Library Expands Programming For Children With Different Needs

By Nancy K. Crevier

C.H. Booth children’s librarian Alana Bennison is pleased that thanks to the efforts of library board member John Godin in procuring a GE Capital grant, a special Sensory Enrichment Program will be offered this fall for children ages 6 through 9, and their parents. The program is an extension of the popular Sensory Story Time, also funded by a grant from GE Capital, and entering its third year.

The Sensory Enrichment Program came about when Ms Bennison heard from Sensory Story Time participants that parents and children were extending the connection outside of the program.

“Families know that the library is a friendly place, and we have established that we have programs for special needs children,” said Ms Bennison. Recognizing that some of the Sensory Story Time participants had “graduated” beyond the 3- to 5-year-old age range, and having the opportunity to extend the GE grant, Ms Bennison decided to build on the success of the Sensory Story Time, which includes children with sensory or social differences as well as neurotypical children.

The Sensory Enrichment Program will be geared toward children on the autism spectrum. “It is programming with accommodations in mind,” said Ms Bennison. Nine sessions will be offered on a Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3:30 pm, once a month, beginning September 29, and is limited to an enrollment of 16 children and their parents. Ideally, said Ms Bennison, the class would involve eight children with differences and eight neurotypical children. There is no cost for the program.

“This is what I would call an enrichment opportunity, but parents have indicated a need for it to be a social as well as an enrichment program,” Ms Bennison said. Art, music, movement, animal science, woodworking, and gross motor skills programs are among those being planned for the various Saturdays. Each session will involve a half hour to 45-minute presentation, and time for socializing.

“I think once a month is a nice time to commit to and have a good time with your child. It really is a low-level commitment. [For kids with these sensory or social differences] who want to ask 100 questions during a presentation, that doesn’t work in a group of 60. But it works in a group of 16,” said Ms Bennison.

She is pleased to have the talents of local people to lead many of the programs, all of whom have experience in reaching out to children with differences.

Sandy Hook resident Carol Collins will serve as the “hostess,” providing a consistent presence at all nine sessions, Ms Bennison said, and will present the first program, September 29, focused on art.

The mother of a 6-year-old boy, Liam, Ms Collins’s son was involved in the Head O’ Meadow (HOM) School preschool program as a 4-year-old. Teachers there brought to her attention that her son had sensory and social differences.

“I researched and found that the science [on sensory differences] is evolving. As an artist, I found it interesting that many adults who had grown up with these ‘differences’ were creative people,” she said. A graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in fine arts, Ms Collins decided to help her son develop through working with the positive. Eventually, she brought together a group of children from the HOM preschool program for an art class.

“I wanted to bring them together to work with the exploration of art,” she said. “I figured out that kids liked to do their own thing with the materials and direction I provided. Because we had parents there, too, kids could have that individual attention,” said Ms Collins. She envisions a similar format for the September 29 program that she will lead.

“I’m into fiber arts right now, so we will probably do felting, using very colorful wool cloth,” she said of the first Sensory Enrichment Program. The children will work the material with warm water and soap to shrink the fibers and “felt” it, and then turn it into a 3D or flat work of art. In college, said Ms Collins, she was taught not to be an artist, but rather how to approach a problem and figure it out. “So this is an approach to art, rather than a procedure,” she said.

Dance, music, and movement teacher Brian Gillie of Guilford will present the October 27 program, and singer/performer Francine Wheeler of Sandy Hook will lead a music program on November 17. An animal science program is anticipated for the December 29 Sensory Enrichment Program. Similar programs will be schedule for the remaining five sessions in 2013, said Ms Bennison. “This program will help parents and children find out what kinds of things they are into. Not all kids will be into art. Some are more physical, and some will want the experience of getting up close and personal with animals,” she said.

“We have met the enrollment of ten for Sensory Story Hour, easily, every time, so I think we will get a full enrollment for our new program,” said Ms Bennison.

Sensory Story Time for younger children will continue this fall, said Ms Bennison, with registration beginning August 23.

For details about the program and for registration information about the Sensory Enrichment Program, contact Ms Bennison at chbooth@biblio.org, subject line: sensory enrichment.