Ms Patricia Cusack:

It has allowed people to come to the library who may not have done so before. The Deputy asked about the usage statistics. Just for March, we had an average of about 70 bookings during the month, with a count of about 185 individuals from those bookings.

To answer the question as to how it has changed things, as an example, a family can now come to the library as a family whereas, before this, I had experiences where a parent might send one of the children into the library and would not come in with another child because they felt they might be too noisy or, in some way, that their behaviour would not conform to what is considered normal - whatever that is. I suppose "normal" is a word we no longer use. That is one of the biggest improvements. The family can now come to the library as a unit. If one of the members of a family needs accommodation, the sensory room is there. I also think that due to the fact we have an autism-friendly outlook or attitude, people feel more comfortable and are less likely to feel unwelcome.

We have not confined the usage of the room just to people with autism and we would also have people with intellectual disabilities and a broad range of needs. We are trying to make it as open as possible. I hear what the Deputy is saying. I am sure many parents or carers benefit just as much as the person with the diagnosis, or whatever their need is. There is something symbolic about it being a place for everybody, so we are kind of changing the narrative in terms of the use of the word “normal”. We just want to welcome everybody. I hope that answers the question.