August 22, 2025 • 12 mins
Learning disabilities affect how the brain processes information and are not related to intelligence, yet 80% of people with disabilities aren't in our churches. As a mother and ministry leader who has navigated this journey with my son, I share insights about the neurological nature of learning disabilities and how churches can better serve this population.
• Learning disabilities are neurological disorders affecting how the brain processes information, not a reflection of intelligence or effort
• Children with learning disabilities often disengage from church activities that feel academically demanding
• Challenging behaviors may mask struggles with learning or social difficulties
• Social isolation and diminished self-esteem are common challenges that affect church participation
• Churches can create accessibility through curriculum modifications, multi-sensory approaches, and alternative participation methods
• Training volunteers and leadership is essential for creating truly inclusive environments
• Every person has God-given purpose, making those with learning disabilities truly "indispensable" to the church
For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensable-people.com and visit Amazon to purchase the books the Indispensable Kid and Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to
Indispensable People.
I'm a wife, mom, teacher,pastor and missionary, and I
believe that every person shouldhave the opportunity to know
Christ, grow in Him and serveHim with the gifts that he has
given, no matter their ability.
Over 65 million Americans havea disability.
That's 25% of the population.
(00:26):
However, over 80% of them arenot inside the walls of our
church.
Let's dive into those hardtopics biblical foundations,
perceptions and world-changingideas.
Hey, hey, and welcome to thisepisode of Indispensable People.
(00:57):
Today we're talking aboutlearning disabilities, and this
is a realm of life that I, as amom, have walked with my son,
and I am excited to talk aboutit because there are some key
pieces of information that Ithink will unlock the way that
we interact with those withlearning disabilities and how we
can make sure that we arehelping them to learn, grow and
(01:22):
support them within the walls ofour church.
So let's dive into some basicthings about learning
disabilities.
First of all, it's aneurological disorder that
affects the brain's ability toreceive, store, process and
respond to information.
It impacts our cognitiveprocesses like reading, writing,
(01:44):
math, comprehension andreasoning, and it makes learning
challenging in the traditionalways.
So, as a mom, the firstdiagnosis that my son Noah
received was they called it acognitive disorder, and part of
the reason that they called itthat is that they couldn't be
specific because he was so young, they didn't know the full
(02:05):
impact of it, and so later on wehad the specific names given to
us.
But here's some things that wereally need to know.
When we talk about learningdisabilities, it's not related
to intelligence, which istypically our first thought.
Individuals with learningdifferences often have average
(02:28):
to above average IQs.
They're caused by differencesin how the brain functions, not
in lack of effort or motivation,which many individuals with
learning disabilities are ortend to be considered lazy.
So that is something reallyimportant to note.
(02:50):
These disabilities can affectareas of life, including
academics, social interactions,emotional well-being, and it can
boil down to things like, youknow, time, finances, basic math
, things, reading andcomprehension, and so all of
those things look very much likean intellectual disability
(03:14):
which is tied to an IQ.
So again, it is not an IQproblem connection.
It is how the brain takes inthe information and interacts
(03:35):
with it, so more on theprocessing layer.
So let's take a little bitdeeper dive into the impact on
life and how learning disabilitykind of impacts it.
So we want to take in theunderstanding that learning and
developmental disabilities cansignificantly affect a person's
(03:56):
ability to develop and maintainsocial skills and relationships.
So that looks very similar,whether it is a connector to the
IQ or a connector to how thebrain processes information and,
you know, in the ways of socialinteraction.
It can be how you take in andunderstand social cues or jokes,
(04:16):
maybe how that person expressesthemselves, responding
appropriately to things, andchallenging challenges with
forming relationships andmaintaining those friendships,
challenges with formingrelationships and maintaining
those friendships.
Next, which this is a directimpact on, that is self-esteem
(04:42):
and confidence, where constantacademic struggles can really
kind of chip away at thatself-esteem and lead to feelings
of, you know, inadequacy,inferiority, which makes it hard
to then form friends and feelconfident in those social
situations Because of that.
Then you move on to socialisolation, where individuals may
(05:04):
tend to withdraw from thosesocial activities because they
feel misunderstood, they don'tfeel welcomed, maybe they feel
inferior, which we had mentionedbefore, and that leads to, you
know, loneliness and justalienation and to further this
(05:26):
impact it could be into you know, lead into bullying and stigma
because of stereotypes thatexist.
It is statistically proven thatstudents with learning
disabilities are at higher riskof experiencing bullying and
stigmatization in an educationalsetting.
Thankfully, we are in thechurch and we can teach and
(05:52):
choose different because ofJesus, at least, we hope that we
would.
So let's look at how those typesof things go direct into church
life.
How does that impact in thoseareas?
Well, the number one thing thatwe're going to see, especially
with children and teens, isdisengagement.
(06:16):
They may choose to disengagefrom activities like Sunday
school or Bible study, maybeeven worship, I would say
probably the areas which feel alittle bit more academically
strong.
Those are areas that they maychoose to disengage from.
(06:36):
And because of thatdisengagement, maybe when it's
kind of forced or pushed or notprovided with accommodations,
you're going to see challengingbehavior, and one you might be
seeing off-task behavior,because they are choosing not to
participate in the activitiesthat are provided.
(06:58):
They may also be creatingdistraction with their behavior
to hide their lack or theirdeficit or their inability, um,
(07:29):
so you're going to see also withthose that these are built in.
Challenges again with the socialact, uh, social skills,
executive functioning, um, andthat all leads to with
difficulties with those churchactivities.
I mean reading the Bible is oneof the number one things that,
as a Christian, we want to do.
And then we have ourinteraction with our Bible
studies, our Sunday schoolclasses and all of those kinds
(07:49):
of things, typically withreading and writing, and those
become difficulties within thoseactivities.
And then you add to all of thatwith, you know, social
exclusion, if they just don'tfit right, whether it is due to
the inability to do the academictype things or if it is the
(08:16):
lack of ability to have thesocial interaction.
So how can we change this?
How can we make sure that weare being a support to
individuals with learningdisabilities, understanding
again that it is not an IQ-based, it is about the processing and
(08:36):
how the brain takes ininformation.
So simple things that we can do.
We want to make accommodations,adaptations and accommodations
within the church, whether weprovide support to make the
gospel not only spirituallyaccessible but socially
accessible.
(08:56):
We've talked a whole lot aboutit's not enough that they can
open the door and come in thebuilding, but we have to be
determined to teach them and wehave to be determined to include
the individuals.
We might have to modify some ofthe curriculum.
We might need to use amulti-sensory approach.
(09:17):
We might need to providealternative ways to participate
in the activities that areprovided.
We might need to take some ofthe focus off of the behavior.
Pick your battles and considerthe possibility that the
learning disability is causingsome of the behavior and it's
(09:44):
not just a sinful, rowdy childthat doesn't know what to do.
It might be a hurting, isolatedchild that needs support and
accommodations.
So building that love andunderstanding is going to be key
through these situations.
You want to train your leadersand your volunteers.
That's something that we talkabout all the time.
You can't expect them to dosomething or handle something
(10:07):
that they have not been taughtabout.
Yes, to some people that comesnatural or life experience has
built in, but you want that forall of your volunteers.
We want to create opportunitiesfor connection, fostering those
friendships and relationshipswithin the church with
individuals with disabilitiesand without disabilities.
We want to utilize scripture toyou know, carry one another's
(10:35):
burdens, encourage one another,one another up all of those
kinds of things that scripturewould direct us to do, so that
we can be a support and be alove to all of those.
Because we go back to the mainscripture that this podcast is
named after.
My books are named after, andit's indispensable.
(10:56):
That's that word that you findin the book of 1 Corinthians 12,
where it says that those thatseem the weaker are actually
indispensable, which meansindispensable means we can't be
without.
We are at a lack if we don'thave these individuals in our
(11:18):
churches, and they're only goingto come in our churches if we
love, accept, disciple anddeploy them.
And so we want to create thoseopportunities, knowing that
every person has a purpose.
God has a plan, and we get todo that through the open doors
(11:38):
of the church, throughaccessibility.
That speaks of physicalaccessibility, social
accessibility and spiritualaccessibility, and that's how we
be the body of Christ.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers?
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I've absolutely not, but we aregoing to continue this
(12:01):
conversation so that people ofall abilities can have the
opportunity to know Christ, growin Him and serve Him with the
gifts that he has given them.
For deeper dives into thesetopics and more, check out
indispensablepeoplecom and visitAmazon to purchase the books
(12:22):
the Indispensable Kid and GospelAccessibility and the
Indispensable People.
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to
Indispensable People.
I'm a wife, mom, teacher,pastor and missionary, and I
believe that every person shouldhave the opportunity to know
Christ, grow in Him and serveHim with the gifts that he has
given, no matter their ability.
Over 65 million Americans havea disability.
That's 25% of the population.
(00:26):
However, over 80% of them arenot inside the walls of our
church.
Let's dive into those hardtopics biblical foundations,
perceptions and world-changingideas.
Hey, hey, and welcome to thisepisode of Indispensable People.
(00:57):
Today we're talking aboutlearning disabilities, and this
is a realm of life that I, as amom, have walked with my son,
and I am excited to talk aboutit because there are some key
pieces of information that Ithink will unlock the way that
we interact with those withlearning disabilities and how we
can make sure that we arehelping them to learn, grow and
(01:22):
support them within the walls ofour church.
So let's dive into some basicthings about learning
disabilities.
First of all, it's aneurological disorder that
affects the brain's ability toreceive, store, process and
respond to information.
It impacts our cognitiveprocesses like reading, writing,
(01:44):
math, comprehension andreasoning, and it makes learning
challenging in the traditionalways.
So, as a mom, the firstdiagnosis that my son Noah
received was they called it acognitive disorder, and part of
the reason that they called itthat is that they couldn't be
specific because he was so young, they didn't know the full
(02:05):
impact of it, and so later on wehad the specific names given to
us.
But here's some things that wereally need to know.
When we talk about learningdisabilities, it's not related
to intelligence, which istypically our first thought.
Individuals with learningdifferences often have average
(02:28):
to above average IQs.
They're caused by differencesin how the brain functions, not
in lack of effort or motivation,which many individuals with
learning disabilities are ortend to be considered lazy.
So that is something reallyimportant to note.
(02:50):
These disabilities can affectareas of life, including
academics, social interactions,emotional well-being, and it can
boil down to things like, youknow, time, finances, basic math
, things, reading andcomprehension, and so all of
those things look very much likean intellectual disability
(03:14):
which is tied to an IQ.
So again, it is not an IQproblem connection.
It is how the brain takes inthe information and interacts
(03:35):
with it, so more on theprocessing layer.
So let's take a little bitdeeper dive into the impact on
life and how learning disabilitykind of impacts it.
So we want to take in theunderstanding that learning and
developmental disabilities cansignificantly affect a person's
(03:56):
ability to develop and maintainsocial skills and relationships.
So that looks very similar,whether it is a connector to the
IQ or a connector to how thebrain processes information and,
you know, in the ways of socialinteraction.
It can be how you take in andunderstand social cues or jokes,
(04:16):
maybe how that person expressesthemselves, responding
appropriately to things, andchallenging challenges with
forming relationships andmaintaining those friendships,
challenges with formingrelationships and maintaining
those friendships.
Next, which this is a directimpact on, that is self-esteem
(04:42):
and confidence, where constantacademic struggles can really
kind of chip away at thatself-esteem and lead to feelings
of, you know, inadequacy,inferiority, which makes it hard
to then form friends and feelconfident in those social
situations Because of that.
Then you move on to socialisolation, where individuals may
(05:04):
tend to withdraw from thosesocial activities because they
feel misunderstood, they don'tfeel welcomed, maybe they feel
inferior, which we had mentionedbefore, and that leads to, you
know, loneliness and justalienation and to further this
(05:26):
impact it could be into you know, lead into bullying and stigma
because of stereotypes thatexist.
It is statistically proven thatstudents with learning
disabilities are at higher riskof experiencing bullying and
stigmatization in an educationalsetting.
Thankfully, we are in thechurch and we can teach and
(05:52):
choose different because ofJesus, at least, we hope that we
would.
So let's look at how those typesof things go direct into church
life.
How does that impact in thoseareas?
Well, the number one thing thatwe're going to see, especially
with children and teens, isdisengagement.
(06:16):
They may choose to disengagefrom activities like Sunday
school or Bible study, maybeeven worship, I would say
probably the areas which feel alittle bit more academically
strong.
Those are areas that they maychoose to disengage from.
(06:36):
And because of thatdisengagement, maybe when it's
kind of forced or pushed or notprovided with accommodations,
you're going to see challengingbehavior, and one you might be
seeing off-task behavior,because they are choosing not to
participate in the activitiesthat are provided.
(06:58):
They may also be creatingdistraction with their behavior
to hide their lack or theirdeficit or their inability, um,
(07:29):
so you're going to see also withthose that these are built in.
Challenges again with the socialact, uh, social skills,
executive functioning, um, andthat all leads to with
difficulties with those churchactivities.
I mean reading the Bible is oneof the number one things that,
as a Christian, we want to do.
And then we have ourinteraction with our Bible
studies, our Sunday schoolclasses and all of those kinds
(07:49):
of things, typically withreading and writing, and those
become difficulties within thoseactivities.
And then you add to all of thatwith, you know, social
exclusion, if they just don'tfit right, whether it is due to
the inability to do the academictype things or if it is the
(08:16):
lack of ability to have thesocial interaction.
So how can we change this?
How can we make sure that weare being a support to
individuals with learningdisabilities, understanding
again that it is not an IQ-based, it is about the processing and
(08:36):
how the brain takes ininformation.
So simple things that we can do.
We want to make accommodations,adaptations and accommodations
within the church, whether weprovide support to make the
gospel not only spirituallyaccessible but socially
accessible.
(08:56):
We've talked a whole lot aboutit's not enough that they can
open the door and come in thebuilding, but we have to be
determined to teach them and wehave to be determined to include
the individuals.
We might have to modify some ofthe curriculum.
We might need to use amulti-sensory approach.
(09:17):
We might need to providealternative ways to participate
in the activities that areprovided.
We might need to take some ofthe focus off of the behavior.
Pick your battles and considerthe possibility that the
learning disability is causingsome of the behavior and it's
(09:44):
not just a sinful, rowdy childthat doesn't know what to do.
It might be a hurting, isolatedchild that needs support and
accommodations.
So building that love andunderstanding is going to be key
through these situations.
You want to train your leadersand your volunteers.
That's something that we talkabout all the time.
You can't expect them to dosomething or handle something
(10:07):
that they have not been taughtabout.
Yes, to some people that comesnatural or life experience has
built in, but you want that forall of your volunteers.
We want to create opportunitiesfor connection, fostering those
friendships and relationshipswithin the church with
individuals with disabilitiesand without disabilities.
We want to utilize scripture toyou know, carry one another's
(10:35):
burdens, encourage one another,one another up all of those
kinds of things that scripturewould direct us to do, so that
we can be a support and be alove to all of those.
Because we go back to the mainscripture that this podcast is
named after.
My books are named after, andit's indispensable.
(10:56):
That's that word that you findin the book of 1 Corinthians 12,
where it says that those thatseem the weaker are actually
indispensable, which meansindispensable means we can't be
without.
We are at a lack if we don'thave these individuals in our
(11:18):
churches, and they're only goingto come in our churches if we
love, accept, disciple anddeploy them.
And so we want to create thoseopportunities, knowing that
every person has a purpose.
God has a plan, and we get todo that through the open doors
(11:38):
of the church, throughaccessibility.
That speaks of physicalaccessibility, social
accessibility and spiritualaccessibility, and that's how we
be the body of Christ.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers?
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I've absolutely not, but we aregoing to continue this
(12:01):
conversation so that people ofall abilities can have the
opportunity to know Christ, growin Him and serve Him with the
gifts that he has given them.
For deeper dives into thesetopics and more, check out
indispensablepeoplecom and visitAmazon to purchase the books
(12:22):
the Indispensable Kid and GospelAccessibility and the
Indispensable People.
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