April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day.  Recently the Centers for Disease Control published that the incidence of autism occurs in 1 in 88 people rather than 1 in 110 as previously reported.  Just today, Steve Silberman wrote a blog post entitled Autism Awareness is Not Enough: Here's How to Change the World which features responses to the question from a number of activists who are parents of and individuals on the Autism Spectrum.  Their thoughtful insight included should not be missed.

At SJPL, we have resources for families with children on the Autism Spectrum and other special needs.  Below are just a few titles available on the topic.

Our Inclusive Storytimes are geared for children of all abilities and everyone is welcome.  Inclusive storytimes have some adaptations that we have made to help everyone participate and have a good time.  Our librarians went through disability awareness and adapted storytime training with staff from Parents Helping Parents, a local organization that specializes in working with families of children with special needs. 

Storytimes at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library will return in January 2012. During storytimes children listen to stories, do fingerplays, sing, dance, make new friends, and learn how much fun reading is and what a great place the library is. Bring your child and join the fun.

 Toddler Storytime (Ages 1-3) - Tuesdays from 11:30 - 12:00Noon .

 Family Storytime (All Ages) - Wednesdays from 4:00 - 4:30PM

 Family Storytime (All Ages) - Saturdays from 11:00 - 11:30

 Inclusive Storytime (Ages 2-8) Third Wednesday of the month from 4:00-4:30PM

All of our storytimes are also followed by a half hour of Stay and Play. During Stay and Play, toys are brought out for the children to play with. Parents are invited to play with their children or it is also a great time to interact with other adults, make connections and perhaps learn some parenting tips.

We invite children and their families to enjoy these storytimes at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.
 

First our regular preschool storytime scheduled on Thursday mornings will be changed to Bilingual Storytime (English & Spanish) for preschool aged children and their families. This is an excellent opportunity for families to teach their children both English and Spanish languages by participating in a bilingual storytime. Storytime participants will be listening to wonderful stories, singing songs, and doing fingerplays in both languages.

Bilingual storytime (English & Spanish) for preschool aged children will be scheduled on a weekly basis on Thursdays, starting January 6, 2011 from 11:30am-12pm (noon) at the Hillview Branch Library.

Also, starting on January 2011, Hillview Branch Library will offer  Inclusive Storytime on a monthly basis.

The first one will be on Wednesday, January 12th, 11:30am-12pm.

And others are scheduled for Wednesday, February 9th and Wednesday, March 9th at the same time.

At Inclusive Storytime, we offer a safe and supportive learning environment where children with special needs can interact with their peers. There will be activities that will engage all participants with different individual learning styles .  With the belief that each child is a valuable member of the community, we welcome and encourage participation by all children of different backgrounds and abilities. With such interaction, children come to appreciate and respect differences while developing the social and early literacy skills that are so critical to later success. Children who are learning English are encouraged to attend.

Primero, la hora de cuentos para niños preescolares de los jueves en la mañana va a cambiar a “Hora de Cuentos Bilingües” (inglés & español) para niños preescolares y sus familias.

Esta es una excelente oportunidad para familias de enseñarles a sus hijos el inglés y el español participando en la “Hora de Cuentos Bilingüe”.

Los participantes van  a escuchar bellos cuentos, cantaran  y harán  juegos digitales en los dos idiomas.

La Hora de Cuentos Bilingüe (inglés & español)  tendrá lugar cada semana los jueves de 11:30am-12pm en la Biblioteca Hillview.

La primera será el 6 de enero 2011.

También, empiezando en enero 2011, la Biblioteca Hillview va a ofrecer “Hora de Cuentos Inclusivos cada mes”.

La primera será el miércoles, 12 de enero, 11:30am-12pm.

Las siguientes serán los miércoles, 9 de febrero y 9 de marzo a la misma hora.

En la Hora de Cuentos Inclusivos, ofrecemos un ambiente de aprendizaje seguro y que brinde asistencia para niños con necesidades especiales. Ellos pueden interactuar con otros niños. Habrá actividades que estimularán estilos individuals de aprendizaje para todos lo que participen. Con la creencia de que cada niño es miembro valioso de la comunidad, les damos la bienvenida y alentamos la participación de niños de distintos orígenes y capacidades. Con esta interacción, los niños llegan a apreciar y respectar las diferencias mientras además desarrollan las destrezas sociales y de alfabetización temprana para el éxito de sus futuros. Hacemos una invitación especial a los niños que están aprendiendo inglés.