Hello my name is George Bright.
For many years now I have been involved in the design and make up of educational aids for use by children at primary level and indeed, adults, who are suffering learning difficulties.
When my son Stephen was young he was diagnosed Autistic. As a result he attended a school locally which catered for special needs. He showed a keen interest in jigsaw puzzles (play trays) which contained eight pieces. These he would jumble together in a heap, set the trays in a row and proceed to place each piece in its own tray until all the pieces were located.
One day a friend of mine and I were watching him do this and then much to our surprise, he turned the pieces upside down and completed all eight puzzles without a picture. My friend was most impressed by this and said he would laser cut some tessellating shapes on his machine in order to see how Stephen would cope with twenty pieces to a tray, all cut to the same shape and size. While it fooled him for a while, once he had memorised the picture he was soon into his stride, through giving more thought to the matter.
Stephen is now forty years of age and still enjoys using the puzzles.
