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In order to support area families with children who have learning disabilities, autism, brain injury, developmental delay, visual and/or hearing impairments, and more, the Wilton Library Association applied for and received $7,500 in LSTA funds to establish the Parent Teacher Resource Center.

Staff at Wilton developed a program of six workshops in order to strengthen the skills of staff and area professionals. These workshops featured Carrie Banks, supervising librarian at The Child's Place for Children with Special Needs in Brooklyn, New York, Jane Thierfeld Brown, Director of Student Services at the University of Connecticut School of Law, and Anne I. Eason, an author and special education attorney who limits her practice to inclusive education.

The library ordered, processed and circulated materials and set up two library-funded PC's  with adaptive technology to aid the parents, educators, and caregivers of the target population: the 511 children in Wilton aged 3 to 18 with special needs.  147 people were served by this project.

Publicity for the workshops drew in educators, library  and mental health professionals, parents, and caregivers of children with special needs from Wilton and the surrounding area.  The outreach efforts especially targeted users of the local special education network SPEDNET. 

An open house for parents, teachers, and caregivers showcased the library's growing collection and new adaptive technology machines; parents and families were invited with an eye toward welcoming them to the library and presenting the library as their safe haven.

Project Outputs:
65 titles added to collection; 63 attendees to professional workshops; 1 staff presentation at a large roundtable of children's librarians; 6 workshops provided.

Project Outcomes:
On average, workshop attendees reported that their skill and comfort levels in interacting with and meeting the needs of parents of special needs families increased by an average of 48% after attending workshops. 

The specifics on Wilton's excellent outcome based evaluation are:
1. 100% (14) of library and educational professionals interested in improving their abilities in working with children with special needs and their families reported an average 52% rise in their ability level regarding this topic after completing the workshop.
2. 100% (7) of Wilton school professionals attending a workshop on special needs reported an average 65% improvement on a scale of 1 to 5 in their comfort level with this general subject matter upon completion of the workshop.
3. 100% (12) of WLA staff trained in a workshop regarding autism increased their comfort level with this subject matter by an average of 42% on a scale of 1 to 5 after completing the workshop.
4. 100% (11) of WLA staff participating in a workshop regarding the disability spectrum and the overall needs of those in it reported an average 27% improvement in their comfort level with this subject matter after completing the workshop.
5. 100% (12) of WLA professionals and those with disabilities and/or their family members trained in a workshop regarding information available on the internet specific to families of children with disabilities reported an average 66% improvement in their ability to locate helpful information for families of children with disabilities upon completion of the workshop.
6. 100% (7) of WLA library professionals trained in supporting families with children with special needs increased their comfort level with this general subject matter by an average of 59% on a scale of 1 to 5 after completing the workshop.
7. 71% of patrons surveyed on the impact of WLA's expanded special needs resources of the Parent/Teacher Resource Center during the month of April, 2006 reported an rise/increase in their knowledge of a topic of concern averaging 3.2 (on a 5-point scale) after visiting the library.

School personnel visited the library looking for information on selective autism; the school was excited to hear about plans to grow the library's resources and in the library's interest in working with school staff to obtain collection materials that complement what is available to them through the school system. 

Personnel from Wilton High School were excited to see the assistive technology pc, stating that it is better than the one available at the high school. This sentiment was echoed by parents of children using the new computer and other library visitors.

Wilton High School's 'Best Buddies' program now meets at the library.

The library's last outcome survey concerning the impact of the Parent/Teacher Resource Center proved particularly useful. The patrons were surveyed during the month of April in order to fully measure the impact of the Center's expanded resources after six months of being activated. Signage and drop-off locations were placed at three locations around the library, and the survey was advertised in the WLA's electronic newsletter and staff brought the survey opportunity to the attention of patrons.

The library's goal was for 50% of parents and caregivers visiting the Parent/Teacher Resource Center to indicate that they had moderately (2 points on a 5 point scale), highly (3 points) or significantly (4 points) increased their knowledge of a topic of concern after visiting the Library.

Though the library received a low response rate to the surveys, numerically and in terms of outcome, the results showed success: 71% of respondents reported an average improvement of 3.2, though 29% of respondents did not provide a numerical rating.  Tellingly, feedback on these surveys indicated that respondents replied to the survey more as a general "how do you like the library?" than for providing feedback specific to the resources in the Parent/Teacher Resource Center.  Respondents indicated that they heard about the expended parent/teacher resources on their own, through the WLA catalogue or through the local special education network.

Project Coordinator Allison Cross writes, "Our initial conception of this initiative called for the development of an actual, physical center whereby everything relating to special needs would be located in one place. We moved to a more inclusive philosophy as we talked with parents and educators. On paper this 'decentralized' approach seemed to be fine," though the library recognizes the "operational challenges; it sometimes feels as though our efforts are "watered down" and lost within the big picture of the Library. We continue to strive to meet the needs of this population within an inclusive setting, knowing that this is the current public preference."

"Additionally," writes Cross, the library found that "there is no single solution as to how to best help children with disabilities in a library setting. Each situation is different and requires patience and perseverance on the part of staff.  This is identical to dealing with the behavior of children without disabilities.  Each one behaves differently.  Each need is different.  Each must be dealt with on an individual basis.  There is no 'magic bullet.'"  The library staff also struggled with labeling, despite the best of intentions; Cross relates that "the concept of 'people first' language was new to all of us and as a result of education received through the grant, we now understand that it is best to refer to children with disabilities as just that. 'Children with Special Needs,' a term we had been using interchangeably with 'Children with Disabilities' is not considered to be sensitive terminology." 

The story was featured in the January, 2006 issue of the Connecticut Libraries on page 6.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.