Grassroots Local Library Created for Autistic and Neurodivergent Community

One Wenatchee woman, Christina-Marie Wright, has planted a seed for a library to support and represent autistic and other neurodivergent people within its book stacks in North Central Washington. North Central Washington Library for Education on NeuroDiversity (NCW LEND) will be self run by Wright and feature books written by autistic or neurodivergent authors, anthologies that describe the autistic and neurodivergent experience and children's books with neurodivergent characters that are present in the plot line for more than pity or inspiration.

 

"Being autistic or otherwise neurodivergent in a world designed largely for neurotypical use is a challenge every day. A lot of people don't understand or are afraid of us," said Wright. "Allistic and neurotypical people benefit (from the library), because they no longer need to be afraid or uncomfortable with things they didn't understand before. And neurodivergent people will benefit (from the library) because they are more readily included and accepted in the community."

 

The library is in its infancy stage so Wright is working on locking down a regular location that will open doors once or twice a month.  That location will have some standards to fit, including low level noise, fragrance free and preferably non fluorescent lighting. To start off the project, the library will run on a system similar to book delivery where one can schedule appointments to pick up their next great read via email or text.

 

"I want the library to be accessible to all, and that means more than wheelchair ramps - it also means the sensory environment is accessible for autistic people," said Wright. "Presently, our most critical need is books."

 

Wright stressed the need to ensure the library is supplying books vetted by autistic and neurodivergent readers to create a library that isn't ableist. In order to do that, Wright has researched and drew from book lists of similar libraries to craft a wish list on Amazon.

 

"The single biggest thing anyone who supports the creation of the library could do to help is to visit our wish list and sponsor one or more books. I'd also be happy to take an unused Amazon gift cards off people's hands as well," said Wright.

 

The Facebook page, that a simple search for NCW LEND will find, contains the link to the Amazon wish list. It also lists the PayPal address for monetary donations rather than books. Wright has more plans in store for the future once the project gains momentum, such as sponsoring autistic meetups.