Working with Special Needs Reading Groups

An innovative reading group programme for people in the community who have special needs has been implemented by Dundee Central Library. Taking part in the weekly groups are adults with a wide variety of physical and learning disabilities. The aim is to introduce them to using the library’s resources. The sessions also offer the opportunity for them to develop learning, social and emotional skills in a relaxed environment. Working with the groups has become ‘an integral and rewarding’ part of my job. A successful bid to the Scottish Government’s Public Library Quality Improvement Fund saw Dundee libraries embark on partnerships with local agencies who work with vulnerable, unemployed, special needs or socially excluded people. Libraries have a potentially wide role to play in supporting people to feel part of the community through flexible, informal sessions tailored to the needs of each group.
Library staff who had the skills and enthusiasm needed to conduct these sessions were identified, and as a result I have been part of the initiative since last April. I now conduct sessions with several groups of residents from local care homes. I also visit the homes once a month to bring stories to those who are unable to travel to the library, due to physical or emotional problems.The size of the groups can vary from four to twelve members, and the group members have learning and physical disabilities ranging from moderate to profound.
In each session we aim to connect with the group members – rather than just read a story to them, we encourage them to become involved in the stories themselves and become part of the storytelling process. This can be achieved by something as simple as letting them choose a story that they would like to hear, or deciding on options within a story to dictate how it unfolds.
Staff have also made their own books for the groups, which include the names of group members and situations that they can identify with.
The story sessions encourage skills ranging from visual tracking, making choices, selecting items and storylines, to discussing the story and answering questions about it. Each story is accompanied by relevant artefacts, such as puppets, shells, fruit, flowers, soaps and seaweed. These aromatic and tactile props are particularly important to members of the groups who have visual impairments and have to rely on their other senses.
Particular interests are also catered for: these could include topics of local significance, such as the football teams, places of interest, or historic events. The books which prove most popular are well-illustrated picture books, rhyming and poetry books and amusing stories.
These well-planned sessions, in a safe, secure environment where the groups feel welcomed and relaxed, provide a thoroughly enjoyable experience for participants who may otherwise find it difficult to access library services. Some members of the groups have already gained the confidence to borrow CDs and books from the library, and the homes and centres themselves are now borrowing library material on a regular basis.
Staff, carers and relatives and the members of the groups themselves have noticed a marked improvement in concentration spans of individuals. Many can now maintain attention for the duration of the story and experience a greater anticipation of storylines. Other developments include significant advances in eye and finger pointing, responding positively to stimuli, choosing between a numbers of objects and manipulating objects.
Group work has now become an integral and rewarding part of my job. I find that, along with the groups, I have advanced emotionally, learnt new skills and improved my communication since starting to work with them. It is now also of the most challenging aspects of my job. I am constantly gaining new knowledge and I keep a journal of the sessions as part of my learning experience so I can assess what worked well and use it again in the future.
Training is now being planned, to ensure that staff have the opportunity to continue their personal development and share ideas and experiences with colleagues, agencies and other organisations.
And I am looking forward to developing this aspect of my work further through additional training such as Bibliotherapy and the Reading Cure training courses.