Hi all, I care for a 31 year old autistic male who is nonverbal and also has Prader-Willi syndrome. He has the mentality of a 5 year old. He enjoys watching Barney and loves to read Clifford and Thomas the train books. Books are his absolute favorite thing. 

That being said, I took Matt to West Harrison Public Library in West Harrison, NY on several occasions to watch their music programs or simply sit and read books. He always sat nicely, and would sometimes make some noises of discomfort, but I was always right by his side to smooth him and make sure he didn’t bother anyone else. Wednesday Feb 28th we returned to the library where I was immediately told we were no longer welcome in the children’s room because Matt is an adult and their program is for ages up to 12 only. 

I ask you, is it right to keep him from the things he loves just because of age? In his mind he will forever be a child. I have spoken with the director of the library but she will not budge on her stance that he is an adult and therefore not welcome to use the children’s section. We think that is very discriminatory since it violates the spirt of ADA, IDEA, Ohmstead decision, Willowbrook decree and the long time trend of supporting inclusiveness in our society.  

We feel that the rules should be carefully changed to allow IDD disabled individuals with close monitoring by an aide to be able to participate. Please help us to take action to let the director, as well as the board know that we will not stand for discrimination! Thanks to all for your support!