A Special Needs Approach: A Study of How Libraries Can Start Programs for Children with Disabilities

Authors

  • Denice Adkins
  • Bobbie Bushman

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5860/cal.13n3.28

Abstract

The Census Bureau reports that 5.2 percent of school-age children (2.8 million) were reported to have a disability. The American Community Survey defines a person with a disability as a person having a “vision, hearing, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, or independent living difficulty.” Per the American Community Survey, the most common type of disability diagnosed in school-age children is cognitive disability, which they define as “serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.”

Author Biographies

Denice Adkins

Denice Adkins is an Associate Professor in the School of Information Science & Learning Technologies, University of Missouri. She is a past-president of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking and a current ALA Councilor-at-Large. Her research interests are library services to Latinos, especially Latino and non-English-speaking youth.

Bobbie Bushman

Bobbie Bushman is a PhD student at the School of Information Science & Learning Technologies, University of Missouri. She worked as a youth services manager in a public library where she ran programming for all ages and abilities. Her research interests are library services to children with disabilities and library service to deaf and hard of hearing children.

References

Matthew W. Brault, School-Aged Children with Disabilities in U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2010, (November 2011), accessed Sept. 13, 2013, www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-12.pdf.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, U.S. Code, vol. 20, sec. 1400, accessed Sept. 20, 2013, idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cstatute%2C.

National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics: 2011, (U.S. Department of Education, May 2012), accessed Sept. 13, 2013, nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11_046.asp?referrer=report.

Cynthia A. Robinson and Frances Smardo Dowd, “Public Library Services to Disabled Children: A National Survey of Large Systems,” Journal of Youth Services in Libraries 10, no. 3 (1997): 283–290.

Lisa C. Wemett, “The Building Bridges Project: Library Services to Youth with Disabilities,” Children and Libraries 5, no. 3 (Winter 2007): 15–20

Kathy Jarombek and Anne Leon, “Leadership at Its Best: Library Managers Spearhead Successful Special Needs Programming,” Children and Libraries 8, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 2010): 54–57.

Peggy Wong and Allen McGinley, “Rated E for Everyone: Expanding Services to Children with Special Needs,” School Library Journal 56, no. 12 (December 2010): 22–23

Paula Burton, et al., “Try It! You’ll Like It! Storytimes for Children with Special Needs,” ALKI 29, no. 10 (July 2012): 13.

Betsy Diamant-Cohen, et al., “We Play Here! Bringing the Power of Play into Children’s Libraries,” Children and Libraries 10, no. 1 (Spring 2012): 3–11.

Antoinette K. D’Orazio, “Small Steps, Big Results: Preparing a Story Time for Children with Special Needs,” Children and Libraries 5, no. 3 (Winter 2007): 21–22

Anne Leon, “Beyond Barriers: Creating Storytimes for Families of Children with ASD,” Children and Libraries 9, no. 3 (Winter 2011): 12–14

Karla S. Krueger and Greg P. Stefanich, “The School Librarian as an Agent of Scientific Inquiry for Students with Disabilities,” Knowledge Quest 39, no. 3 (January/February 2011): 40–47.

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Published

2015-08-31

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2015): Fall

Section

Features

License

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