Autism is a neurological disorder that affects social developmental growth. Autism causes behavioral challenges, communication handicaps, and other learning disabilities. An individual with autism can vary greatly in symptoms from another individual with autism. Those who struggle with autism can be handicapped to the point where they remain non-verbal, or they will only struggle in specific social situations and excel in other areas. For families of autistic individuals, the behavioral issues can become overwhelming. Autistic children, and some autistic adults, require extra supervision, and for the majority of their lives, they may require a full-time caregiver. If family members cannot care for them, then the cost of a caregiver may be a financial burden. Those who can care for their autistic loved ones need support for the emotional and mental burnout they develop. Safe spaces and helpful programs for the family and friends of autistic individuals and their autistic loved ones are priceless.

Libraries and other community resources can be a space for people with autism and their families and some can provide services and special programs for their autistic community. Autistic individuals are more likely to visit a public library than any other group and those with autism who do go to the library visit libraries twice as often. However, an autistic individual can feel shamed by those who do not understand their strange behavior or may become overstimulated by the library’s environment. Many autistic individuals and their family members say what would be the most helpful is for library staff to be understanding and know to look out for signs that someone may struggle with autism. Another simple step libraries can take is connecting autistic individuals and their caretakers to other community resources. When the opportunity comes, libraries can add additional services and resources to cater to their autistic population.

This article will cover the various library programs public libraries can implement for autistic library users and their caregivers. It will also cover the needs of these programs and the positive impact they can have on a community. There are various ways to provide services and programs for those with autism and many of them require little funds. Most of the good libraries can do is educate themselves, and this article is a great place to start.

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