Books are for Everyone: Library Programming for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities Roseanne Gauthier & Jennifer Howard PEI Public Library Service May 26, 2017

We’ll cover… Our program and how it developed Challenges and successes The first version Changes and adaptations Version 2.0 Challenges and successes The future! Advice and (hopefully) inspiration Roseanne Remember to mention why we don’t have as many photographs of our program.

How did this start? Mission: Partnering with persons with intellectual disabilities, their families and the community as a resource committed to individualized living, learning and personal growth. Jennifer Story of how the program got started. QCRS Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that has been in operation for almost 40 years, delivering a range of programs and services to adults with intellectual disabilities.

Where did we start? What are other libraries doing? Next Chapter Book Club Lots of resources for kids… not as many for adults What will work for our library and for QCRS clients? Consulted with QCRS Support Workers Brainstormed together Roseanne Public Libraries Online

Version 1.0 (What we thought would work) Low-Functioning Group Weekly adapted storytime with Jennifer High-Functioning Group Weekly book club with Roseanne Jennifer Talk about the language choices. Why are we using these terms and dividing the groups this way? What does an adapted storytime look like? Roseanne The book club we envisioned…

“Patience and flexibility are the keys for a successful program.” How did it go? “Patience and flexibility are the keys for a successful program.” Reaching Out: Library Services to the Developmentally Disabled by Leslie Lea Nord from Public Libraries Online

Low-Functioning Group Adapted storytime format was fairly successful. Routine + familiarity = comfort Started with similar themes to our Family Storytimes; eventually started getting suggestions from the group

High-Functioning Group Book club was… less successful. Wider range of abilities meant group members had little to no interest in reading the same book, let alone discussing it. No one cared about keeping track of their reading. We thought they would be able to read more independently. We looked at Book Club kits, etc. but it was apparent after even just the first two weeks that wasn’t going to work. Thankfully the group was not shy about expressing its opinions. D-U-L-L We had also kind of envisioned something like Summer Reading Club, but we quickly realized no one really care about tracking their reading.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes (How we adapted) Low-Functioning Group Adjusted level of materials Eg. Bear Sees Colours versus Interrupting Chicken Moved away from weekly themes Added crafting component

CRAFTS!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes (How we adapted) High-Functioning Group Abandoned book club format for group discussions and another version of storytime Added opportunities to recommend books to other library patrons Offered time for one-on-one reader’s advisory Tried discussion questions, even things to think about like, “If a book character could be your best friend, who would you pick?” No. Then I realized everyone just wanted a chance to talk about what they were reading – or not – or what they liked to read – or not. And I tried storytime. Turns out the people in my group LOVE spooky stories or anything based on a true story about an animal. “Friends Recommend” Reader’s advisory: Why puppies and kitties?

Challenges A very, very wide range of abilities and interests Unpredictability: how will they respond? Clear communication with support workers Jennifer From non-verbal to more complex independent reading Different social cues: Are they enjoying it? Yelling Roseanne Getting up and leaving Adapting stories for a person with no vision The more we got to know everyone, the easier this became because we could start to anticipate challenges, rather than just react to them. Plus we got better at communicating with the support workers. Cell phones… One thing we have never had a problem with is other library patrons

Successes They keep showing up! And Jennifer’s group has grown! Increased borrowing and some new card holders QCRS clients are more comfortable approaching staff, and our staff are more comfortable assisting them. We’re in our second year. Increased borrowing of materials, plus several people have registered for cards and now use the computers and borrow books and DVDs. (We don’t charge them fines.)

Fan Favourites: Fiction

Fan Favourites: Non-fiction Winnie the Pooh Elizabeth Queen of the Sea Everyday is Malala Day On a Beam of Light Owen and Mzee

The Future… Offer[s] community-based book clubs for adolescents and adults with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“A disability is, first and foremost, a medical diagnosis, and when we define people by their diagnoses, we devalue and disrespect them as individuals… People can no more be defined by their medical diagnoses than others can be defined by gender, ethnicity, religion, or other traits!” A Few Words About People First Language by Kathie Snow