Story time for Xavier: New monthly program aimed at kids with disabilities opens at library
By Jim Carney - Beacon Journal staff writer
Published: January 18, 2014 - 08:47 PM | Updated: January 19, 2014 - 12:24 AM
Xavier Stephens, 8, of Copley, feels the textures of bubbles blown by Tricia Twarogowski, branch manager of the Northwest Branch Library, in a new sensory story time program at the branch on Saturday in Akron. The program, designed to engage children with autism disorders and differing abilities, offers educational, literacy and social opportunities to the children, their siblings and parents/caregivers. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)
Xavier Stephens sat on the floor at the Northwest Branch Library in Akron and watched as bubbles gently fell toward him.
The 8-year-old boy, who has a mild form of autism, grabbed at the bubbles blown by branch manager Tricia Twarogowski at the end of the library’s first Sensory Story Time on Saturday.
“Something about bubbles is very engaging for children,” Twarogowski explained.
Xavier’s mom, April Stephens of Copley Township, was thrilled with the class and said she’ll bring him back to future programs aimed at kids with different abilities.
The library, at 1720 Shatto Ave., will host story hours on the third Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The program is being funded with a $1,345 grant from the Akron Community Foundation’s Millennium Fund for Children and in partnership with the Autism Society of Greater Akron and the Akron-Summit County Public Library.
Xavier was the only child to take part in the first hour Saturday. Eight children took part in the second hour. For each story time, librarians and volunteers read books, sang songs and played games together.
“Children with autism learn with music,” said Stephens, a business development manager at Dominion East Ohio. She said her son, a third grader at Herberich Primary School, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. “To have a story told with music makes the story come alive.”
Lisa Thompson, a Copley Township mom and program coordinator for the Autism Society of Greater Akron, said one of her twin boys is autistic, and sensory storytelling time will help many of the children who are nonverbal.
Some children have “meltdowns,” she said, and as a result their families may avoid libraries “because the library is a quiet place and everyone must be quiet and sit still.”
But Sensory Story Time doesn’t have those kinds of restrictions, said Twarogowski, who has started similar programs in North Carolina and Cuyahoga County.
She hopes the program will attract families “who have not thought about the library as an option because maybe they had a negative experience,” either with other parents or librarians who didn’t understand autism.
Stephens said her son is involved in speech, occupational, social skills, art and physical therapy programs along with other activities including horseback riding. But standard health insurance does not routinely cover those kinds of therapy programs for autistic children, she said.
As for her son’s future with autism, she said, “Only God knows.”
Or as Lisa Thompson said of what the future holds for those with autism, “It’s a wonderful story that is yet to be written.”
To register for Sensory Story Time, call Twarogowski at 330-643-4702 or email her at ttwarogowski@akronlibrary.org.
For more information on the Autism Society of Greater Akron, go to www.autismohio.org or email Greaterakron@autismohio.org.
For more on the Millennium Fund go to www.akroncf.org/Initiatives/MillenniumFundforChildren.aspx.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.