I was very interested in attending this session, because one out of every 100 children falls somewhere on the autism spectrum. With this type of prevalence, libraries really do need to start looking at ways to serve these individuals in unique ways. Facilitators Jean Herriges and Ed Koetitz from San Jose Public Library really saw this need in their communities and decided to write for a grant to get materials to run an inclusive story time.
When they wrote for the grant, one big part of the funding was used to purchase Boardmaker software. Boardmaker is a system of pictures that is used to represent different concepts to individuals who have communication disabilities such as autism. Like sign language, these pictures are almost becoming universal, used in schools and therapy programs for children who qualify for services such as early childhood programs or line therapy. Typically, the pictures are printed on small cards with Velcro on the back and are placed on a hard folder to communicate a series of events or concepts. Children who may not often use, or have a good understanding of words can look at the pictures, and associate them with a certain action. These communication cards or “PEC” cards as they are called, not only assist in communication, they also establish a clear schedule or routine when they are placed in a certain order. A child can remove the PEC when the action has been completed and it reduces the anxiety of the next scheduled action or event.
The inclusive story time takes advantage of these PEC communication cards by using them in the stories. Large books used specifically for story times were torn apart, and specially laminated so that PEC cards would easily stick to the outside of the page. When the story was read, and concepts were introduced a PEC card would be adhered to the story so that the card that the child was familiar with was reinforcing a concept of the story.
But this wasn’t the only thing that the librarians incorporated into their inclusive story times. They offered a preregistration for parents concerned about auditory, visual or tactile issues their children may have. With close communication with the librarians, the story times could be adapted on certain weeks depending on the children’s needs (ex. No sticky glues would be used with children who have tactile issues, loud musical instruments for kids with sound issues, etc.). Other things that they incorporated included a “track” area in the back where kids could stand if they had difficulty sitting for long periods of time. Concrete and clear language was also used as part of the story times, as well as a PEC schedule so children would know what to expect.
This as a very informative session, and there were a few more ideas that were circulated because it was a round table. If you want more information, contact me and I can provide a list of other suggestions the libraries had.
~ Jennifer Thiele, Marinette Consolidated Library System
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