Kids with Special Needs and Faith
Jun 30th, 2008 by Dr. Ron
The following article passed by my eyes. Comment on your success or frustrations in being able to grow your spiritual life when you have a child with special needs.
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Kids with Special Needs and Faith
Teaching Religious Beliefs with Children with Disabilities
Parents of children with special needs are often concerned about sharing their religious beliefs with their children.
Sometimes a communication disability such as a hearing loss can make this difficult. In other cases, a developmental delay or autism can cause a problem in teaching ideas that are not concrete. Parents have options when it comes to sharing faith with their child.
Talk to other parents in your child’s school program to find out about what is offered in your area. Also, check with your child’s teacher to see if she teaches a class at her church.
Find out about other churches in your denomination. Many denominations have large churches with programs for children and teens with special needs.
Consider other denominations in your community. Depending on your location, you may want to consider attending a church in another denomination so that your child is able to be a part of an appropriate program. It does not mean that you have to change churches. You may decide to attend only select classes. Your primary membership can remain with your home church.
Think about starting a program at your church. If all else fails, you may want to consider starting a program. It is a great way to mold practices from the beginning and to get family friends and relatives involves. You will also have the opportunity to invite your child’s school friends.
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My church, Granger Community Church, has a specific program for children with special needs, above and beyond the “here’s your pager, will beep if you have a problem”. Below is an explanation of the service from the GCC website
For children with special physical or mental challenges who need individual assistance in order to fully participate, every effort is made to connect each child with a Special Friend who will assist him or her during a weekend service. This is a deliberate process, taking into consideration the needs of the child and concerns of the parents in order to make the best match between each child and Special Friend. Due to this process, it may be necessary for a family to wait until a volunteer is found. Download application or request more info.
If you live in the Michiana area share some other contacts of churches that do a good job supporting children with special needs. Thanks, Dr. Ron
