Digital Commons @ West Chester University

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  Supporting Students on the Autism Spectrum: A Practical Guide for Academic Libraries

  Rachel M. McMullin and Kerry R. Walton

  As a large number of students on the autism spectrum come of age and enter college, increased awareness of autism spectrum disorder is necessary among those who work in academic libraries so that they can respond to and meet the unique needs of these students. This book fills a scholarship gap while serving as a practical resource for working with the neurodivergent student population in academic libraries. McMullin and Walton explain issues that are likely to arise when interacting with students on the autism spectrum and offer practical solutions for handling them. They discuss how to work with neurodiverse students in different contexts, including at service points, in the classroom, as employees, and through outreach programs. They highlight possible concerns about the physical environment of the library and demonstrate ways that the library can be an especially positive place for students with ASD. Personal anecdotes from students with autism as well as library faculty and staff round out this valuable work.

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  Parents and Families of Students With Special Needs: Collaborating Across the Age Span

  Vicki A. McGinley and Melina Alexander

  Parents and Families of Students With Special Needs: Collaborating Across the Age Span teaches students the skills they need to effectively collaborate with parents and families to ensure a child's success in the classroom. The text takes a lifespan approach with a special emphasis on the critical transition points in a child’s life. Information is provided on what can be seen at each stage of an individual with disabilities’ development, and addresses the concerns and needs that families may have during these unique phases of growth. The authors provide an in-depth discussion of how parents and families are affected by particular disabilities, family system theory, the laws that affect individuals with disabilities, and assessments for individuals with disabilities. Chapters written by academics and professionals who are also parents of students with special needs bring a diverse range of voices into the narrative.

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  The Voice of the Heart: A science fiction and autism story

  Oné R. Pagán

  From the Introduction: Like any parent, I want to see my children happy, with lives of their own. Sadly, when you have a child with a disability, this dream of independence is oftentimes not an option. A virtually universal worry of any parent of such a child is what is going to happen when we are no longer able to take care of them. What would be of my child? Will others treat him well? Will he be safe and respected? Will he be loved? Quite frankly, these questions terrify me and oftentimes keep me awake at night. The main character in this story lives in a moment in time when he has the means and the technology to make sure that his child is taken care of throughout his whole life. A dad can dream, right? I, for one, would do what my protagonist did in a split second. Would you? How far would you go to take care of your precious child?

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  From Community to College: Reading and Writing Across Diverse Contexts

  Jeffrey Sommers and Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson

  Jeffrey Sommers is Associate Professor of English at West Chester University with a Ph.D. from New York University. His research interests & activities include composition and rhetoric, writing assessment, professional journal editing, and pedagogy. Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson is Professor Emerita from Miami University. Difference theory cuts across the three areas of her research interests: Composition and Rhetoric (basic writing, open admissions and disabled students, histories of writing programs); Disability Studies (disability memoir and rhetoric, disability pedagogy); and Women’s Studies (feminist pedagogies and epistemologies).