This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Parents of autistic children in Utah have a new refuge in a one-of-a-kind story time at the Kearns Library. Children's story hours are a regular feature for most libraries, but Special Needs Sensory Story Time at Kearns Library is the first in Utah created specifically for autistic children.

The Kearns Library began the program a little more than three months ago as it quietly built a following in the community. The Special Needs Sensory Story Time was created to give autistic children and their parents a place to go without worry.

"Parents have trouble bringing their kids some places because they act out," said Carrie Rogers-Whitehead, a librarian at the Kearns Library and the creator of Special Needs Sensory Story Time.

"They're afraid to bring their kids to library programs," she added. "Their kids might scream or run around. Then the moms will have to leave, and they're embarrassed."

The program was designed after a similar one Rogers found in North Carolina. Special Needs Sensory Story Time engages as many senses as Rogers can incorporate. With every story, she uses music, pictures and items like beanbags and ribbons for the kids to touch.

Engaging multiple senses is important, she said, because some autistic kids don't learn just by hearing. Rogers even incorporated two visuals to each story, the illustrations with her books and a board where she can act out parts of the story.

"I think it's an emphasis on the visual and the tactile," Rogers said. "In a regular story time, I would just read the story and that would be it."

After Christa Neves began bringing her son to Rogers' usual story hour, Rogers began talking to Neves about creating a new story time just for autistic children and their parents.

"I realized he needed his own place," Rogers said of Neves' son.

Neves is the mother of three boys: 5-year-old Liam and 3-year-old twins Danny and Tommy. Liam has Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism characterized by impaired social and communication skills. Now, Neves is having the twins tested because they seem to have some of the same issues as their brother.

"He's smart," Neves said of Liam. "He's very, very smart. And keeping him in the house is hard. I have to have a double deadbolt on the doors so he won't disappear."

Story times like the one at Kearns Library offer a social outlet where parents can swap stories or meet special education teachers. It's also a place where their kids can be themselves, said Rogers.

Anna Dees said she attended the story time to give her son a chance to make friends. "It's about socializing," she said.

At a recent story time, some kids quietly sat in their mom or dad's lap, while others ran circles around the room with boundless energy as parents watched from a distance. Rogers asked questions, handed out props and kept her interaction constant.

For Rogers, the program has become an important part of what she does at the Kearns Library. Her story time is the only one of its kind in the state, but she said she hopes that changes soon.

"Autism is a growing issue that's not going to get any smaller," she said. —

Special Needs Sensory Story Time

The next program is June 18. To register, visit http://www.slcolibrary.com and click on "All Library Events" near the bottom of the page. From there, you can search for events by library. Kearns Library is 5350 S. 4220 West.