In May, the Arlington Public Library launched neurodiverse programming for adults focused on making its events more accessible and inclusive. Now, that programming will see a boost after the library received more than $25,000 in state and federal grant funding.<\/p>\n
Mark Dellenbaugh, a librarian who led the programming\u2019s launch, said the events have gotten a positive response from the community and that he is glad to see they\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one yet has said, \u2018Why are you wasting your money on this?\u2019 It\u2019s more like, \u2018Can we get more of this,\u2019\u201d Dellenbaugh said. \u201cWe feel like, with the pilot, we are really on the cusp of something pretty significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Library staff first started hosting the events in May, building upon the launch of sensory-friendly programming for children in 2025.<\/p>\n
Dellenbaugh was assigned to oversee the program\u2019s creation late last year and immediately began researching neurodiversity<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The program works in two different ways, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some events are focused on the experience of neurodivergent adults<\/a>, which helps them contextualize those experiences, while neurotypical adults learn what those experiences are like.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s for neurodiverse adults, in that some of it is explicitly focused on and targeted to the lived experiences of neurodiverse adults,\u201d Dellenbaugh said, \u201cand other people may look over their shoulders, and maybe they\u2019ll get it, maybe they won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Those events are the foundation of the speaker series Dellenbaugh has created. The library has held three so far, each focused on a different topic associated with neurodiversity:<\/p>\n Later-in-life neurodivergent diagnosis Bringing these conversations to the library has meant a lot to Dellenbaugh. When he was in his 30s, he was diagnosed with ADHD. He said watching the events create connections within the community was fulfilling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s enormously satisfying for me, personally, as an adult professional with ADHD because it\u2019s both an opportunity to bring things to the library that I wish someone had brought for me when I still didn\u2019t know what I know now, and also a lab in which I get to test how much progress I have made,\u201d Dellenbaugh said.<\/p>\n Dellenbaugh added that his neurodivergence has helped throughout the process of creating the events.<\/p>\n \u201cMy experience as a neurodiverse adult allows me to approach this from the inside out, but I\u2019ve got lots of neurotypical librarians around me who helped me bring it into the boundaries and approaches that are going to be the most useful in this kind of environment,\u201d Dellenbaugh said.<\/p>\n Sharon Granado, who oversees adult programming across the city\u2019s public libraries, said the second approach involves making the library\u2019s previously existing programming more accessible and inclusive.<\/p>\n This has included taking a look at the sensory environment in which events are taking place, Granado said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are promoting (the program to patrons) to come and participate as much as you like, or as little as you want to,\u201d Granado said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had people say, \u2018I just want to be around people; I don\u2019t want to participate. I just want to sit here,\u2019 and they can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n During loud events, like the library\u2019s game nights, they\u2019ve created areas for quieter games with less sensory overload.\u00a0<\/p>\n One aspect of making the spaces more neurodiverse-friendly has been adjusting the lighting and seating in the library.<\/p>\n Dellenbaugh said he has found that large lighting fixtures pointing down from the ceiling get an \u201calmost universal dislike\u201d from neurodiverse adults and that the seating in some of the rooms isn\u2019t ideally staged for the conversations in the program.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve experimented, very low budget, with what it would be like if we had better lighting in the room. Then I look and go, what would be even cooler is better lighting and a rug, then people are more like in a living room and less like a library,\u201d Dellenbaugh said.<\/p>\n That experiment is in the process of taking a step up.<\/p>\n In late August, the library was awarded a $25,386 grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.<\/p>\n The grant will be used to support the current programming efforts and help create more resources, like sensory kits for adults with higher support needs. Granado said the funding is being broken up into smaller pieces to help in many different ways.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that we did was silent disco,\u201d Granado said. \u201cThat had the average patron that attends programs go, but it also attracted people who really needed just to have their own headsets, listening to their own music. With the grant, we\u2019re going to be able to buy our own headsets, so we\u2019ll be having more silent disco.\u201d<\/p>\n Another piece of the grant will go to pay an intern to assist Dellenbaugh with the program management. Alongside his work with the neurodiverse programming, he also runs the downtown library\u2019s Retro Technology Lab<\/a> and genealogy collection.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main thing (the grant) really does is bring a dedicated person who can focus on extending this beyond low supports and high-functioning needs in professional jobs, university students, and bringing it to a broader audience that I personally don\u2019t have the experience to do right with,\u201d Dellenbaugh said.<\/p>\n Dellenbaugh acknowledged that the Arlington Public Library isn\u2019t the first to have these initiatives, but he said he\u2019s happy to have put the programming together.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really pleased that we\u2019ve had the opportunity to try to develop something that\u2019s not just something here, something there, but something more comprehensive that we\u2019re able to do in a more thought-out way,\u201d Dellenbaugh said. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful that we\u2019ll now have the funds to supercharge what we did experimentally. We figured out what works, and now we can really go to town with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nMasking and unwritten social rules
\nTask initiation<\/p>\n