Getting started with Serving the Special Needs Community

While in Sactown I had the chance to sit with Ed from San Jose Public Library and talk about how he and his team have implemented inclusive storytimes.  He was instrumental in starting the “Inclusive” storytimes at his library and the videos produced by him and the SJ team are a great introduction for how to get started with this type of program (http://sjpl.org/inclusiveservices).  He helped answer a few questions I had about providing this type of resource to the community.  Here are some of the things we spoke about:

Question: Are all of your storytimes “inclusive” at San Jose?

Response: No, San Jose offers “inclusive” storytimes every other weekend.  One nearby branch focuses on a tactile storytime with crafts and on another week Ed offers an auditory/music based program.   There are 2 inclusive storytimes per month at 2 SJ locations.

Question: Where did San Jose get the term “inclusive” and why not have a specific storytime just for children with special needs?  Right now there is debate on whether services of this type should be “inclusive” (integrating people with special needs into regular storytime and activities) or tailored exclusively for the special needs community.

Response: “This is a hotly debated topic” however, the Santa Clara County: Office of Education is trying to create inclusive environments for children in schools and their initiative stresses this type of integration. They currently use the term “inclusive” and this is recognized by the special needs community.

When I told Ed that we try to make all of our storytimes welcoming and accommodate people of all abilities by providing storyboards (pictures of what type of activity we are doing and what’s happening next), fidget toys, and timers he commented that we are doing everything right by offering these materials and by trying to make families with special needs feel more welcome.

I also spoke with Carolyn Brooks from El Dorado County and she gave us a great reference for a potential trainer who helped their library system create an inclusive storytime.  Robyn Chu (http://www.ghcot.com/aboutus.html) helped Carolyn and her team develop a special needs storytime by training El Dorado staff and creating SenseSational Storytimes (http://www.eldoradolibrary.org/SenseSational%20Storytime%20Manual.pdf).  There is also an 82 page manual that walks libraries step by step through the process of how to start a sensory/special needs based storytime.  For those of you that don’t know who Carolyn is, she is the master at bringing organizations together to create awesome library programs.  She is also the first person to rent a Play and Learn Island™ straight from the showroom floor at CLA.

Carolyn will be sending us some information and said that Mrs. Chu travels and gives presentations across the nation.  I think our next steps will be to contact the San Bernardino, County of Education to see what terms they use when reaching out to the special needs community.  We also want to know what tips they have and if they can help guide us.  We want to make sure we are working with the city and county services to create something that is recognizable and marketed properly to the special needs community; and that we are doing everything we can to get educated and informed so we can create the best possible environment and storytime for patrons in our community.