by Tricia Bohanon Twarogowski<\/p>\n
What a difference a year makes!\u00a0 After the “Special Needs Programming<\/a>” five-part blog series, which commenced June 2009, I conducted further research and found inspiration in colleagues around the country who plan and present library programs to children with special needs, primarily children on the autism spectrum. This follow-up entry shares information learned since the original entries were posted and shows how programming adapted as a result for participants at Matthews Branch of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.<\/p>\n Sensory Programming<\/span><\/p>\n In promotional materials, we changed the description to \u201csensory programming\u201d\u009d rather than \u201cstorytime for children with special needs.\u201d\u009d While families with children on the autism spectrum or with sensory processing disorder and some parents of children with disabilities supported the use of the term \u201cspecial needs,\u201d\u009d sensory programming is a broader term that describes the program rather than the audience.\u00a0 Using this descriptor lessened the chance of accidentally offending those whom we wished to serve through these programs.<\/p>\n What is sensory programming? Loosely defined, it is a program incorporating components of storytime programs (books, flannels, music)\u2013yet also engaging participants in one or more of the following:\u00a0 movement, art, messy play, balance, body awareness and other activities which engage the senses. I compiled this definition after reviewing the work of a colleague, Barbara Klipper from the Ferguson Library in Connecticut. If you are interested in providing sensory programming or enriching your current level of programs, Barbara\u2019s recommendation of Carol Stock Kranowitz\u2019s books, including The Out of Sync Child Has Fun:\u00a0 Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder, <\/em>is extremely beneficial.\u00a0 Sensory programming is essentially the programming that I presented since August 2008 at Matthews Branch Library with additional hands-on experiences related to literacy.<\/p>\n Exclusive or Open?<\/span><\/p>\n The program remained a separate event from our regular storytime programs because it worked for our community. As noted in the first blog post, the reason we initiated our programming was due to parents\u2019 request for a separate library event. The benefit was the relaxed environment which offered a decreased chance of misunderstanding a child\u2019s behavior during storytime. Multnomah County Library in Oregon offers a monthly separate sensory storytime event also inspired by parent requests that \u201cwelcomes children of any age who have trouble sitting still\u201d\u009d (Comment on SLJ.com in response to August 2009 feature \u201cThe Equal Opportunity Disorder\u201d\u009d).<\/p>\n However, other librarians integrate typical-developing children into programs along side of children with autism, sensory processing disorder, Down syndrome and other disabilities. Barbara Klipper opened her sensory program to a broader audience than those with autism, incorporating sensory elements such as Educubes for seating, therabands with songs, use of a sensory balance beam or stepping stones and other sensory experiences for all participants. San Jose Public Library provided a news release in School Library Journal\u2019s<\/em> December 28, 2009, online issue about \u201cinclusive\u201d\u009d story times for families of children from birth to age eight with autism or disabilities. These programs include a pictorial schedule and carpet squares to establish boundaries for the entire audience.<\/p>\n Program Evolution<\/span><\/p>\n Program components evolved at Matthews Branch Library as a result of the experience gained while presenting sensory programming. A long-time standard opening song and book combination of Rise and Shine<\/em> by Raffi was retired in favor of a mellow opening song with limited body movement, \u201cNew Way to Say Hello\u201d\u009d [recorded by Casablanca] on Exercise Party <\/em>[CD]. When budget cuts reduced staffing levels, presenting solo rather than with a partner became a new reality. As a result, I began using double visuals in a fresh way\u2013reading a book through once and following with the same flannel story immediately after.<\/p>\n I also incorporated activities from ideas shared from colleagues. One idea, a mirror activity shared by staff of the Public Library of Cincinnati, was a great success. After our \u201chello song,\u201d\u009d I announced the mirror activity. I explained the activity to the parents and asked for their guidance related to their child\u2019s participation. If they indicated that their child did not enjoy looking into a mirror, I would move along to the next child. To the traditional tune of \u201cWhere is Thumbkin?\u201d\u009d and using my name for sake of example we sing: \u201cWhere is Tricia? Where is Tricia? There she is! There she is (point to child); say hello to Tricia, say hello to Tricia (wave at child); Clap your hands!\u00a0 Clap your hands!\u201d\u009d This activity rarely brought discomfort to a child; instead they beamed to see their reflection in the mirror and be greeted by the group. We used a large unbreakable mirror that was originally purchased for use in baby programming.\u00a0 During an outreach I used a much smaller handheld unbreakable mirror with the same success. The larger size mirrors run from $20 up and are available for purchase from school supply stores.<\/p>\n The Public Library of Cincinnati offers extensive use of adaptive technologies which include bean bag chairs\/sitting wedges, air cushions, noise dampening headphones, weighted blankets\/snakes, sensory rolls and Big Mack switches. Inspired by their use of technologies in both their outreach department and branches, we purchased a sensory balance beam and a Big Mack switch for use in the sensory programs at Matthews Branch. Both were incorporated into the monthly program plans.<\/p>\n A sensory balance beam is a balance beam with a textured surface. The one that we purchased pieced together either in a circle or a wavy line. Children walk in their socks to experience the sensation of the beam. I set it up prior to the program off to the side or in the back of the room. Because most of the participants follow the pictorial schedule and knew when it was time to use the balance beam, it was not an issue during the other parts of the program. These items are available for around $100.<\/p>\n Big Mack switches are devices that record your voice and allow for re-play when the large button, or \u201cswitch,\u201d\u009d surface is pushed. A hint about using the Big Mack switch in storytime:\u00a0 it is a best practice to collect the device after each child\u2019s turn. It became too distracting for the group if it was floating around the circle being passed from family to family. Entering a repeating phrase of a book for re-play thrills the children as they have input to the story that they may not have otherwise. I purchased our Big Mack switch for $105.<\/p>\n Based upon these changes, here is a transportation-themed program plan comparison. Clearly one can see comparatively the increase in hands-on activity of the children from \u201cbefore\u201d\u009d to \u201cafter\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n Before:<\/strong><\/p>\n Announcements\/Review of Schedule Board<\/p>\n Welcome song\/book:\u00a0 Rise and Shine<\/em> by Raffi<\/p>\n Flannel:\u00a0 Who\u2019s Coming Down the Road<\/em><\/p>\n Book:\u00a0 Puff-Puff Chugga Chugga<\/em> by Wormell<\/p>\n Flannel song:\u00a0 \u201cToot toot!\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n Visuals Song:\u00a0 \u201cWe will Drive All Around\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n Book:\u00a0 Mr. Gumpy\u2019s Outing<\/em> by Burningham<\/p>\n Song:\u00a0 \u201cRow Row Row Your Boat \u201c[recorded by the Wiggles] on Racing to the Rainbow <\/em>[CD]<\/p>\n Book:\u00a0 The Wheels on the Bus<\/em> by Zelinsky<\/p>\n Bean Bag song:\u00a0 \u201cPass the Bean Bag\u201d\u009d [recorded by the Tumble Tots] on Action Songs Vol. 2<\/em>[CD]<\/p>\n Closing Book:\u00a0 Wave Good-Bye<\/em> by Reid<\/p>\n Bubbles with \u201cTwinkle Twinkle Little Star\u201d\u009d[recorded by Elizabeth Mitchell & Lisa Loeb] on Catch the Moon <\/em>[CD]<\/p>\n Classical Music Mix during coloring\/socializing<\/p>\n After: <\/strong><\/p>\n Announcements\/Review of Schedule Board<\/p>\n Welcome Song:\u00a0 \u201cNew Way to Say Hello\u201d\u009d [recorded by Casablanca] on Exercise Party <\/em>[CD]<\/p>\n Mirror Activity\u00a0 with unbreakable mirror<\/p>\n Flannel:\u00a0 Who\u2019s Coming Down the Road?<\/em><\/p>\n Book:\u00a0 Puff Puff Chugga-Chugga <\/em>by Wormell.\u00a0 I incorporated the Big Mack switch for the repeating phrase of \u201cpuff-puff chugga-chugga, puff-puff chugga chugga\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n Flannel\/song:\u00a0 \u201cToot Toot!\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n Book:\u00a0 Mr. Gumpy\u2019s Outing <\/em>by Burningham<\/p>\n Song:\u00a0 \u201cPass the Bean Bag \u201c[recorded by the Tumble Tots] on Action Songs Vol. 2<\/em>[CD]<\/p>\n Book:\u00a0 The Boy on the Bus <\/em>by Dale.\u00a0 I sang rather than read the book aloud.<\/p>\n Balance beam activity:\u00a0 Leading children across sensory balance beam while playing \u201cBalance Beam\u201d\u009d [recorded by Laurie Berkner] on Rocketship Run<\/em> [CD]<\/p>\n Closing Book:\u00a0 Wave Good-Bye<\/em> by Reid<\/p>\n Bubbles with \u201cTwinkle Twinkle Little Star\u201d\u009d[recorded by Elizabeth Mitchell & Lisa Loeb] on Catch the Moon <\/em>[CD]<\/p>\n Classical music mix while coloring\/socializing<\/p>\n Partnerships<\/span><\/p>\n I touched upon partnerships in the final installment of the blog series submitted last year, mentioning the Autism Society of Mecklenburg County as a hugely beneficial partner. Events for the local chapters of the Autism Society were great opportunities to meet parents, therapists and other professionals with experience working with children on the spectrum. One phenomenal channel for our promotion was Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation, specifically their Therapeutic Division providing services to individuals who have disabilities. By cross-promoting event information with this division, more families became aware of options to attend library programs, resulting in an attendance increase. I also contacted a local parenting magazine, Charlotte Parent<\/em>, to share our event dates and times and tapped into the \u201cCarolina Homeschool Connector,\u201d\u009d an online information forum for families to increase our exposure to parent-specific promotional routes.<\/p>\n Future<\/span><\/p>\n The dream of having enough interest to provide the programs back to back became a reality about nine months after the blog series was posted. A hint: if your programming gets to the point of repeated classes in one day, arrange the schedule cards in the \u201cdone\u201d\u009d envelope in the order in which you would need to replace them on the schedule board. It saves valuable time between the classes.<\/p>\n Kits were funded through a Bank of America grant, resulting in the creation of five ready-to-go kits contained in a plastic bin and circulating for staff use throughout the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system. Themes included \u201cfarm,\u201d\u009d \u201ccolors\u201d\u009d and \u201ctransportation.\u201d\u009d Each kit housed a suggested program plan, suggestions for music, mirror activity, schedule cards, books, flannel pieces or stories, manipulatives (bean bags or scarves) and, in some cases, puppets.<\/p>\n Creating adaptable books, either by placing three-dimensional objects and\/or picture cards into the book or by placing pages in a binder with Velcro objects, was one area that we did not delve into as we had hoped. This is a wide-open opportunity for librarians to incorporate adaptable books into a program environment.<\/p>\n I hope that the original blog series encouraged others to offer sensory programming. Despite budget issues facing libraries everywhere, the value of offering sensory programming as a public service is vital to our communities.<\/p>\n Tricia Bohanon Twarogowski was most recently Children\u2019s Services Supervisor at Matthews Branch Library of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in North Carolina. She was named the Autism Society of North Carolina\u2019s Autism Professional of the Year 2009 at the Annual Conference in April 2010 for her work on sensory storytime programming. She recently relocated to Northern Virginia where she shares sensory programming with a new audience of professionals and families in her role as a Library Consultant.\u00a0 Feel free to contact her at <\/em>triciatwarogowski@gmail.com<\/em><\/a> with any questions.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Tricia Bohanon Twarogowski What a difference a year makes!\u00a0 After the “Special Needs Programming” five-part blog series, which commenced June 2009, I conducted further research and found inspiration in colleagues around the country who plan and present library programs to children with special needs, primarily children on the autism spectrum. This follow-up entry shares information learned since the original entries were posted and shows how programming adapted as a result for participants at Matthews Branch of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Sensory Programming In promotional materials, we changed the description to \u201csensory programming\u201d\u009d rather than \u201cstorytime for children with special needs.\u201d\u009d While families with children on the autism spectrum or with sensory processing disorder and some parents of children with disabilities supported the use of the term \u201cspecial needs,\u201d\u009d sensory programming is a broader term that describes the program rather than the audience.\u00a0 Using this descriptor lessened the chance of accidentally…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[11,93,9,38,207],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-priority-group-i","category-outreach","category-partnerships","category-programming-ideas","category-special-needs-awareness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}