The State Library of Queensland (SLQ) offers a range of professional development courses and I was particularly interested in the Autism-Friendly, story time elearn program. I have worked part time within a high school library for two years and there are many students that I interact with on a daily basis that are on the autism spectrum and I have had no professional training with regards to children and autism. The 4-hour SLQ program is designed for pre-school aged children.  However, I presumed prior to commencement that a percentage of the information, tools and practices would be transferable to other ages. I have also recently started working within the public library sector and any story time training will be invaluable for this role.

The program consisted of four modules:

1. What is Autism
2. Emergent Literacy
3. Strategies for including children on the autism spectrum
4. Shared book reading

I was unsurprised that parent’s with children on the spectrum were apprehensive about attending story time sessions at their library, due to behavioural challenges and sensory difficulties. I did however find it more surprising that majority of librarians reported of lacking in confidence with regards to including children on the spectrum into their story time sessions. The SLQ developed this program to increase the awareness of autism and how to modify sessions to include children with autism.

I was very interested to learn about the ABC’s of autistic behaviour: antecedents, Behaviour and Consequences. Antecedents can include: environment, lighting, noise and communication. Behaviours that can result from antecedents include: aggression, destruction, self-harm and stimulation (rocking, tapping etc.) It was interesting to learn what consequences you can implement to change negative behaviour: ignoring minor incidents, reassurance, negotiation and redirection.

It is important to implement the knowledge of the ABC’s to modify story time sessions. For example, taking an environmental audit prior to sessions commencing. The aim is to create a safe, supportive space that will not trigger sensory responses. I learnt some incredibly practical skills that I believe are not only valuable for children on the spectrum but could improve story time sessions for all children. For example, creating a visual aid that shows the structure of the session and ensuring this structure remains the same each week. All children respond positively to routine and repetition. Also, including a noise thermometer (visual aid) is an effective way to signal to the children the session has become too noisy and the volume must be lowered to resume.

I am confident that the knowledge and skills I developed during this training will assist me in delivering effective programs to children on the autism spectrum. I also believe that some of the practical skills outlined could be very effective for other children and would be worth implementing them across many library-based activities.