Interaction as Universal Design

Every day we interact with countless individuals, unaware of their lived experience, abilities, and needs. It is important to approach every interaction with openness, respect, and patience. When discussing interactions and collaborations of neurodiverse people, we should consider people who use and work within the library spaces. Leading with Universal Design focuses on building a space and practices where all people are able to participate, developing a greater sense of belonging. This approach builds in adaptability and multimodal forms of engagement so that people use tools that best support their needs.

return to top

Inclusive Language

Using informed inclusive language can reduce stigma, cultivate diverse collaboration, and improve effective communications, creating a space where people feel more welcomed.

Person First Language vs. Identity First Language

• Person-First Language: centers language around the person, emphasizing personhood before a condition. The condition is just a part of their experience, but not the defining feature. For example: “a person who is neurodiverse.”
• Identity-First Language: focuses on the identity of the person, emphasizing how the identity shapes the individual’s lived experience, and identifies individuals as a part of a cultural and social identity. For example: “a neurodiverse person.”

When it is appropriate to use a person or an identity-first language depends mostly on the context. 

Unsure whether to use a person- or identity-first language? Fortunately, it is more important to consider the intention and attitudes behind how you speak about neurodiverse communities. Avoid using language that focuses on limitations or defining the disability as something needing to be fixed. Use neutral language. Inversely, avoid language that refers to neurodiverse people as inspirational for just living their life. Neurodiversity is acknowledgement of the natural differences in how the human brain operates, and as such the terms referring to that difference should be neutral (United Nations Office at Geneva, 2021). Making an effort to deconstruct ableist language is most impactful. From there you can ask for an individual’s language preference. 

Continual education and learning from impacted communities are essential. Individuals within these communities are best situated to explain their own experiences, making collaboration with neurodiverse people essential to creating effective programs.

return to top

Neurodiverse Perspectives on the Library

While libraries are intended to support the needs of their communities, we must acknowledge that there are existing barriers to break down in order to build a welcoming space. In order to create effective support, we must listen and acknowledge the challenges faced by neurodiverse people, sometimes even before they walk into the library.

• Many autistic students have already had negative experiences in libraries before, either with staff who were strict, who shushed them or even expelled them, or who misinterpreted stimming (Braumberger, 2021). Stimming refers to a self-stimulating repetitive behavior, often a movement or vocalization, that can help regulate emotion.
• Often negative interactions revolve around employees’ lack of empathy or compassion around needs that are not outwardly apparent (Pionke, 2017).
• Common features of libraries can engender anxiety in some neurodivergent users. Students have expressed feeling claustrophobic due to tall bookshelves and confusing signs, not wanting to ask for help because it constitutes a “failure,” feeling intimidated and unwelcome around large numbers of neurotypical students, or pressure not to irritate other students by taking too long to figure out library systems (Fitzgerald et al, 2020).
• Patrons with PTSD may feel intimidated by the presence of uniformed security officers, or maze-like stacks of books (Pionke, 2017).
• Patrons with communication disorders may feel they are burdening library employees by asking for help. They may have greater difficulty communicating when tired or stressed (Pionke, 2017).

return to top

Disclosure Is Not Required to Support Neurodiverse Patrons

There are multiple valid reasons neurodiverse patrons may not disclose or request accommodations. 

• For some, concealing disability is a priority to avoid stigma
  • “In the functionally diverse community, invisibility is a key survival skill and that includes not speaking up” (Pionke, 2017).
• Some may not have a confirmed diagnosis
• Some may not be aware they could be considered neurodivergent, particularly older patrons who grew up before improvements in awareness and diagnosis

Through intentionally building universal design into the libraries practices and policies, it removes the pressure of disclosing.

return to top

How Might Neurodiversity Appear from the Outside?

Awareness of these characteristics can help you avoid misinterpreting neurodivergent behaviors and better accommodate patrons’ and staff’s needs.

Below is not an exhaustive list of neurodiversity. Furthermore, many of the manifestations of neurodiversity listed below exist through comorbidity, or multiple conditions, that influence how characteristics manifest.

• Autism Spectrum Disorders and ADHD (Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder)
  • Attention
    • Appearing disengaged
    • Difficulty making eye contact
  • Physicality
    • Appearing fidgety or restless
    • Seeming overwhelmed by lights and/or sounds
  • Speech/communication
    • Reluctance/hesitancy to speak, or not speaking at all
    • Unusual or flat tone when speaking 
    • Giving off-topic answers to questions
    • Difficulty interpreting humor or figures of speech
• Tourette Syndrome (Tourette is a one of several tic disorders)
  • Motor Tics
    • Irregular eye movements like blinking, and rolling
    • Head or shoulder jerking
    • Jumping or twisting
  • Vocal Tics
    • Throat clearing, grunting
    • Word or phrase repetition (echolalia)
    • obscene, vulgar or swear words (coprolalia)
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
  • Hand-washing until your skin becomes raw. Fear of contamination, not wanting to touch objects others have touched. 
  • Checking doors over and over again to make sure they’re locked.
  • Counting in certain patterns.
  • Silently repeating a prayer, word or phrase.
  • Arranging and re-arranging objects to create order and balance 
• Chronic PTSD can share characteristics with ADHD or autism. This may look like:
  • Sensitivity to excessive sensory experience (sounds, light, textures)
  • Hyperfocus on tasks or distractions
  • Note that fight, flight, or freeze are common responses to trauma triggers

return to top

Helping Neurodiverse Patrons Prepare for the Library

When creating resources to meet users’ needs, information about expectations, and processes should be organized and easy to understand. To support the different needs of users the information should be available in different formats. Helping patrons mentally prepare for their visit and interactions with employees. Make service offerings and accommodations easy to find digitally and in person.

• Be explicit about what resources are available, such as:
  • Technology, assistive devices, or sensory items that can be checked out
  • Sensory-friendly spaces or rooms
  • Transportation options
  • How to contact the library disability liaison (if you have one)
• Describe library conventions, expectations, and “rules”
  • How books are shelved, how to find an item in the library
  • Which library areas are for quiet study, and which allow conversation (include maps) (Anderson, 2018)
  • How long different items can be checked out
  • How to get a library card
• Create detailed videos with sample scripts for different library interactions, such as
  • How to ask to check out a book or item
  • How to ask for research help
  • How to reserve a study room

return to top

Multimodal Communication

Creating different opportunities for patrons to engage supports neurodiverse users by focusing on flexibility and choice. Allowing people to interact with the library based on their needs and comfortability. Offering support to all community members equitably. Clearly communicate the variety of options for engagement, for greater engagement.

• Communication options through text, email, or chat can lower social anxiety barriers (Bloss et al, 2020), and may be the only format individuals with communication disorders can use (Lund, 2021).
• However, depending on which areas of communication patrons struggle with, they may have different preferences. Offering multiple options is important.
  • Some have difficulty getting help over chat (can’t type fast enough); others with phone help (not knowing who/where to call) (Pionke, 2017).
• Send outreach over multiple channels for communication – e.g. emails and posters – as different people prefer different modes of outreach
• Offer print and online versions of handouts

return to top

In-person Communication

• Signage and text
  • Create signs that set expectations for different areas of the library – eg, where food is allowed and not allowed, which areas are quiet and which permit conversation, how to navigate space (Bloss et al, 2020)
  • Employ universal design principles for signage to make signs clearer and more accessible
  • Use graphics and visual information in signage – aids patrons with dyslexia (Elam & Mililli, 2023)
  • Prefer sans serif, monospaced, and roman font styles for better readability (Potter, 2023)
  • Change screen readers to default to using dyslexic-friendly fonts (Potter, 2023)
• Interaction at service points
  • Approach patron interactions with mindfulness. This means observing and listening to a patron without judgment to help you cultivate empathy and compassion (Pionke, 2017).
  • Be open to the possibility of invisible disability when a patron requests an accommodation that might not sound like an accommodation
    • For example: a patron who asks to leave a backpack at the desk while they go to get coffee may have a physical or mental condition that makes handling both simultaneously much more stressful (Pionke, 2017)
  • Neurodivergent students may have greater rejection sensitivity and benefit from patience and encouragement during interactions (Cho, 2018).
  • Don’t assume how much a patron knows about a topic or what they need. Find out where they are and meet them at their knowledge/comfort level. Don’t talk over their head, or down to them (Lund, 2021).
  • Offer alternative forms of communication like word boards (Pionke, 2017)
  • Do not assume the best way to communicate with a patron – ask what they prefer (e.g., would a deaf patron prefer to read lips, or have notes passed to them?) (Lund, 2021)
  • Tips for verbal accommodation of communication disorders (Lund, 2021)
    • Maintain eye contact as a means of reiterating/reinforcing what you say
    • Enunciate and speak slower (but don’t overdo it)
    • Reinforce spoken meanings with gestures or pointing
    • Avoid library jargon and words with multiple meanings
    • It’s okay to repeat yourself or be redundant
  • It’s okay not to be perfect, especially for patrons with severely affected communication. Just be respectful and do your best (Lund, 2021)

return to top

Collaboration

The best way to make your library work for neurodiverse patrons and employees is to partner with them to collaboratively identify and develop support strategies. Demonstrate your commitment by educating yourself and meeting these groups in the spaces they feel comfortable with.

“A good librarian trying to reach out to an underserved and little understood population, needs to become part of that population and understand the needs and desires of that population from within.”

Pionke, 2017

• Neurodiverse users are more likely to reach out to library employees they know personally. Here are some ways you might seek connections:
  • Institute personal librarian programs
  • Engage with students in a variety of places on campus
  • Attend social events that are likely to include/draw neurodiverse students
  • Keep business cards with you so you can easily supply contact information when you make these connections
• Partner with other groups on campus that work with neurodiverse students, such as the Access or Disability Services Center, Counseling and Psychological Services, or first-year programs aimed at neurodiverse students. See if they can help you get in front of students to talk about the library, or invite students to contribute to listening sessions where you learn from them.
• Ask students to help identify barriers to their use of the library space, and continue to get their input as you develop solutions. Some ways to get their opinions could include surveys, focus groups or ethnographic studies of how they navigate the library.
• Keep neurodiverse students in the loop if you make changes intended to help them. They can inform you on the impact of the change.
  • For instance: one library moved its fidget toys from a check-out area in the front desk to unrestricted access in a more secluded area when students expressed discomfort at being seen checking them out (Boyer & El-Chidiac, 2023).
• Educate yourself about neurodiversity
  • Seek out training programs, such as Project ENABLE
  • Recommended books by Cho (2018): Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Complete Guide to Understanding Autism by Chantal Sicile-Kira and Understanding Autism for Dummies by Stephen M. Shore and Linda G Rastelli
• If you can, hire more neurodiverse employees and give them opportunities to be visible in the library. See the Management and Workplace toolkit section on supporting neurodiverse employees.
• Hire or assign a disability liaison, make this person easy to find/contact, and refer people to them.
• Neurotypical students may react more favorably to neurodiverse students if they are more aware of the expressions and challenges of neurodiversity. Promote education about neurodiversity with educational panels and other events.

return to top

Bibliography

Anderson, A. (2018). Autism and the academic library: A study of online communication. College & Research Libraries, 79(5), 645-658. DOI: 10.5860/crl.79.5.645

Bloss, J. E., Haberstroh, A., Harmon, G. J. C., & Schellinger, J. (2020). Library services. In E. M. H. Coghill & J. G. Coghill, Supporting Neurodiverse College Student Success: A Guide for Librarians, Student Support Services, and Academic Learning Environments (pp. 182–203). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated.

Boyer, A., & El-Chidiac, A. (2023). Come chill out at the library: Creating soothing spaces for neurodiverse students. Journal of New Librarianship, 8(1), 41–47. DOI: 10.33011/newlibs/13/5 [archived PDF from 2025]

Braumberger, E. (2021). Library services for autistic students in academic libraries: A literature review. Pathfinder: A Canadian Journal for Information Science Students and Early Career Professionals, 2(2), 86-99. DOI: 10.29173/pathfinder39 

CAST, Inc. (n.d.). The UDL Guidelines. The CAST UDL Guidelines.

Cho, J. (2018). Building bridges: Librarians and autism spectrum disorder. Reference Services Review, 46(3), 325–339. DOI: 10.1108/RSR-04-2018-0045 

Elam, C., & Mililli, D. (2023). A space “full of something I can’t do.” Alki, 39(2). 

Fitzgerald, G., Dunne, S., Biddulph, N., O’Donovan, M.-A., O’Rourke, M., Ryan, S., McGilton, S., O’Rourke, D., & O’Callaghan, H. (2020). Improving the university library experience of students with intellectual disabilities: A case study from an Irish institution. Disability & Society, 35(10), 1698–1704. DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2020.1781597 

Lund, B. D. (2021). Academic library services and communication with patrons with communication disorders. In J. C. Skinner & M. Gross (Eds.), Underserved patrons in university libraries: Assisting students facing trauma, abuse, and discrimination (pp. 137-149). Libraries Unlimited. 

Pionke, J. J. (2017). Toward holistic accessibility: Narratives from functionally diverse patrons. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 57(1), 48–56. DOI: 10.5860/rusq.57.1.6442

Potter, A. (2023). Neurodiversity and accessibility. Alki, 39(1).

United Nations Office at Geneva. (2021). Disability inclusive language guidelines.

return to top