Confident but Lacking Support: School Librarians and Students with Autism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26443/el.v44i1.368Abstract
School librarians work with students across their organizations, including those with disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little is known about how prepared school librarians are to serve these students. Using a mixed-methods survey, this study sought to explore training school librarians have taken about ASD and students with disabilities, as well as the effects of training on librarian confidence and library services. Based on results, librarians who received training through their school district or professional development outside of coursework reported being more confident in supporting students with ASD in the school library.
References
Adkins, D., & Bushman, B. (2015). A special needs approach: a study of how libraries
can start programs for children with disabilities. Children and Libraries, 13(3), 28-33.
American Association of School Librarians (2020). Library Education and Licensing.
http://www.ala.org/aasl/about/ed/recruit/license
Anderson, A. (2021). Library Programming for Autistic Children and Teens. American Library Association.
Anderson, A. & Everhart, N. (2015). Project PALS. Teacher Librarian, 43(2). 24-25.
Anderson, A., and Phillips, A. (2019). “Getting basic information isn’t as helpful as the nuanced advice we can give each other”: Teens with autism on digital citizenship education. Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, 10(3).
Baucum, H. (2019a). Adapted library: Ideas and strategies for students on the autism spectrum and non-categorical disabilities. The American Association of School Librarians annual conference. https://aasl.digitellinc.com/aasl/sessions/1448/view
Baucum, H. (2019b). Different, not less: The world of autism and adapted library
practices. School Library Connection. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Home/Display/2148480
Bress, A. (2013). Making your school library more functional to individuals with autism. Library Media Connection, 32(1). 46-47.
Carter, C. J. (2004). Providing services for students with disabilities in an academic
library. Education Libraries, 27(2), 13-18.
Cellucci, A. (2017). The school library as a safe space. Scholastic EDU Blog.
https://edublog.scholastic.com/post/school-library-safe-space
Cottrell, M. (2016) “Storytime for the Spectrum: Libraries Add Services for Children
with Autism.” American Libraries Magazine, March 1. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/03/01/sensory-storytime-spectrum-libraries-add-services-for-children-with-autism/.
Farmer, L. (2013). Library Services for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
American Library Association.
Florida State University. (n.d.). Project PALS. https://pals.cci.fsu.edu/
Hendricks, D.R. (2011). Special education teachers serving students with autism: A
descriptive study of the characteristics and self-reported knowledge and practices
employed. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 35(1), 37-50. https://doi.org/10.3233/JVR-2011-0552
Hickey, K., Golden, T., & Thomas, A. (2018). Sensory play in libraries: A survey of
different approaches. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 16(3), 18–21.
Humphrey, N., & Symes, W. (2011). Inclusive education for pupils with autistic
spectrum disorders in secondary mainstream schools: Teacher attitudes, experience and knowledge. International Journal of Inclusive Education 17, 32–46.
Illinois State Library. (n.d.) Targeting autism for libraries.
https://targetingautismlibs.com/about/
Klipper, B., Dolcetti, C., Schriar, S., & Weiss, D. (2017). Libraries taking on autism: A
movement for collaborative solutions. The American Library Association annual conference.
Layden, S. J., & Anderson, A. (2021). Expanding the educational network for students with autism: Partnering with school librarians. School Libraries Worldwide, 27(1).
Libraries & Autism: We’re Connected. (2020). http://www.librariesandautism.org/index.htm
Maenner, M. J., Shaw, K. A., Baio, J., Washington, A., Patrick, M., DiRienzo, M.,
Christensen, D. L., Wiggins, L. D., Pettygrove, S., Andrews, J. G., Lopez, M., Hudson, A., Baroud, T., Schwenk, Y., White, T., Rosenberg, C. R., Lee. L., Harrington, R. A., Huston, M.,… & Dietz, P. M. (2020). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years – Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 11 sites, United States, 2016. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Surveillance Summaries, 67(6). Washington, D.C.: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mears, S. (2017). It takes a community to raise a reader: Autism friendly libraries,
Proceedings of the IFLA Annual Meeting. http://library.ifla.org/1744/1/138-mears-en.pdf
National Center for Educational Statistics. (2021). Children 3 to 21 years old served
under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B, by age group and sex, race/ethnicity, and type of disability: 2019-20. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d20/tables/dt20_204.50.asp
Prendergast, T. (2016). Seeking early literacy for all: An investigation of children's
librarians and parents of young children with disabilities' experiences at the public library. Library Trends, 65(1), 65-91.
Roberts, J., & Simpson, K. (2016). A review of research into stakeholder perspectives on inclusion of students with autism in mainstream schools. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 20(10), 1084-1096. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2016.1145267
Sansosti, J., & Sansosti, F. (2012). Inclusion for students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: Definitions and decision making.” Psychology in the Schools, 49(10), 917–931. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21652
Waddington, E., & Reed, P. (2006). Parents’ and local education authority officers’
perceptions of the factors affecting the success of inclusion of pupils with autistic spectrum disorders. International Journal of Special Education, 21, 138–150.
Wong, C., Odom, S. L., Hume, K., Cox, A. W., Fettig, A., Kucharczyk, S., Brock, M. E.,
Plavnick, J. B., Fleury, V. P., & Schultz, T. R. (2014). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism spectrum disorder. http://cidd.unc.edu/Registry/Research/Docs/31.pdf
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Amelia Anderson, Selena Layden
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Everything we publish is freely available. In the spirit of encouraging free open access journals, Education Libraries applies the Creative Commons Attribution License (CCAL) to all works we publish (read the summary or the full license legal code ). • Authors retain copyright and grant Education Libraries right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Under the CCAL, authors retain ownership of the copyright for their article, but authors allow anyone to read, download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy articles in Education Libraries, so long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. In most cases, appropriate attribution can be provided by citing the original article in Education Libraries. For any reuse or distribution of a work, you must also make clear the license terms under which the work was published. This broad license was developed to facilitate open access to, and free use of, original works of all types. Applying this standard license ensures your right to make your work freely and openly available. By submitting a manuscript for review, author(s) acknowledge first publication rights are granted to Education Libraries. Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published; that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; and that its publication has been approved by all coauthors and the responsible authorities at the institute where the work was conducted. As publisher, we are providing a process for your intellectual property to be reviewed by and distributed to your peers. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain all necessary permissions for the inclusion of copyrighted materials, such as figures and tables from other publications, and to pay any and all necessary fees. Appropriate credit should be shown in the body of the work. Previously published work will not be considered for publication; we do not accept any simultaneous submissions. Education Libraries will, however, accept manuscripts based on presentations made at conferences sponsored by the Special Library Association, at the discretion of the co-editors.
