2017 MLA Annual Conference

About 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Autistic children live, learn, and play in your community, but how is your library serving their needs? That is the question that Hennepin County Library's ASD Families team sought to answer. The team met with parent groups and service organizations to learn about the experiences of ASD families and identify changes the library could make to better serve their needs. Through these conversations, we developed of a set of recommendations for making library programs, services, and spaces more inclusive. In this session, we will share what we learned about serving ASD families, how we advocated for and implemented our recommendations, and how you can make your library a welcoming place for children on the spectrum.