Library Partnership Supports Families Navigate Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children

For the past three summers, Michel Harris and her son, Matthew, found solace, community, and understanding at the New Orleans Public Library’s sensory-friendly programming. Matthew is 9 years old and nonverbal. When she learned that the Library had free programming for neurodivergent children, Harris said she was excited to find something accessible they could do together.

This weekend (June 28), Harris is returning to East New Orleans Regional Library to lead a program designed to help families navigate nutrition for neurodivergent children. 

The Harris family lives in Chicago but considers New Orleans a second home. Every year, the family spends a few months here for work. When they’re in town, Michel and her husband regularly bring Matthew to the Community Book Center, which is where she heard about the Library’s sensory storytime series in 2023.

This August, the Library’s early literacy programming team is bringing the series to Rosa F. Keller Library & Community Center.

Harris is a dietician and assistant professor at Dominican University of River Forest, Illinois. She’s in New Orleans this summer with her students for a service-learning trip focused on inclusive educational programming across cultures and communities.

On Friday, June 28, Harris and her students will lead a fun and interactive workshop all about nutrition for neurodivergent children.

Michel Harris and Family
Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children at the Library

“The main goal of the program is to help parents feel more confident feeding their children,” Harris said. “A lot of neurodivergent children with sensory needs have nutrition deficiencies. Many of them have issues with textures and food and they just don’t get the nutrition that they need. It can be very frustrating and scary for parents, which is something I know first-hand.” 

The program will feature stations that encourage children to explore different foods through touch, taste, and play, in addition to food-related learning opportunities for families.

“One thing that I really love about this program, is a station about helping in the kitchen. There’s a perception that children on the spectrum can’t participate in food preparation, but that’s not the case,” Harris said. “We like to give parents ideas as to what will be age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate activities in the kitchen.”

Harris hopes that families leave the program feeling inspired and empowered, like she did at sensory storytimes last summer.

“Having the public library be so cognizant of families like mine is one of the many reasons I feel at home here,” she said. “Typically, the Library is a quiet place, but they give that opportunity for the children to just be themselves. I know that when I bring Matthew to the Library, he’s welcomed in. There’s a space for him too, and that’s something very special for families like ours.”

Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children
The Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children program at East New Orleans Regional Library features a variety of stations designed to help families navigate food, meals, and more.
Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children
The Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children program at East New Orleans Regional Library features a variety of stations designed to help families navigate food, meals, and more.
Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children
The Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children program at East New Orleans Regional Library features a variety of stations designed to help families navigate food, meals, and more.
Sensory Playtime
The Library's sensory-friendly programs include sensory playtime, a smaller and adaptive play and exploration program is inclusive and accessible to all, including children who are physically and developmentally aged 2 - 5.
Sensory Playtime
The Library's sensory-friendly programs include sensory playtime, a smaller and adaptive play and exploration program is inclusive and accessible to all, including children who are physically and developmentally aged 2 - 5.
Sensory Storytime
Sensory-friendly storytime is a welcoming and comfortable space for neurodivergent children.
Sign up for Sensory-Friendly Storytime

Early literacy librarian Shunequika Gilmore has been designing and facilitating the Library’s sensory-friendly programs and services for children for the past three years, and said she’s thrilled to be working with Michel again this summer.

“When I think of the library, I think of community. Our community is diverse and the library, its programs, resources, and services should reflect that. Partnering with Michel and her students felt like a natural addition to our current sensory-friendly play and storytime programming,” Gilmore said.

“It truly brings me joy to hear from parents or caregivers who express how happy they are that the Library offers programming like this. Being able to meet the needs of our community, whether that’s helping them find a book they’ve been looking for or offering a fun program that highlights their interests, is the best part about being a librarian.”

As part of her initiative to make the Library a friendly and welcoming place for neurodivergent children, Gilmore even helped implemented system-wide sensory kits, available for families to use during programs to make the activity more accessible to them.

Sensory Kits
As part of her initiative to make the Library a friendly and welcoming place for neurodivergent children, early literacy librarian Shunequika Gilmore implemented system-wide sensory kits, available for families to use during programs to make the activity more accessible to them.

For Harris, having the Library host and support programming for families with neurodivergent children signals that they are truly welcome and wanted.

“The Library has always been there for me and for Matthew, and I really appreciate it. I can’t overstate how far it goes to making a place feel like home to know that there are community spaces and organizations who care about families like mine,” she said. “I look forward to having a continued relationship with the Library, and I’m excited to be able to have a place like the Library where I can watch my son grow and be himself.”

Starting August 9, sensory-friendly storytimes will be held every Saturday from 10:30-11:30am at Keller Library & Community Center. Each program will feature picture books about accepting our differences and understanding neurodivergent needs. Storytimes will also feature sensory kits for each attendee stocked with fidget toys, noise-reducing earmuffs, weighted lap pads, sunglasses, and communication cards.

More sensory accommodations will be strategically placed around the room – including fuzzy rugs for the children to sit or lay on, pillows, and activities for them to play with. The program is designed for children developmentally aged 2-5 years old and is sponsored by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation through support from the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library.

Space is limited to 10 participants, and registration is required. Visit nolalibrary.co/sensory-storytime to sign up. Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children starts at 10:30 a.m. on June 28.

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