Jenelle Abnett has been studying the impact of Cubbies for more than a year, and the research landed her speaking roles at three conferences in a 12-day span this fall.

A Cubbie is an immersive sensory regulation booth that can help individuals “get back to center through music, video, and lighting” Abnett explains. It was designed with autistic and neurodivergent people in mind, but anyone can benefit from it to reduce stress or anxiety.

The first Cubbie in America was installed in mid-November of 2024 on the ground floor of Bachmann, directly across from the computer lab. At first glance, it looks like an oversized phone booth, but the interior is a high-tech mixture of a digital screen, audio feed, and comfortable seating to provide a sensory regulation experience.

During the 2025-26 school year, Abnett and Tiffeny Atkins conducted an independent research project on the effectiveness of the multi-sensory regulation space, working with undergraduate nursing students on campus, the Vanguard School in Malvern, and three elementary schools in the region.

Qualitative results showed significant improvement in emotional regulation by students who used a Cubbie, says Abnett, and the studies at all locations will continue into 2027.

Abnett’s marathon speaking tour began on September 26 with the Annual Knowledge and Innovation Conference, hosted by the University of Phoenix. Abnett, Atkins, and Kristen Evans presented “Supporting Emotion Regulation in Nursing Students through a Campus-Based Multisensory Cubbie Experience.”

Invited by Cubbie CEO and founder David McIntyre, Abnett then traveled to Dublin, Ireland, for a September 27-30 international conference hosted by ISQua, the International Society for Quality in Health Care, to explore the use of Cubbies in healthcare systems. She, McIntyre, and Upkar Jheeta (head of mental health transformation at Midlands Partnership University) presented “Cubbie: An OT-Led Approach to Sensory Regulation: Building a Patient-Centred Infrastructure Across Healthcare Systems.”

The last stop on the conference train was in Philadelphia on October 7-8 at a conference hosted by EmpathyTech in partnership with Special Olympics. The event focused on speakers, conversations, hands-on experiences, and ideas at the intersection of technology, empathy, and inclusion. Abnett and Tom Quinn, executive director of the Vanguard School, explained how the Cubbie can help neurodivergent students regulate, participate and thrive.

The ongoing study will expand this year, says Abnett, to include Neumann’s education majors and perhaps the teachers at the Vanguard School.