• By M. Adam and C. Mayhand
• Posted Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Sensory Storytime: Developmentally Appropriate, Inclusive

Sensory Storytime welcomes all ages and all children while focusing especially on those with special needs. Therapeutic activities springing from picture books should engage children with sensory integration challenges or autism spectrum disorders.

Why Sensory Storytimes? This program gives freedom within a structured space to children with special needs. It aims to include families who may feel excluded by regular storytime expectations of children such as sitting still, listening quietly, or understanding stories with short glimpses of illustrations when a book is held up.

How Is Sensory Storytime Different from Regular Storytime? Regular children's storytimes may or may not include the following features: deliberate sensory input, more interaction and freedom of movement, use of visual schedules, and built-in play time--one story followed by activities and play time. During Sensory Storytime, librarians are sensitive to delayed motor skills and to the possibility of noise or crowd issues. Additionally, caregivers are welcomed without feeling they have to apologize for their children's behavior beyond basic concerns for safety. For more about libraries and autism, click here. Click here for The Autism Consortium.

Come see and hear Sam McBratney's Guess How Much I Love You at 11 am on Saturday, May 2, at Walkertown Branch. Librarians will stimulate sight, sound, and touch by using fabric bunnies along with the book, learning a bunny rhyme, and singing"Skinamarink." An apple-stamping craft will offer children the chance to make I LOVE YOU cards. Families may linger awhile after storytime while children and library staff color or play with scarves or bubbles.

We hope to see you at Sensory Storytime at the Walkertown Branch Library at 11 am, Saturday, May 2. Come see how much we love sharing stories and having lighthearted fun with all kinds of children.