Dan Weiss has presented hundreds of workshops around the country and at national and state conferences, and has always been met with a very positive reception. The sessions help to raise autism awareness and empower staff to enthusiastically embrace their role as ambassadors for their library.

The in-depth workshops, which build on this award winning film and project, focus on what you need to know about autism, and will deliver specific techniques to offer more inclusive service to this growing and underserved population. It stresses communication, customer service, using individuals on the ASD spectrum and with other developmental disabilities as staff and volunteers in the library, explores specific programming strategies that work, the importance of connecting with local experts and of empowering staff to be willing to 'do something'. We explore real world implementation of best practices and universal service for people with ASD and their families. An additional benefit was the realization that the basic customer services skills and techniques provided can serve as universal models for best-practices library service to all members of the public.

A 2.5 to 3 hour half-day workshop is an ideal length and works very well to cover the material effectively without wearing people out and we have done sessions for small groups of 10 to 20 participants to much larger groups

We are always most anxious to spread the word about our program since libraries can be so central to giving families dealing with ASD and other developmental disabilities a way to be a true part of their community.

The Workshop covers:
• Background on the project.
• An overview of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).
• Issues with providing effective customer service to those on the
          spectrum and their families, as well as to the general public.
• Discussion of how we made the film and a viewing of it.
• Ideas & discussion on how to make maximum use of the resources we provide on our website.
• Outgrowths of the project, implementing the strategies and tips we've presented,
          changes in staff attitudes and related projects.
• Implementation of effective library-based programming for the autism community.
• Our style is largely informal and the sessions always provide for plenty of interaction and Q&A