It's a Snap!
Our first open support group of 2026 started with some time for movement and dance, including maracas and other noise-makers to help us shake off the cobwebs from winter break and perhaps some tougher memories from 2025. And they ended with lots of snaps – as in snaps of the fingers, which is how we applaud or clap at 3LPlace. It’s more sensory friendly, and it’s an important way of expressing support, gratitude, or excitement among many of our members.
Why were we starting January with all those snaps? Because we were reflecting on our hopes and aspirations for the new year and encouraging one another as we did.
“Get more or better sleep because I want to stay strong, keep me warm, and more alert/awake,” one member established as a goal. Another shared his desire to return to Jamaica to see family members, eat delicious food, and swim every day.
“We gave ourselves permission to dream big, without worry, and it was wonderful what emerged. Members shared so openly about what they want from their futures,” said Meghan Montgomery, 3LPlace’s Chief Programming Officer.
“Dreaming is a gift. And the pride and support members expressed really shows the strength of the community we build together.”
It’s not always a snap for any of us to share ways that we want to change and do the work that comes with growing new skills. But it’s easier with members of 3LPlace behind you!
Time for Our Next Collaboration
Students from Professors Dan Hannon and Gary Leisk’s Assistive Design class at Tufts University will be working with 3LPlace members and staff again this semester – a collaboration that we’ve had for nearly five years and that we always look forward to.
Abbey Craig, 3LPlace’s Director of Community Programs, heads up the partnership on our end.
“We’ll be pursuing two projects. Both design ideas were born from observed challenges within our community. The hope is that the students will design a product to support performance and function, and that the device will be easily implemented. We’ll be working on things that can be woven into the fabric of our 3L day,” she said.
The teams from Tufts include both undergraduate and graduate students, with a blend of mechanical engineers, human factors students, and engineering psychology students.
One team will be developing an automated system to remind members to wash their hands after using the bathroom, using visual and/or auditory cues to prompt members through a sequence of steps. The other project will focus on temporal awareness, developing a “linear clock” designed to help members discriminate among smaller and larger chunks of time.
“Members have varying levels of time conceptualization. The difference between five minutes and two hours can be tricky to grasp,” Abbey said. “Members are so attuned to the schedule, but time-related concepts can get lost. We want to develop a visual representation of time passing that better ties time to our day-to-day life at 3LPlace and that gets away from our circular, and sometimes confusing, idea of the clock.”
