ABSTRACT

Children on the autism spectrum are at risk of persistent impairments in literacy. Early literacy opportunities (e.g., Library Story Times) are thus important, but children on the spectrum experience barriers to participating in these. Our objective was to develop an online training package to support implementation of autism-friendly Story Time sessions for librarians. A mixed-methods approach was undertaken across three phases. Phase 1 included face-to-face training development and implementation (n = 22) and quantitative evaluation (autism knowledge, confidence, and social validation). Phase 2 included implementation in libraries and qualitative evaluation of the utility and implementation of training through librarian interviews (n = 5). Phase 3 included translation and implementation of an online module (n = 22) and quantitative evaluation (autism knowledge, confidence, and social validity). Participation in both training modalities increased knowledge of autism and confidence to include children on the spectrum in Story Time sessions. Social validity of both modalities was rated highly. Librarians indicated changes in practice following training, although full implementation of the package was limited to librarians receiving additional coaching. Limitations, future research, and implications in terms of future training and supports including the value of ongoing coaching for implementation are discussed.

摘要

自闭症谱系中的儿童有持续读写障碍的风险。因此，早期的识字机会（例如，图书馆故事时间）很重要，但是频谱上的孩子在参加这些活动时遇到了障碍。我们的目标是开发一个在线培训包，以支持为图书馆员实施自闭症友好的故事时间课程。跨三个阶段采用了混合方法。第一阶段包括面对面的培训开发和实施（n = 22）和定量评估（自闭症知识，自信心和社会认可）。第2阶段包括在图书馆中进行实施，对效用进行定性评估以及通过馆员访谈进行培训（n= 5）。第三阶段包括在线模块的翻译和实施（n = 22）和定量评估（自闭症知识，自信心和社会有效性）。参加这两种培训方式都增加了对自闭症的认识和信心，使孩子们可以参加故事时间课程。两种方式的社会有效性均得到高度评价。图书馆员表示培训后的做法有所变化，尽管全面实施该计划仅限于接受额外指导的图书馆员。讨论了局限性，未来研究以及对未来培训和支持的影响，包括正在进行的实施指导的价值。