully the child has had some testing, and if nonverbal skills are within normal limits or above then Lego is perfect.   

Make sure that you really focus on his interests, regardless of the actual complexity of the model initially.  Kids on the spectrum typically have very intense and specific interests, and if this child does focus on that for his first buy.  For example, if he likes engines make sure the vehicle has a fake engine.  If it is steering, motorization, etc. whatever it is.  And trust me when I say that interest may be VERY specific.... there may even be a hyper focus on color, shape, type (racing vs. street) etc.  Make sure this is a priority even if the actual model itself is simple and may not seem much like a learning tool.  This approach can be like a foot-in-the-door technique, especially for children on the spectrum because once you get them hooked, because of their intense interests and ability to focus if you find that interest, you will be well on your way to later opening him up to more complicated, suitable for learning/cognitive exercise, models down the line....

Good Luck!