Lego’s ‘Accessible Instructions’ Pilot

Available for over a year

22-year-old Matthew Shiffrin contacted Lego to ask them to make instructions for their construction sets accessible to visually-impaired people. The blind Lego enthusiast had been devising his own, with the help of a friend, for ten years and making them available on his own website. The toy company has met the challenge and released instructions in a downloadable format for screenreaders, for braille, and to listen to directly online. Peter White speaks to Matthew Shiffrin about why he loves Lego so much when it’s not historically been accessible to him, and also to Fenella Blaize-Charity from Lego about its plans. 12-year-old Hester is this week’s studio guest, and she and her Mum Sarah, try out the new instructions with mixed success. Hester also shares her recent experience of visiting a blind school in Ethiopia. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat Pictured: Sarah, Hester and Peter in the Radio 4 studio in Salford.