RESULTS & RESOURCES

The Simsbury (CT) Public Library, one of the 2016 winners, created a supportive and welcoming environment for young children with ASD and their peers, in the form of an inclusive bimonthly playgroup program called Everybody Plays. They also included a staff-training component to ensure that program facilitators and other library staff will be able to provide exceptional library services to the local ASD community.

Check out this fantastic online presentation, with plenty of pictures and feedback, of their successful efforts.

SAMPLE Everybody Plays Schedule:
Inclusive playgroup, birth to 5 with caregiver
Session overview

1. Welcome/Opening circle (5 minutes): use prop (egg shaker, pop tubes, etc.) to focus attention; introduce facilitators; hello song
2. Free play time: gross motor play - tunnel/tent, balance path, stepping stones, crawling tunnel, balls; fine motor play - puzzles, manipulatives; creative play/social skill building - trains or vehicles and people, food/kitchen, dress-up; sensory play - rice, beans, water beads, shaving cream, water, play dough
3. Five minute transition time (alert children of five more minutes to play)
4. Closing circle: get attention with clap or chime; "If You're Happy and You Know It" or other familiar song; good-bye song.
Other considerations: adjustable or low lighting, quiet spot for calming, keep number of activity centers appropriate for available space

The goal of Tarrant County College's ASCIT Project, the other 2016 winner, is to raise awareness, and increase knowledge of the needs of students with autism who are transitioning from K-12 to postsecondary education. Towards that end, they are producing videos documenting presentations on topics related to students with autism will be provided. We are making links to these videos available here:

1. "Helping My Student Succeed Academically" is available at https://youtu.be/wYwGx7ZTFo4.
2. "Finding That First Job" is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1F3sCWjwAg.
3. "Preventing Depression in Your Child" is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH3Ij5ulwRw.
4. "How My Child Can Find Work" will be available soon.
5. "Independent Living Options" will be available soon.
6. "Understanding FERPA" will be available soon.
7. "Classroom Accommodations" will be available soon..
8. "Working With Autistic Students in Your Classroom" will be available soon.

PRESS RELEASE
March 17, 2016

The "Autism Welcome Here: Library Programs, Services and More" grant committee is proud to announce two first-year grant winners. Applications were submitted from 57 libraries in 22 states, proposing a wonderful range of programs and initiatives that would benefit individuals with ASD and their families. Proposals were received from very small libraries in rural areas and from large urban systems. The majority came from public libraries, but academic and special libraries were also represented. The proposed projects ranged from the innovative and adventurous to the tried and true, and all sought to make a meaningful impact on the lives of people with autism in the communities they serve.

The Autism Welcome Here Grant is sponsored by Libraries and Autism: We're Connected (www.librariesandautism.org), and honors the groundbreaking work of Libraries and Autism co-founder Meg Kolaya for her contributions in promoting inclusion, connecting libraries and the autism community, and bringing awareness of the needs of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families to the library community. Each year a total of $5000.00 will be awarded. This year's winners received their awards at the *Targeting Autism Forum, held on March 10, 2016 at the Illinois State Library, where they introduced their projects to other librarians and representatives of organizations serving people with ASD.

"We really didn't know what to expect this first year out", said Dan Weiss, Libraries and Autism co-founder and Autism Welcome Here committee member. "We were gratified and a bit overwhelmed by the response we got and the quality and variety of the proposals made it a very challenging decision."

However, after careful deliberation, two applications rose to the top of the pile. Both proposed an innovative and clearly described program that could be replicated in other libraries and communities. Collaboration with community stakeholders was also a key element of both programs. The two winners are: the Judith J. Carrier Library at the Tarrant County College Southeast Campus in Arlington, TX and the Simsbury (CT) Public Library.

The community college library in Texas will initiate the Autism Spectrum College Information Talks (ASCIT) Project, offering a series of presentations and other resources to help caregivers support students with ASD make a successful transition to postsecondary education. The Simsbury PL program will create a supportive and welcoming environment for young children with ASD and their peers, in the form of an inclusive bimonthly playgroup called Everybody Plays. Their proposal also includes a staff-training component, which will ensure that program facilitators and other library staff will be able to provide exceptional library services to the local ASD community.

Autism Welcome Here creator and committee member Barbara Klipper said, "The incredible response we received demonstrates both the extent of the need and the desire of many librarians to better serve people with ASD in their communities. We wish we could have funded more initiatives, but it is our hope that unsuccessful candidates, and even libraries that didn't apply, will be inspired by the grant to seek out other funding possibilities or to find creative ways to serve this population within existing budgets".

The "Autism Welcome Here: Library Programs, Services and More" committee extends their congratulations to the 2016 grant recipients and to all the libraries that submitted proposals.

Applications for the 2017 grant(s) will be accepted starting on September 1, 2016. More information about the grant can be found at www.librariesandautism.org/grant.

*The Targeting Autism Forum is supported by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)