Programming for the Spectrum

Developing Inclusive Library Programs for Children on the Autism Spectrum

Heather Dieffenbach, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

• What is Autism?

• Barriers for Children With Autism in the Library

• Adapting Storytime for Children with Autism

• Benefits of Storytime for Children with Autism

What is Autism?• Autism is a complex developmental disability

that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others.

• Autism is a spectrum disorder and it affects each individual differently and at varying degrees.

Autism Society of America

Areas of Functioning Affected by Autism

Communication

Socialization

Adaptive Behavior

Sensory Difficulties

Communication• Lack of or delay in spoken language and

comprehension of language• Echolalia: Repeating words or phrases in

place of normal, responsive language • Literal interpretations of statements and

situations• Frustration in expressing needs results in

meltdowns

Socialization• Little or no eye contact.• Lack of interest in peer relationships. • Difficulty understanding the perspective of others.• Impaired ability to read and interpret the emotions

of others.• Difficulty understanding social cues.• Inappropriate emotional responses: Laughing

(and/or crying) for no apparent reason; showing distress for reasons not apparent to others.

Adaptive Behavior• Like routines, anxiety about changes in their

environment• Difficulty with auditory processing, learn best

when visual supports supplement verbal instruction

• Difficulty transitioning between tasks, inability to organize complex tasks independently.

• Difficulty generalizing skills• Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play• Uneven gross/fine motor skills

Sensory Integration Disorder (also known as Sensory Integration Dysfunction and Sensory Integration Disorder)

0

• Sensory processing: the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses. Sensory Processing Disorder is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses.

Dr. Lucy Jane Miller, founder of the SPD Foundation

How Does Sensory Processing Disorder Feel?

"Imagine driving a car that isn't working well. When you step on the gas the car sometimes lurches forward and sometimes doesn't respond. When you blow the horn it sounds blaring. The brakes sometimes slow the car, but not always. The blinkers work occasionally, the steering is erratic, and the speedometer is inaccurate. You are engaged in a constant struggle to keep the car on the road, and it is difficult to concentrate on anything else."

Dr. Stanley Greenspan, The Challenging Child

Sensory Difficulties• May be hypersensitive or hyposensitive and to

sensory input.• Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme

under-activity.• Not wanting to touch or be touched. • Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to

pain. • Aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior.• Display stereotypic motor movements and/or

have ritualistic, odd, or inappropriate behaviors generally considered socially unacceptable.

How Sensory Processing Disorder Could Effect a Child During Storytime

• May have difficulty sitting still. Could feel as if gravity wasn’t effecting her enough to hold her body to the ground.

• The lights in the room may be too bright.• Music played or sung during the program may be too

loud.• Child may push too hard with crayons to color his craft.• The smells in the room could make the child nauseous.• If someone touches the child it could feel like sandpaper

on their skin.

If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.

Not everyone with autism will display the same behaviors.

Myths About AutismPeople With Autism Don't Have Feelings

Myth: People with autism do not feel or express love or empathy. They are unaffectionate and do not like to be touched.

Fact: People with autism are very loving and affectionate. Some may experience social obstacles that make them appear unaffectionate.

http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/tp/topmyths.htm

Myths About AutismMyth: People with autism do not build meaningful

relationships with others.

Fact: People with autism have solid relationships with, at the very least, their closest family members. Many people with autism do build strong friendships through shared passionate interests. There are also plenty of people with autism who marry and have satisfying romantic relationships.

http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/tp/topmyths.htm

Myths About AutismAll People with Autism Are SavantsMyth: People with autism have amazing “savant” abilities,

such as extraordinary math skills or musical skills.

Fact: It is true that a relatively few people with autism are “savants.” These individuals have what are called “splinter skills” which relate only to one or two areas of extraordinary ability. By far the majority of people with autism, though, have ordinary or less-than-ordinary skill sets.

http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/tp/topmyths.htm

Myths About AutismPeople with Autism Cannot Speak

Myth: Most people with autism are non-verbal or close to non-verbal.

Fact: Individuals with a classic autism diagnosis are sometimes non-verbal or nearly non-verbal. But the autism spectrum also includes extremely verbal individuals with very high reading skills.

http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/tp/topmyths.htm

Myths About AutismMyth: Autism is the result of cold,

unemotional, and/or neglectful parents.

Fact: Parents of children with autism are affectionate and extremely involved in their children’s lives.

http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/tp/topmyths.htm

Myths About AutismMyth: Children and adults with autism spectrum

disorders prefer to self-isolate.

Fact: Children and adults with an ASD often want to socially interact but lack the ability to spontaneously develop effective social interaction skills.

http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/tp/topmyths.htm

Myths About AutismMyth: Everyone with autism flaps their

arms, lines up toys, loves trains, etc.

Fact: Everyone with autism is different and autism manifests in different ways. Just because someone does not do something that is stereotypically “autistic” doesn’t mean they don’t have autism.

Barriers for Children With Autism in the Library

Communication Barriers• Difficulty communicating needs to staff.

• Difficulty understanding communication attempts from staff and other customers.

• Children may lack knowledge possessed by typically developing children: event sequencing, basic story structure, word boundaries…and a sense of the purpose of books. (Owens 1997)

Recommendations for Interacting with Children with Autism

• Say exactly what you mean.• Be clear about the rules.• Do not insist on eye contact.• Watch out for signs of emotional distress.• Avoid touching.• Interact with children in a manner consistent with

home or school situations. (Halvorson 2006)

How to Overcome Communication Barriers

• Use yes or no questions.

• Rephrase and repeat requests.

• Use simple sign language (yes, no, all done, more, one more time, wait, sit).

• Use sequence cards, interactive books, etc.

Social Barriers

• Difficulty deciphering social cues.

• Difficulty interacting with other children.

• May not respond to greetings or questions.

How to Overcome Social Barriers

• Be clear and forthright in social situations.

• Find a peer buddy (“bossy little girl”).

• Be persistent in social interactions.

Sensory Barriers• Open spaces might make child—or parent—

uncomfortable.

• Noise or music from programs, other children.

• May be irritated by texture of craft materials.

• May be distracted by sensory needs during program.

How to Overcome Sensory Barriers

• Hold your storytime in a smaller space with no obvious dangers or easy exits.

• Check with parents before using music or singing.

• Have alternate craft activities available.

• Provide fidget toys and alternate seating.

Behavior Barriers• Difficulty adapting to a new environment.

• Difficulty adapting to changes in a familiar environment.

• Difficulty waiting for their turn or for a preferred activity.

How to Overcome Behavior Barriers

• Be consistent in your programs.

• Use a visual schedule.

• Give advance warning of changes.

• Create “My Turn” cards.

Perceptions of Library Staff and Other Customers

• Parents worry that child’s behavior will anger library staff.

• Parents are afraid of being judged by other parents.

How to Overcome Perception Barriers• Do a “Disability” or “Differences” themed storytime.

• Be oblivious to “odd” behavior.

• Reassure parents at the beginning of the program.

• Be understanding and empathetic.

• Offer help.

• Set a positive example for people nearby.

Adapting Storytimes for Children With Autism

PrimingPriming is a method of previewing information

or activities that may be difficult for the child, prior to the actual event.

Dr. Chris Whalen

– Social Stories ™– video priming– practicing in the actual location of the event

Social Stories ™• Describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of

relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format.

• The goal of a Social Story™ is to share accurate social information in a patient and reassuring manner that is easily understood by its audience.

Carol Grayhttp://www.thegraycenter.org/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&page_id=30

Going to Storytime Social Story“When it is story time I sit on the floor with my

friends and look at the teacher. The teacher reads a story to the class and shows us the pictures. Sometimes I want to say something about the story. When I talk while the teacher is reading it is hard for my friends to hear the story. When I want to talk about the story I will try to first raise my hand, then wait for the teacher to say my name, then I can talk.”

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/The_SPD_Companion-social-stories-and-spd.html

Visual Schedules• Provide a picture schedule of storytime

events.• Keep pictures simple and concrete.• Consider using actual photographs of the

child or a program like Boardmaker.

Other Methods of Priming• The parent and child can visit the library before

opening.

• The child could spend some time in the storytime room before the program begins.

• The parent could be provided with storytime materials in advance of the program to practice at home.

Movement Activities– Encourage participation – Aid memory and sequencing. – Enhances the experience for children

needing gross motor input.(Owens 1997)

Find tasks that give children the sensory input they need: heavy work, jumping, movement and music activities.

Repetition and Routine• Encourage parents to read the story every night

for a week before they come to storytime.

• Read the story more than once during storytime.

• Children with autism function well within routines. Try to keep as much as possible constant in your storytime: location, songs and fingerplays, order of activities.

Peer Modeling and Peer Buddies• While some families may feel more

comfortable in a special needs only storytime, children with ASD benefit from inclusion.

• Receiving help is less socially stigmatizing when it comes from another child rather than an adult.

Choosing Books to Use with Children with Autism

Predictable and Pattern Books– Provide a simple and supportive context

for reciprocal reading.• Then move to changing context to encourage

generalizations.

– Provide a framework for understanding the story.

(Owens 1997)

Evaluating Storytimes for Children with Autism

• May receive little validation from children, so check with the parent.

(Akin 2004)

Benefits of Storytime for Children with Autism

Frequent and repeated shared book reading can:0

– Lead to increases in oral language and attention.

– Lead to decreases in echolalia, stereotypic behaviors, and verbal outbursts.

– Enhance children’s vocabulary and syntax development.

– Teach the function of literacy by using it in a natural environment.

(Owens 1997)

Improvement of Reading Skills Can Help Children Improve Oral Language Skills

Benefits of Participation in Storytime

• Modeling read aloud strategies to parents:

– Parents who read to their children tend to dominate the reading too much.

– Parents of children with disabilities may give up reading aloud after becoming discouraged.

(Owens 1997)

• Providing opportunities for children to interact with peers in a natural environment.

• Giving families an opportunity to participate in a “normal” childhood activity.

• Children might hold up a cut-out character or a puppet when they hear its name. Such active learning in literacy tasks has been shown to improve comprehension in language development.

(Owens 1997)

Improvement of Reading Skills Can Help Children Improve Auditory Skills

More Resources• Libraries and Autismhttp://www.jointlibrary.org/autism/index.htm

• SPD Foundationhttp://www.spdfoundation.netInformation on Sensory Processing Disorder

• Autism Society of Americahttp://www.autism-society.org

• The Gray Centerhttp://www.thegraycenter.org/store/index.cfm?

fuseaction=page.display&page_id=30Information about Social Stories

Contact Information

Heather DieffenbachKentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

502-564-8300 ext 278Heather.Dieffenbach@ky.gov