Lucy needs suggestions for incorporating children with special needs (physical, emotional or mental) into the church in an affirming way.

The editor found this excellent resource to answer Lucy’s question. We pray you will find it helpful.

The following article is from “Let All the Children Come”
by Gail Cannis
www.childrensministry.com

Katy is a fourth-grader with severe learning disabilities. When she first started attending Sunday school at our church, she was very shy and fearful that the other children would find out she couldn't read or write. Our special program, though, has enabled her to love participating.

Like Katy, almost 12 percent of children in the United States have a learning, communication, physical, or severe disability. It hurts to think that some of these children might miss out on receiving Christ's love and fellowship at church because of their disabilities. A few might not be welcomed warmly because they create problems for teachers and kids, while others don't want to attend because the learning environment frustrates them.

Dedication—To succeed, your program needs cooperation and support from your entire Christian education staff and church leaders. Determine how comprehensive your program's goal will be. Our goal is for every child to be able to participate in worship, instruction, fellowship, and service as they grow closer to God. Perhaps your goal will be larger or smaller. Whatever your goal, though, you must have 100 percent buy-in from your staff and church leadership

Coordination—Your program needs an experienced person who can design strategies to meet each child's special needs. Special education teachers or psychologists are available in almost all communities. I volunteered as our church's coordinator following more than 30 years as a special education teacher and administrator in California public schools. Your coordinator will provide ongoing consultation and training for the special teachers who work with your special needs children.

Teachers—Dedicated volunteers, called special teachers, create the heart of a program. We match each volunteer one-on-one with a child who has disabilities, and we place the pairs in a regular class. We want each child to bond comfortably with his or her special teacher.

Recruiting special teachers has been easy. We use church bulletin announcements to call for volunteers, and our coordinator talks with potential special teachers to learn their interests, experiences, and "comfort zone." For example, we determine if volunteers prefer older or younger children, active or passive, or verbal or nonverbal. We take into account any other requests. Volunteers may observe a special teacher/child duo in class before committing. Once a volunteer decides to commit to the program for nine months, the coordinator matches him or her with a child and provides detailed confidential information on that child.

Placement—We place the children in classrooms according to their level of functioning. With younger children, we consider play level and appropriate toys and equipment. With older children, we look at the social level of the child and the program requirements in the regular class, such as reading levels, amount of writing, and types of crafts. Our goal is for the child to be involved in all the education activities to the maximum degree capable. We also want the child with a disability and the other students in each class to benefit. In some cases, if a child can't benefit from the regular program, we create a separate, individualized program.

Strategies—We begin with a good base educational program that we have for all our children-one that's lively and interactive with a concrete presentation of God's Word. The coordinator prepares a profile sheet for each special child that includes demographic data, disabling conditions, and program suggestions. This information includes what the child can and can't do, as well as the child's likes and dislikes.