The Cranbury Public Library looks forward to helping to provide awareness, information and resources on autism and other spectrum issues. While our library is limited by our small physical space, we hope that we will be able to contribute and partner with our other grant participants in providing access to a variety of program and information for our the larger community which our libraries serve.
Goals and Objectives
- To be able to have our library staff trained to be able to find resources for those with autism, as well as how to better serve these patrons in general
- For our library specifically, it would be a great benefit for staff to receive autism training due to the fact that one of our pages is autistic.
- We would like to be able to become more aware of the kinds of resources and programs that would serve those with autism and similar conditions.
- We would like to be able to participate in this grant to expand our services to include programming and resources that invite a sense of inclusion for autistic patrons and help them remain in their local communities.
- We would like to help provide services that help to pull autistic patrons into becoming more engaged with the world around them.
Intended Uses for Grant Funding
Current Activity
In regards to programming we have decided to focus on the topic of adults with autism.
Jan-Feb 2008
Currently we are reaching out to the resources within our local community in order to solicit ideas and feedback for the types of speakers or programs they would be interested in. We are hoping to be able to start considering possible placement of programming in the coming months. We will also be soon working on our book display for April for Autism Awareness.
March 2009 : Have sent emails to the following places/persons to see if they might be interested in going a lecture/talk/presentation on the topic of autism. If any are itnerested, I will get as much detail as I can and provide it here for all to access:
- Eden Institute (http://www.edenservices.org/index.jsp)
- Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center (http://dddc.rutgers.edu/)
- Doctor and Author, Dr. Jed Baker (http://www.jedbaker.com/). He has written several books on behavior, as well as , "Preparing for Life - The Complete Guide to Transitioning to Adulthood for those with Autism/Asperger's Syndrome". He has also appeared on Nightline and ABC World News Tonight.
April 2009
- An autism awareness book display has been created highlighting books and audio-visual materials in our collection and recently acquired
- We are working on having a local resident do a talk at the library in May on autism for adults (date pending)
- We have been in contact with Jamesburg resident who is running an autism center for Adults called JAMBA. We would like to schedule a program with her presenting
- We have booked Anne Dennehy, as well as her husband (an attorney) and daughter (a special education schoolteacher) to do a presentation on transition for autistic adults as well as legal rights and advocacy for families and those with autism. The program will be taking place at the Cranbury Public Library on May 19th at 7:30pm (flyer)
May 2009
- We have scheduled a music appreciation program for adults with Tomaso Migliaccio at JAMBA in Jamesburg, NJ. JAMBA is a non-profit organization for autistic adults that provides a community center for them. The program will be taking place on sjite at their location and co-sponsored by the library with the InfoLink grant. The programs took place in June (see pics below) (flyer)
July - August 2009
Continuing our focus on providing adult autism and spectrum programming we have schedule the following events for July and August. All programs are taking place offsite at JAMBA
- Boundary Issues and Personal Health : a discussion presented by Bill Tavernear (Director of Family Services at Planned Parenthood in Morristown, NJ)
- The Art of Making Conversation for Autistic Adults - presented by Tania Pierce, a private corporate trainin consultant. (this is a five week series)
- Fun with Music! - presented by The Academy of Music on Main Street (The program will provide instruction and experimentation with instruments, as well as sing-alongs and "jam" sessions) (this is a five week series)
Please see the following flyer for details regarding dates and times
Our Autism Book/Video Display
Some attendees at our creative writing and music workshop for adults
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