Overview
Everyone belongs at their local library! This session will highlight a variety of ways that families and professionals can engage with public libraries and how your goals align with ours. For years, libraries have offered Supported and Sensory Storytimes to welcome disabled children into the community space. Families can expect engaging storytimes and a welcoming space, and educators and therapists can create partnerships that include private visits, workshops, and co-lead classes. Find out what one midwestern library is doing beyond that to build an inclusive community, including gardening, cooking, and AAC, and how your library can do the same.
Session Content Disclosure: This course will focus on a case study at Oak Park Public Library and there will be little or no information given on other case studies.
Learning Objectives
- Describe at least three supported programs a public library can offer children and tweens with disabilities.
- Identify at least three supports, resources, etc. you can ask your public library to offer.
- Describe at least two ways that public library goals align or intersect with educational and family goals and where to start together.
Primary & Secondary Strand
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Target Audience
- AT Specialists
- Caregivers
- Consumers/Individuals with Disabilities
- Disability Services
- Educators
- Family Members
- Media Specialist
- Occupational Therapists
- Physical Therapists
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- Special Education Educators
- Teachers of the Visually Impaired
- Teachers of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Experience Level
Introductory
Primary Life Cycle Addressed
Birth - Pre K; Elementary - Secondary (K-12)
Session Delivery Format
Live stream
Course Schedule
This course was given during the ATIA 2023 Conference on Friday, February 3 from 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM (EST)
Continuing Education Credits
For Satisfactory Completion and Continuing Education information, please visit: ATIA Learning Center CEUs
This course is offered for the following CE Provider Credits:
ACVREP; AOTA; IACET
For: 0.10 CEU Units or 1.0 CEU Hours.
End date of CRC CEUs offering: January 30, 2024
As this course was included in the ATIA 2023 Virtual Event series, please refer to the ATIA Learning Center CEUs page for further information on how to submit your CRC CEUs for this course to CRCC.
ASHA CE Information: Recorded Session
Start date of ASHA CEUs offering: May 15, 2023
End date of ASHA CEUs offering: December 31, 2023
Speaker/s:
Shelley Harris, BS, MS
Oak Park Public Library, Children's Librarian
Biography
Shelley Harris, MLIS, is a children's librarian in Oak Park, IL with a passion for early literacy, serving and celebrating the disability community, and exploring technology. She has a younger brother with a rare genetic syndrome who has used AAC for almost 30 years, which inspired her to earn a Bachelors in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She previously worked as a 1:1 paraprofessional with autistic children and has helped program her brother's AAC devices for decades. Everything she has learned from these experiences is funneled into creating inclusive and engaging library services and spaces for disabled kids and tweens, and helping families connect with services in the community. She can often be found practicing storytime songs with her black lab, Bingo. She receives a paycheck for her work as a library employee.
Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from employment
Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: No