There are a number of families who have children affected by developmental disorders in our community. According to Dr. Michael Jason, Executive Director of Special Education at the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD), there are 2,648 (Preschool-18) children with special needs attending inclusion programs, special education classes and therapeutic services at PUSD this year. Additionally, there are a number of organizations in Pasadena that provide services to children with special needs. Dr. Diane Cullinane, Executive Director of Pasadena Child Development Associates, states her organization serves 1,000 families per year, while Sue Trautman, founder of Center for Developing Kids, reports serving 400 families annually. Pasadena Public Library feels a responsibility to serve this population equally and as well as any other group. Unfortunately, parents with children who have special needs typically don’t feel welcome in a library or any public setting. There are a number of reasons for this: physical barriers to access, lack of adaptive programming, fear that their child’s behavior will be disruptive and lead to ridicule or the feeling that they are simply not welcome. While other families are visiting places - the library, the playground, the grocery store - these parents refrain from normal outings because of the enormous effort this requires. Creating an inclusive environment at the library encourages family engagement and positions the library as an advocate for social change.

We started with a Sensory Storytime program for preschool age children with autism. By offering a library program adapted to the needs of children with autism and/or sensory issues, we immediately met the needs of families in our area who longed for a welcoming place in the community.

Building on the need for literacy support for parents who have children with any developmental disorder, we devised a Special Needs Family Resource Center and programming plan including:

• A LibGuide offering book suggestions, links to research articles, a guide to Individual Education Plans, information on early intervention therapies, and lists of nonprofits and stores that provide services and/or products to children with special needs.
• A Special Needs Parent Resource Center included in the Parenting Section of Central Library’s Children’s Wing.
• Sensory Storytime Kits (30 to start), available for checkout, to extend the storytime experience at home. Kits contain 3 picture books, a sensory toy, a sensory music CD and a laminated resource list.
• Sensory Storytimes (6-week sessions) held six times a year at two locations (three times at each library location); plans to include three Bilingual Spanish sessions in 2015.
• Inclusive Play sessions held once a month at Central and Lamanda Park Branch Library.
• Bilingual quarterly parenting workshops conducted by specialists on developmental disorders.
• Library representation at community meetings related to disability services and at Pasadena Unified School District’s Community Advisory Council Meeting.
• Detailed brochure created in collaboration with Pasadena Child Development Associates outlining the keys to a successful social outing for children with autism.
• A depository collection which travels to organizations that serve children with special needs.

To measure the success of our Sensory Storytime project, we passed out pre- and post-surveys; Ten out of ten participating families responded to our survey.

Based on these results, we determined that we achieved five intended outcomes:

• Ten out of ten families stated that they felt accepted, encouraged and welcomed in the library
• Seven out of ten reported that their child gained increased pre-literacy knowledge and improved social behaviors/skills
• Eight out of ten reported that they formed supportive connections with each other and will continue to maintain these connections outside of storytime
• Ten out of ten families plan to extend the storytime experience we modeled to the home environment

We also included open ended questions so that parents could provide comments about their experience.

Some responses:

“…parents would roll their eyes and become very irritated with her…now we feel comfortable attending a library storytime.”

“…just coming to the library. We’ve never done that.”

“…Now I feel there is a place for my child in the library.”

In addition to the positive response from parents, we received kudos from autism professionals and civic leaders. Organizations who serve children with special needs began to seek us out for collaborations and advice, the City Manager commended the library for offering an adaptive program, LA Parent featured Sensory Storytime in an article– these are just examples of how a desire to serve an underserved population at our library positioned us as innovators and advocates for inclusion.