Including Autistic Teens in Libraries
Congratulations to TU Dublin Library Assistant Aisling Smith for her article, 'Including Autistic Teens' in Libraries' published in the latest edition of 'An Leabharlann'. Aisling's article discusses how best to understand the needs of autistic teenagers with low support needs and explores how best to cultivate and promote inclusivity in Irish libraries to better serve this vulnerable sector of the population. There is a high rate of loneliness in autistic young people and research indicates it is a contributing factor for the high prevalence of mental illness among autistic adolescents. Ensuring inclusivity and acceptance in public libraries can play a part in counteracting loneliness and social isolation in autistic youth. Central to making libraries more accommodating is understanding the difficulties they encounter and how to minimize factors that might exacerbate these issues if autistic adolescents are to feel welcome and accepted. It is important for librarians to remain empathetic to their autistic patrons and to always bear in mind that any patron might have an invisible disability such as autism.
You can read the full article at this link: https://www.libraryassociation.ie/including-autistic-teens-in-libraries/