(via Library Juice Academy)
Registration is open for the Library Juice Academy asynchronous course “Library Resources and Services for Patrons on the Autism Spectrum”. The next offering will take place online from Monday, February 2, to Sunday, March 1. Please see below for more information, including the link to registration.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 36 children have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD impacts all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups and is a pervasive developmental disorder which is present across the lifespan. As such, a notable portion of patrons served by school, public, and academic libraries presents with ASD or is otherwise “on the spectrum”. Individuals with ASD may have different accessibility and communication challenges than their neurotypical peers. This course will provide librarians with a better understanding of ASD, effective means of communicating individuals with ASD, strategies for designing inviting and accessible library environments and programming, and suggestions for building relationships with community partners to better serve the needs of patrons with ASD.
The instructor, Dawn Behrend (Associate Dean of Administrative Services at the Thomas G. Carpenter Library at the University of North Florida), has a unique background in being a second career librarian after having worked as a Licensed Psychological Associate for over 20 years and having extensive experiencing in performing psychological evaluations for ASD.
This course is worth 1.5 CEUs or 15 PDHs. The cost is $250.00.
For additional details, including the course objectives, and to register, please go here.