For the second year in a row, the school committee, the New England Lego Users Group (NELUG), and the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) hosted a community LEGO building event to celebrate neurodiversity. It was held on Friday, March 21 from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m at the First Parish Church United. Attendees could take part in a variety of activities ranging from collective LEGO building to independent craft-making.
One half of the hall had a collaborative LEGO mosaic where people could add bricks throughout the duration of the event. Last year, the mosaic was an infinity symbol to represent neurodiversity. This year’s mosaic consisted of a colorful design of a brain with the words: “Embrace Every Mind.”
There were also independent activities to accommodate people who were not interested in LEGO building, such as a gym space, quiet tables for independent crafting, information booths for parents, as well as snacks.
“This year, we’re expanding [the event]. It got me thinking that I would really love to try and get some more local businesses and experts in the community to connect with everybody,” school committee vice chair Kathryn Clear said.
After seeing the success with Neurodiversity Celebration Week at different schools in the district, Clear was inspired to raise awareness about neurodiversity to the community, especially as a mother of neurodivergent children. She coordinated the event with Suzanne Eaton, a former employee of LEGO and now currently a member of NELUG, an organization which dedicates time to share the joy of LEGO building with adults.
“We aim to build camaraderie amongst adults who are fans of LEGO and like to build with bricks,” Eaton said.
To create the mosaic design, Eaton decided on a shape of a brain after looking at different inspirations. Eaton used Photoshop to create a black-and-white image, and then told people at the event to add white bricks to the white spaces and any colors they wanted to the black spaces.
“I wanted it to be colorful and have a lot of personal expression from everybody […] so that they would come together like a patchwork quilt,” Eaton said.
To publicize this event, details were posted on social media and in many mailouts that went out this week, including SEPAC’s mailing list and the First Parish Church’s newsletter. WestfordCAT contributed to spreading the message, and Clear also mentioned the event at recent school committee meetings.
Clear expresses that it is important to recognize and celebrate neurodiversity to see that neurodivergent individuals have many strengths.
“It’s [important to] understand and embrace that diversity, but also see [someone] for the strengths that they have,” Clear said. “It’s realizing that neurodiversity really gives us the color and fabric in all walks of life, so that’s why I think it’s really important that we […] recognize it.”
Eaton finds LEGO building to be relaxing and an activity which fosters a lot of creativity. She is proud of the event’s success and strives to build community through LEGO.
“LEGO is really special,” Eaton said. “It brings us together as people. It’s a thing that a lot of us seem to have in common […] and it’s a good way to bond with other people.”
