The new Clark Family Branch plays host to St. Louis County Library’s 2025 Community Autism Expo, Saturday, April 5th from 11:00-2:00 p.m. Now in its sixth year, the expo provides the St. Louis area with one of the largest gatherings of organizations and resources for families with loved ones on the spectrum. This year’s expo promises to be the largest of it’s kind to date with double the number of exhibitors participating and a longer running time from two to three hours for the community to enjoy. For the first time ever there will be a food truck on site, along with private rooms for those with sensory needs.
Founded by library associate Adam Rosen in 2018, the Community Autism Expo grew to meet the growing needs of autistic people across the lifespan, going from a dozen service agencies in its first year to over forty organizations in less than six years. Adam’s journey to autistic rights advocate began with his autism diagnosis at the age of thirty-seven. A year into his adult diagnosis he realized the urgency and potential of paving the way for young adults who came after him.
After proposing a library outreach program to his managers, Adam’s vision of empowering young adult members of the autistic community became a reality when the first Community Autism Expo premiered in April of 2018. Organizations such as St. Louis ARC, Special School District of St. Louis County, EasterSeals Midwest, the Judevine Center for Autism, and the SUCCEED program of UMSL have participated in the expo each year since, all the way to the present.
The Community Autism Expo represents the inclusive and welcoming environment of the St. Louis County Library. Autism and neurodiverse friendly resources that the library offers include Sensory Storytime for children with sensory needs, sensory bags with items to help lessen sensory overload for children and adults, private study rooms available for a reduced sound environment, and abundant multimedia in the library’s catalog for people on the spectrum available for checkout and renewal.
In years to come, the autism expo will expand to include autism friendly resources for employment, entertainment, education, housing and other areas for people on the spectrum across the lifespan. St. Louis families can also check out Adam’s autism book display that he puts on every year for the expo. This year, over a hundred autism related books and DVDs will be available for the public to check out and take home. In the St. Louis area, the future for people on the spectrum looks brighter; the Community Autism Expo of the St. Louis County Library has, in no small measure, played a part in making this happen.
