Copied from today's Tallahassee Democrat.
Byron Dobson
Democrat senior writer @byrondobson on Twitter
Two Florida State University professors have created a training site that they hope will assist librarians when working with patrons who suffer from autism spectrum disorders.
Nancy Everhart, left, and Juliann Woods, right, have created a learning guide to make libraries more comfortable for persons with autism.
Project PALS, or Project Panhandle Autism Library Services, is taught online using examples that can be reviewed at the person’s leisure. The training lasts about four hours.
The project was created by Nancy Everhart, a professor in the School of Information who studies the impact of technology on the leadership of the school librarian, and Juliann Woods, associate dean of research at the College of Communication and Information at FSU. Woods also is associate director for research to practice at the Autism Institute, who helped develop Autism Navigator, a Web-based early-detection tool that aids service providers in recognizing and serving children with ASD.
The two decided to address the issue because of the critical increase in the number of people being diagnosed with autism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year reported that 1 in 68 children (or 14.7 per 1,000 8 year olds) in multiple communities in the United States has been identified with autism spectrum disorder, according to the centers’ website.
The study said “the new estimate is roughly 30 percent higher than previous
estimates reported in 2012 of 1 in 88 children (11.3 per 1,000 8 year olds) being identified with an autism spectrum disorder.”
Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy group, says autism spectrum disorder is the fastest growing disability in the United States.
“We saw an opportunity to merge our research interests to benefit persons with autism and to benefit librarians who serve them,” Everhart said.
“We found that librarians really want to know more about this population and how their libraries can respond positively,” Everhart said. “Particularly in rural areas, training of this type has been unavailable.”
The online multimedia course covers four areas:
» About autism in the library: Helps librarians identify characteristics that persons with autism might show in library setting.
» Arranging the library environment: Recommends ways that libraries can be made more comfortable for those with their disorder and their families. Offers strategies to provide individuals with autism access to library spaces and materials.
» Communicating with individuals with autism: Teaches ways to use visuals to make the library more appealing and to assist in communications and assist with social interaction.
» Interacting with technology: How to teach courses in Internet safety for teens and young adults with ASD and how to select appropriate apps.
The course, which is expected to become available this week, also is important because of the critical role libraries can serve in someone’s development, Everhart said. For instance, libraries can be a source of employment, they can offer resources in finding other employment; it offers those with ASD opportunities to find information of interest which can often be very focused.
Cay Hohmeister, director of the Leroy Collins Leon County Public Library, served as adviser on the project. She said library employees don’t treat persons with certain disorders any differently from those without unless the patron indicates a need for special assistance.
But this access to this training will help with understanding how to better address someone in this case.
“This particular information, and the way it’s presented, the video gives us a lot of tools to use in helping people who display signs of autism,” Hohmeister said. “It will help librarians respond appropriately to the behaviors we see.
“The outcome is people will feel comfortable in using the library.”
Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy group, says autism spectrum disorder is the fastest growing disability in the United States.
“We saw an opportunity to merge our research interests to benefit persons with autism and to benefit librarians who serve them,” Everhart said.
“We found that librarians really want to know more about this population and how their libraries can respond positively,” Everhart said. “Particularly in rural areas, training of this type has been unavailable.”
The online multimedia course covers four areas:
» About autism in the library: Helps librarians identify characteristics that persons with autism might show in library setting.
» Arranging the library environment: Recommends ways that libraries can be made more comfortable for those with their disorder and their families. Offers strategies to provide individuals with autism access to library spaces and materials.
» Communicating with individuals with autism: Teaches ways to use visuals to make the library more appealing and to assist in communications and assist with social interaction.
» Interacting with technology: How to teach courses in Internet safety for teens and young adults with ASD and how to select appropriate apps.
The course, which is expected to become available this week, also is important because of the critical role libraries can serve in someone’s development, Everhart said. For instance, libraries can be a source of employment, they can offer resources in finding other employment; it offers those with ASD opportunities to find information of interest which can often be very focused.
Cay Hohmeister, director of the Leroy Collins Leon County Public Library, served as adviser on the project. She said library employees don’t treat persons with certain disorders any differently from those without unless the patron indicates a need for special assistance.
But this access to this training will help with understanding how to better address someone in this case.
“This particular information, and the way it’s presented, the video gives us a lot of tools to use in helping people who display signs of autism,” Hohmeister said. “It will help librarians respond appropriately to the behaviors we see.
“The outcome is people will feel comfortable in using the library.”
LEARN MORE
Project PALS was produced through a partnership with the Florida Center for Interactive Media and financed through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information on the project, visit http:// pals.cci.fsu.edu
Project PALS was produced through a partnership with the Florida Center for Interactive Media and financed through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information on the project, visit http:// pals.cci.fsu.edu
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