Topic 6: Librarians with ASD and Who They Are

Suzanne Schriar, the director of the Targeting Autism project, provides us with information about three members of the 2018 Targeting Autism national forum Employment on the Spectrum panel. Past forum panels have provided firsthand information from individuals with ASD and their quest towards successful employment as well as the challenges of finding and maintaining employment in the library. You can view the previous forum presentations on the Targeting Autism YouTube channel here.

Meet Stephanie Diorio, she is an archivist at the Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey. Stephanie is an autistic self-advocate and like many women, she was not diagnosed until later in life, at the age of 20. She graduated from Gettysburg College with a BA in history and a minor in Civil War Era Studies, and went on to earn an MS in library science with focus on archival studies from Pratt Institute. In addition to her job at the Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey, she fills in as a temporary reference librarian at several different northern New Jersey public libraries.

After her diagnosis, Steph began blogging at Asperger's Illustrated and discovered the world of autism self-advocacy. She is an advocate in the autistic community and has become friends with many autistic individuals around the world. The friends that Steph has met share a common goal of creating a society that accepts people with ASD and making their lives better.

In February 2017, Steph started an organization called The Autistic Gaming Initiative, where she and other autistic gamers stream video games once a month on Twitch to raise money for The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network and the Autism Women's Network. Since their first livestream in May 2017, their streaming team and community have seen continuous growth.

Stephanie participates in a variety of hobbies and activities including reading, writing, drawing cartoons, cycling and spending time with her emotional support cat, Murphy. If you'd like to find out more about Stephanie, her advocacy efforts, and her interests, follow her on Twitter @1863_project

Meet Charlie Remy, Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian and Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library where he started in 2011. His prior experience includes a similar position at Western State Colorado University. Charlie earned his MSLIS from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and a B.A. in Spanish and Gender Studies from Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. His hometown is Gorham, Maine.

In the professional arena, Charlie studies autism and libraries, electronic resources, and collection development. Personally, Charlie pursues the Spanish language, staying current with world news, international travel and taking long hikes.

Mr. Remy will be one of the panelists, along with Ms. Diorio, and Mr. Burks-Abbott, for the 2018 Targeting Autism Forum.

Meet Gyasi Burks-Abbott, a librarian, writer, speaker, and self-advocate. Gyasi's work experience includes working as a reference librarian at Newbury College, and as a library assistant for the Harvard College Library. Additionally, Gyasi has been on the boards of the St. Paul, MN Twin Cities Autism Society, the Asperger's Association of New England (now the Asperger/Autism Network), and a member of the Steering Committee of the Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts. Gyasi earned his M.S. from Simmons College in 2001. He was especially impacted by the opportunity during his library education, to study the potential digital technologies that allowed people with different learning styles to explore the information universe, especially those that exist along the autism spectrum. During the Targeting Autism 2018 forum, Gyasi will have the opportunity to collaborate with fellow librarians and autism advocates.

The 2018 Targeting Autism panel also features Erin Miller, a Library Aide at the Cudahy Public Library in Cudahy, Wisconsin, and someone with ASD, and Mitch Silverman, an academic librarian living with Asperger's.

Ms. Miller endorses Targeting Autism's initiative, because, "our public library, where I work is already a community anchor serving individuals and families with hidden disabilities. Only, we might see them as - homeless individuals, the odd individual who appears to have few other friends, or the teen who doesn't live up to their potential and gets into mischief." Ms. Miller sees herself as a self-advocate aware of her diagnosis and has used that diagnosis to build knowledge and as a tool to help fulfill her responsibilities. Her goal is to provide others with similar opportunities and to work with the caring professionals who understand the intricacies of people with ASD.

Mitch Silverman is a lawyer and academic librarian with seven years of experience and someone living with Asperger's syndrome.