Library plans story time for children with special needs

BELOIT - The Beloit Public Library is creating a Sensory Story Time program designed for children with special needs.

Jeni Schomber, head of youth services, said the program is something she's been thinking about for a while after noticing different families with kids who may be on the autism spectrum or who have special needs not coming to story time.

She said story times are often loud and boisterous, with bright lights and many activities the group bounces between.

"We want to get the kids excited about learning," Schomber said.

However, she said kids on the autism spectrum may be bothered by the loud noises and lights, for example.

"We're going to make it much more relaxed, with much less jarring transitions between activities," Schomber said.

In her research, Schomber found that knowing what's coming up next may help the children with special needs, so she'll have pictures to make sure the children know what's next. The story time also will be quieter with more repetition in the activities.

The kids also will have items to play with in their hands to help keep their minds engaged, she said.

Though special needs children always have been involved at any library event, Schomber said this is the first library program she knows of that has been geared toward the special needs community.

Schomber hopes this new program serves as another venue for families to socialize with each other.

"This is one more place to gather and bounce ideas off each other," Schomber said.

This program is for children up to age 12. There are four Sensory Story Time programs planned. The first is at 1 p.m. on Sept. 8, with additional programs on Sept. 22, Oct. 13 and Oct. 27.

Schomber said additional programming for older children in the future will depend on how well received the original story times are. At this point no registration is required for the program.