July 4, 2025 • 23 mins
We explore the critical differences between serving children and adults with disabilities in church settings, offering practical strategies for creating inclusive environments that honor each person's unique needs and life stage.
• Over 65 million Americans have disabilities (25% of population), yet 80% aren't inside church walls
• Children with disabilities benefit from predictable routines, visual schedules, and transition warnings
• Sensory considerations are vital for kids who may struggle to communicate their needs
• Communication support through visuals, picture schedules, and written cues helps bridge understanding
• Adults with disabilities deserve age-appropriate treatment that respects their dignity and independence
• Relationship desires and questions require sensitive navigation, especially with intellectual disabilities
• Communication methods are typically more established in adults, requiring patience rather than development
• Maintaining age-appropriate groupings and activities supports everyone's dignity and growth
• Both age groups benefit from buddy systems, though implemented differently based on age
• The ultimate goal is making the gospel accessible to everyone regardless of ability
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.
(00:56):
Today we're going to be talkingabout serving kids versus
serving adults In a churchsetting.
What kind of is similar?
What's different?
How can we make specificaccommodations that will take
into context those differences?
And, first and foremost, Ialways say a lot of people are
less intimidating by providingcare or ministry to people who
(01:22):
are younger kids, but I have tobe honest, typically older
people are a little bit more setin their ways and easier where
kids were kind of consistentlyfiguring out.
However, I do understand thatthe idea of little people,
little problems, big people,bigger problems comes into play
(01:42):
and how that impacts what we do.
So let's really take someinitial steps into looking at
the differences when we'rethinking about working with
children with disabilities, weneed to consider that they often
require a distinct amount ofsupport simply because they're
(02:03):
kids, right?
Kids are figuring things out,no matter if they have a
disability or not.
They're trying to gauge theirenvironments and see who the
people are that they areengaging with and how that will
impact what they do and how theydo right.
And so that is with or withouta disability.
(02:27):
But here are some things thatwe need to consider when we're
taking in, more specifically,the accommodation, setting up
the environment and preparationfor serving kiddos.
Routine and structure are, um,very, very helpful, uh,
especially um for um kids whomight feel unsure, might lose
(02:53):
focus, um have a bit of anxiety,um, with whatever they're
dealing with, um, and so theythrive on predictable routines,
and you can put in place somevisual schedules.
You can verbally go over whatis going to be happening and
(03:15):
also provide warnings fortransitions as they come, such
as in 10 minutes we're going to,in five minutes, in two minutes
, in one minute or after.
You know first this, then nextare really great statements to
use.
All of those kinds of supportsare really really very helpful,
(03:37):
also taking into considerationthe sensory needs that may pop
up, and the younger the child is, the less they're going to be
able to communicate those needs.
So watching out, being veryobservant, is going to be a very
good strategy to keep with you.
(04:00):
For instance, just recently Iwas in a classroom with two
three-year-olds and the onelittle guy was happy and playing
and just checking things out.
It was his first time with usat our church and he was having
a grand time kind ofinvestigating and observing and
(04:23):
so he was moving from space tospace and from toy to toy and he
happened to sit down in what wecall our egg chair, which spins
, and it closes up and as itspins it kind of makes kind of
like a kind of noise.
And my other little guy, whohas been at our church for a
(04:44):
very long time he's familiarwith all the things in the space
he started to kind of wince andcry out and eventually not at
first, but eventually he startedto cover his ears, which then
told me hey, he doesn't likethat sound.
Now I can't stop the otherlittle guy from doing every
(05:05):
single thing that he was doing,but I can offer some support to
the child who did not like thesound that was happening and now
you'll see some discomfort, butthis was extreme discomfort.
He was crying, he couldn'tfocus on what he was doing
(05:27):
because the noise was botheringhim, and so I was able to offer
him some noise cancelingheadphones.
We could have also moved toanother space in the room.
We could have given himopportunities for a break if it
was necessary in those moments.
But taking into context all ofthose types of things, in
(05:51):
another consideration we had alittle guy who was given
instructions and asked aquestion, and he answered the
question no.
However, his physical bodyshowed yes, and so, trying to
help him understand what hiswords were saying and what his
(06:13):
body was saying, he became veryfrustrated and so whenever I
stepped out of the room withanother person to take them to
the restroom the othervolunteers the anxiety, the
frustration grew in thatindividual.
When I came back in the roomthey had turned the lights off
(06:37):
and what they were doing is theywere removing some of the
sensory input to help kind ofbalance out where his
frustration was.
So he didn't have so manythings coming at him to sort
through, and so they removedsome of those other situations
and then that individual becamemuch calmer.
(06:59):
So sensory considerationsreally do impact a child quite
intensely, and if we have theopportunity to sort through them
or to eliminate some or to dullsome of them with the tools
that we have available, wedefinitely want to be able to do
(07:19):
that.
Another layer that is going toheavily impact kiddos is
communication, and that's simplybecause, especially at young
ages, they may or may not havedeveloped those.
It might be because it'sdelayed, or it might be because
they're just that young withoutour typical communication, and
(07:54):
that might be.
Maybe they're not going toverbally communicate with us,
but they can point or they cangesture or we can observe their
facial expressions.
We can also offer visuals toexplain what we're doing.
We can put those visuals intoif then statements or next then
(08:18):
statements.
They're really great, easythings to have a few pictures of
what you're doing available,and the great thing about church
is we have similar schedulesall the time, so we can offer
those types of things easilyworship games, craft, snack,
(08:38):
bathroom, prayer, coloring,whatever different activities
that you have going on at yourchurch that are repetitive, and
you can even write on a dryerase board first, then and
after.
First you can put the picturethat you're going to be doing
(08:59):
and then a picture after theword.
Then, and it can be as simpleas that.
You can make a laminatedprintable sheet if you'd like,
but you do what works for youand what you have access to, and
it makes easy use for the child.
(09:20):
You can also write out or drawwhat is going on.
I have a little guy who was acrazy avid reader when he was
super duper young, was diagnosedwith autism but struggled to
slow down and to focus and tolisten, and so writing those
(09:43):
words that he could read werereally great to help him know
what was expected or what wascoming, or a question that I
wanted to ask him in the moment.
Also, he was able to use theintelligence that he had and he
was excited about, which was hisability to read, as opposed to
(10:07):
highlighting the things that hestruggled with.
So that was something thatworked really, really well.
And those are just some basicthings that we consider when
we're talking about kids.
We're going to talk about adults, and I'm going to tell you that
a lot of the things that I justsuggested for children do apply
to adults.
(10:27):
You're going to have a greatneed for routine and structure.
You're going to need to makesome sensory considerations and
some communication support.
However, they may be more ableto communicate those needs to
you.
They also might be more set inthose routines and setups so
(10:50):
that it's easier for you to fallinto place with them.
You're not figuring that out,which with kids, they're growing
and they're changing and sowe're going to grow and change
with them.
With adults they get kind ofmore set in their ways.
I'm not saying that you are notgonna have an occurrence where
something changes or somethingworked previously and no longer
(11:11):
works now, but you will haveless of a struggle in figuring
those things out.
They're going to be a littlebit more predictable.
So let's take into moreconsideration the specifics that
are going to impact adults orindividuals who are just a
little older, with disabilities.
(11:32):
And the number one thing thatI'm going to suggest is going to
be very, very important isrespect, dignity and respect
that we need to take intoconsideration with adults
because they are adults.
So even if they have you know,the intellectual capacity of a
(11:54):
young child or prefer thingsthat a young child does like you
know cartoons and you knowcertain characters and things
like that we want to uphold thatdignity and respect to their
adult level.
We want to value theirindependence and allow for it as
(12:18):
much as possible, and we wantto engage in asking them to help
make decisions about theirchoices right.
We don't have to make all thosedecisions for them if they can
do that themselves or we canhelp them think through the
process of it.
We might also need to considerthat there might be some life
(12:43):
skill support things that wewill need to do within the
church.
We may need to have you knowthings ready for bathroom use
and you know reminders to usethe restroom reminders hey,
flush the toilet, did you washyour hands?
You know steps like that thatyou might have to put into place
.
Even though they're adults,they might need some of that
(13:07):
support Reminders about what youknow, guidance in conversations
and participation, turn-taking,that kind of stuff that might
come along with it.
Another thing that you're goingto encounter that can be a very,
very tricky subject isrelationships.
(13:30):
I used to work with a gentlemanand he always used to tell me
he was in his 50s when I workedwith him and he would always
tell me he's not giving up, he'sgoing to get married someday.
And you know some people withdisabilities.
They do get married and theylive out that life and some
(13:52):
people do not.
And a lot of times we need tolook towards the guardian and
the direction that's being givenby the parent or the guardian
so that we can be supportive inthe conversations.
I think that it can be a very,very tricky, tricky, tricky
(14:13):
topic.
But do I say that marriage forpeople with disabilities,
especially outside of anintellectual disability?
That's so far not off the table.
So it's not a ridiculousconversation.
Where it does become a bit moretricky is the intellectual
(14:35):
disabilities, whereunderstanding of relationships
and balancing thoserelationships and consequences
of being involved inrelationships and the ability to
handle the emotionality thatcomes with relationships, that's
when it becomes a lot trickier.
So I have some really greatfriends with disabilities who
are married and have successfulmarriages and so very happy for
(15:00):
them and would have neverquestioned their relationships.
So I don't want it to sound inthat direction, but there are
layers that become much moredifficult to handle, especially
the more intense theintellectual disability is.
But also we want to understandand validate that they want what
(15:24):
other people have, which is,you know, friendships and
relationships.
And if my peer is having agirlfriend or a boyfriend and or
they're at marrying age andthey're having children, it is
not unreasonable to feel thosesame desires.
(15:46):
So those will become thingsthat you will navigate.
And again, if there's aguardian in their life or a
parent in their life that ishelping to guide and direct, it
is great to look to them forsome direction in that area, but
also engage in thoseconversations and validate the
(16:12):
want but also recognize thechallenge.
Another thing to take intoconsideration are the complex
communication needs as a child.
They're still working on it,they're establishing it, they're
figuring out.
The growth potential is thereas they get older.
(16:36):
Again, it's going to kind ofbalance out and become less of a
growth thing.
Now don't get me wrong, becausethat is.
I experienced working with anadult.
She was in her 30s when I mether, but she didn't speak a word
(16:57):
until she was 18 years old.
And it is broken, unstructuredsentences that she speaks in.
But she is still able tocommunicate in words in which
she was told and her parentswere told when she was younger
that she would never speak.
So don't hear me on the factthat the communication won't
(17:18):
exist or won't change, but it ismuch less frequent of a change
and going to be more consistentin how it's done.
The great thing about that isthat whether they use their
verbal capabilities or they'reusing a talker or other
(17:40):
communication devices or signlanguage, they're going to be
more established.
But that means that we thenneed to become comfortable in
navigating those.
A lot of times, an individualusing a communication device
just really requires a littlebit of patience because it takes
time to get the stuff inputtedso that you can stop for a
(18:01):
minute and hear what they haveto say and engage in that.
So that's something to consider.
Also, you might want to startto learn some things.
A great start is some basicsign language.
Even individuals who do notspeak ASL fluently do use signs
(18:26):
to indicate things like restroom.
Thank you, please more you knowthat kind of stuff.
That could be very beneficialas you go ahead.
Now, something to take intoconsideration that's going to
have similar.
You can use buddy systems forboth kids and adults.
Similar, you can use buddysystems for both kids and adults
(18:46):
.
I think there are great ways topair children with other
children or teens as they grow.
It is not as appropriate to dothat with an adult.
You're not going to pair achild with an adult, that's
going to be not as conducive.
(19:09):
But you are also going to wantto consider that in pairing
those buddy systems you want tocreate opportunities for growth
and friendship and development.
So putting people who havesimilar likes and dislikes
together would be a lot of funengaging in different activities
(19:33):
that both likes.
The other thing that you'regoing to want to consider is, as
events get planned whether theyare disability ministry
specific or they are justchurchwide we want to consider
keeping age appropriate eventsAt VBS.
(19:55):
If it is for children from acertain age to a certain age,
then that's the age that westick to.
We highly recommend that youdon't place people out of their
age groups.
One thing that I do see thatkind of waves a little bit, but
(20:16):
that also hits our teenagers alittle bit different too, is our
church hosts a trunk or treatand we'll often get teenagers
and then we also get adults withdisabilities.
We have encouraged our adultswith disabilities to get dressed
up and help pass out the candy,because the event is more
(20:37):
tailored to individuals who areyounger.
So there are some crossovers,that kind of break that mold.
But again, we really try tostick with age-appropriate
groups and provide supportwithin those groups.
Whether it's a women's event, amen's event, obviously they're
(20:58):
meant for adults.
We try to keep adults withthose things and kids with kids
things.
That just makes the most senseand causes for less confusion
and better support within thoseactivities.
Again, so much else is verymuch across the board, you know,
(21:23):
having flexibility, including,you know, supports for each age
group, considering accessibilitywithin your church, training
and equipping your volunteers,all of that kind of stuff.
Serving adults and children withdisabilities in a church
setting requires understandingto their unique needs and
(21:44):
adapting our approachesaccordingly to their unique
needs and adapting ourapproaches accordingly.
We want to make sure that wemeet the needs of the people
that we serve, that we treatthem with dignity and we grow
with them as they continue togrow, and we do that so that,
through our environmental setupand through the considerations
(22:10):
that we've made for them andtheir age groups, the gospel is
accessible and that we can reachall people for Jesus, and
that's really the key.
Thanks for tuning in and I hopeyou'll listen again.
This is Indispensable People,because we believe that God is
(22:30):
for all and so is the church.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers.
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I have absolutely not, but weare going to continue this
conversation so that people ofall abilities can have the
opportunity to know Christ, growin Him and serve Him with the
(22:53):
gifts that he has given them.
For deeper dives into thesetopics and more, check out
indispensablepeoplecom and visitAmazon to purchase the books
the Indispensable Kid and Gospel, accessibility 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.
(00:56):
Today we're going to be talkingabout serving kids versus
serving adults In a churchsetting.
What kind of is similar?
What's different?
How can we make specificaccommodations that will take
into context those differences?
And, first and foremost, Ialways say a lot of people are
less intimidating by providingcare or ministry to people who
(01:22):
are younger kids, but I have tobe honest, typically older
people are a little bit more setin their ways and easier where
kids were kind of consistentlyfiguring out.
However, I do understand thatthe idea of little people,
little problems, big people,bigger problems comes into play
(01:42):
and how that impacts what we do.
So let's really take someinitial steps into looking at
the differences when we'rethinking about working with
children with disabilities, weneed to consider that they often
require a distinct amount ofsupport simply because they're
(02:03):
kids, right?
Kids are figuring things out,no matter if they have a
disability or not.
They're trying to gauge theirenvironments and see who the
people are that they areengaging with and how that will
impact what they do and how theydo right.
And so that is with or withouta disability.
(02:27):
But here are some things thatwe need to consider when we're
taking in, more specifically,the accommodation, setting up
the environment and preparationfor serving kiddos.
Routine and structure are, um,very, very helpful, uh,
especially um for um kids whomight feel unsure, might lose
(02:53):
focus, um have a bit of anxiety,um, with whatever they're
dealing with, um, and so theythrive on predictable routines,
and you can put in place somevisual schedules.
You can verbally go over whatis going to be happening and
(03:15):
also provide warnings fortransitions as they come, such
as in 10 minutes we're going to,in five minutes, in two minutes
, in one minute or after.
You know first this, then nextare really great statements to
use.
All of those kinds of supportsare really really very helpful,
(03:37):
also taking into considerationthe sensory needs that may pop
up, and the younger the child is, the less they're going to be
able to communicate those needs.
So watching out, being veryobservant, is going to be a very
good strategy to keep with you.
(04:00):
For instance, just recently Iwas in a classroom with two
three-year-olds and the onelittle guy was happy and playing
and just checking things out.
It was his first time with usat our church and he was having
a grand time kind ofinvestigating and observing and
(04:23):
so he was moving from space tospace and from toy to toy and he
happened to sit down in what wecall our egg chair, which spins
, and it closes up and as itspins it kind of makes kind of
like a kind of noise.
And my other little guy, whohas been at our church for a
(04:44):
very long time he's familiarwith all the things in the space
he started to kind of wince andcry out and eventually not at
first, but eventually he startedto cover his ears, which then
told me hey, he doesn't likethat sound.
Now I can't stop the otherlittle guy from doing every
(05:05):
single thing that he was doing,but I can offer some support to
the child who did not like thesound that was happening and now
you'll see some discomfort, butthis was extreme discomfort.
He was crying, he couldn'tfocus on what he was doing
(05:27):
because the noise was botheringhim, and so I was able to offer
him some noise cancelingheadphones.
We could have also moved toanother space in the room.
We could have given himopportunities for a break if it
was necessary in those moments.
But taking into context all ofthose types of things, in
(05:51):
another consideration we had alittle guy who was given
instructions and asked aquestion, and he answered the
question no.
However, his physical bodyshowed yes, and so, trying to
help him understand what hiswords were saying and what his
(06:13):
body was saying, he became veryfrustrated and so whenever I
stepped out of the room withanother person to take them to
the restroom the othervolunteers the anxiety, the
frustration grew in thatindividual.
When I came back in the roomthey had turned the lights off
(06:37):
and what they were doing is theywere removing some of the
sensory input to help kind ofbalance out where his
frustration was.
So he didn't have so manythings coming at him to sort
through, and so they removedsome of those other situations
and then that individual becamemuch calmer.
(06:59):
So sensory considerationsreally do impact a child quite
intensely, and if we have theopportunity to sort through them
or to eliminate some or to dullsome of them with the tools
that we have available, wedefinitely want to be able to do
(07:19):
that.
Another layer that is going toheavily impact kiddos is
communication, and that's simplybecause, especially at young
ages, they may or may not havedeveloped those.
It might be because it'sdelayed, or it might be because
they're just that young withoutour typical communication, and
(07:54):
that might be.
Maybe they're not going toverbally communicate with us,
but they can point or they cangesture or we can observe their
facial expressions.
We can also offer visuals toexplain what we're doing.
We can put those visuals intoif then statements or next then
(08:18):
statements.
They're really great, easythings to have a few pictures of
what you're doing available,and the great thing about church
is we have similar schedulesall the time, so we can offer
those types of things easilyworship games, craft, snack,
(08:38):
bathroom, prayer, coloring,whatever different activities
that you have going on at yourchurch that are repetitive, and
you can even write on a dryerase board first, then and
after.
First you can put the picturethat you're going to be doing
(08:59):
and then a picture after theword.
Then, and it can be as simpleas that.
You can make a laminatedprintable sheet if you'd like,
but you do what works for youand what you have access to, and
it makes easy use for the child.
(09:20):
You can also write out or drawwhat is going on.
I have a little guy who was acrazy avid reader when he was
super duper young, was diagnosedwith autism but struggled to
slow down and to focus and tolisten, and so writing those
(09:43):
words that he could read werereally great to help him know
what was expected or what wascoming, or a question that I
wanted to ask him in the moment.
Also, he was able to use theintelligence that he had and he
was excited about, which was hisability to read, as opposed to
(10:07):
highlighting the things that hestruggled with.
So that was something thatworked really, really well.
And those are just some basicthings that we consider when
we're talking about kids.
We're going to talk about adults, and I'm going to tell you that
a lot of the things that I justsuggested for children do apply
to adults.
(10:27):
You're going to have a greatneed for routine and structure.
You're going to need to makesome sensory considerations and
some communication support.
However, they may be more ableto communicate those needs to
you.
They also might be more set inthose routines and setups so
(10:50):
that it's easier for you to fallinto place with them.
You're not figuring that out,which with kids, they're growing
and they're changing and sowe're going to grow and change
with them.
With adults they get kind ofmore set in their ways.
I'm not saying that you are notgonna have an occurrence where
something changes or somethingworked previously and no longer
(11:11):
works now, but you will haveless of a struggle in figuring
those things out.
They're going to be a littlebit more predictable.
So let's take into moreconsideration the specifics that
are going to impact adults orindividuals who are just a
little older, with disabilities.
(11:32):
And the number one thing thatI'm going to suggest is going to
be very, very important isrespect, dignity and respect
that we need to take intoconsideration with adults
because they are adults.
So even if they have you know,the intellectual capacity of a
(11:54):
young child or prefer thingsthat a young child does like you
know cartoons and you knowcertain characters and things
like that we want to uphold thatdignity and respect to their
adult level.
We want to value theirindependence and allow for it as
(12:18):
much as possible, and we wantto engage in asking them to help
make decisions about theirchoices right.
We don't have to make all thosedecisions for them if they can
do that themselves or we canhelp them think through the
process of it.
We might also need to considerthat there might be some life
(12:43):
skill support things that wewill need to do within the
church.
We may need to have you knowthings ready for bathroom use
and you know reminders to usethe restroom reminders hey,
flush the toilet, did you washyour hands?
You know steps like that thatyou might have to put into place
.
Even though they're adults,they might need some of that
(13:07):
support Reminders about what youknow, guidance in conversations
and participation, turn-taking,that kind of stuff that might
come along with it.
Another thing that you're goingto encounter that can be a very,
very tricky subject isrelationships.
(13:30):
I used to work with a gentlemanand he always used to tell me
he was in his 50s when I workedwith him and he would always
tell me he's not giving up, he'sgoing to get married someday.
And you know some people withdisabilities.
They do get married and theylive out that life and some
(13:52):
people do not.
And a lot of times we need tolook towards the guardian and
the direction that's being givenby the parent or the guardian
so that we can be supportive inthe conversations.
I think that it can be a very,very tricky, tricky, tricky
(14:13):
topic.
But do I say that marriage forpeople with disabilities,
especially outside of anintellectual disability?
That's so far not off the table.
So it's not a ridiculousconversation.
Where it does become a bit moretricky is the intellectual
(14:35):
disabilities, whereunderstanding of relationships
and balancing thoserelationships and consequences
of being involved inrelationships and the ability to
handle the emotionality thatcomes with relationships, that's
when it becomes a lot trickier.
So I have some really greatfriends with disabilities who
are married and have successfulmarriages and so very happy for
(15:00):
them and would have neverquestioned their relationships.
So I don't want it to sound inthat direction, but there are
layers that become much moredifficult to handle, especially
the more intense theintellectual disability is.
But also we want to understandand validate that they want what
(15:24):
other people have, which is,you know, friendships and
relationships.
And if my peer is having agirlfriend or a boyfriend and or
they're at marrying age andthey're having children, it is
not unreasonable to feel thosesame desires.
(15:46):
So those will become thingsthat you will navigate.
And again, if there's aguardian in their life or a
parent in their life that ishelping to guide and direct, it
is great to look to them forsome direction in that area, but
also engage in thoseconversations and validate the
(16:12):
want but also recognize thechallenge.
Another thing to take intoconsideration are the complex
communication needs as a child.
They're still working on it,they're establishing it, they're
figuring out.
The growth potential is thereas they get older.
(16:36):
Again, it's going to kind ofbalance out and become less of a
growth thing.
Now don't get me wrong, becausethat is.
I experienced working with anadult.
She was in her 30s when I mether, but she didn't speak a word
(16:57):
until she was 18 years old.
And it is broken, unstructuredsentences that she speaks in.
But she is still able tocommunicate in words in which
she was told and her parentswere told when she was younger
that she would never speak.
So don't hear me on the factthat the communication won't
(17:18):
exist or won't change, but it ismuch less frequent of a change
and going to be more consistentin how it's done.
The great thing about that isthat whether they use their
verbal capabilities or they'reusing a talker or other
(17:40):
communication devices or signlanguage, they're going to be
more established.
But that means that we thenneed to become comfortable in
navigating those.
A lot of times, an individualusing a communication device
just really requires a littlebit of patience because it takes
time to get the stuff inputtedso that you can stop for a
(18:01):
minute and hear what they haveto say and engage in that.
So that's something to consider.
Also, you might want to startto learn some things.
A great start is some basicsign language.
Even individuals who do notspeak ASL fluently do use signs
(18:26):
to indicate things like restroom.
Thank you, please more you knowthat kind of stuff.
That could be very beneficialas you go ahead.
Now, something to take intoconsideration that's going to
have similar.
You can use buddy systems forboth kids and adults.
Similar, you can use buddysystems for both kids and adults
(18:46):
.
I think there are great ways topair children with other
children or teens as they grow.
It is not as appropriate to dothat with an adult.
You're not going to pair achild with an adult, that's
going to be not as conducive.
(19:09):
But you are also going to wantto consider that in pairing
those buddy systems you want tocreate opportunities for growth
and friendship and development.
So putting people who havesimilar likes and dislikes
together would be a lot of funengaging in different activities
(19:33):
that both likes.
The other thing that you'regoing to want to consider is, as
events get planned whether theyare disability ministry
specific or they are justchurchwide we want to consider
keeping age appropriate eventsAt VBS.
(19:55):
If it is for children from acertain age to a certain age,
then that's the age that westick to.
We highly recommend that youdon't place people out of their
age groups.
One thing that I do see thatkind of waves a little bit, but
(20:16):
that also hits our teenagers alittle bit different too, is our
church hosts a trunk or treatand we'll often get teenagers
and then we also get adults withdisabilities.
We have encouraged our adultswith disabilities to get dressed
up and help pass out the candy,because the event is more
(20:37):
tailored to individuals who areyounger.
So there are some crossovers,that kind of break that mold.
But again, we really try tostick with age-appropriate
groups and provide supportwithin those groups.
Whether it's a women's event, amen's event, obviously they're
(20:58):
meant for adults.
We try to keep adults withthose things and kids with kids
things.
That just makes the most senseand causes for less confusion
and better support within thoseactivities.
Again, so much else is verymuch across the board, you know,
(21:23):
having flexibility, including,you know, supports for each age
group, considering accessibilitywithin your church, training
and equipping your volunteers,all of that kind of stuff.
Serving adults and children withdisabilities in a church
setting requires understandingto their unique needs and
(21:44):
adapting our approachesaccordingly to their unique
needs and adapting ourapproaches accordingly.
We want to make sure that wemeet the needs of the people
that we serve, that we treatthem with dignity and we grow
with them as they continue togrow, and we do that so that,
through our environmental setupand through the considerations
(22:10):
that we've made for them andtheir age groups, the gospel is
accessible and that we can reachall people for Jesus, and
that's really the key.
Thanks for tuning in and I hopeyou'll listen again.
This is Indispensable People,because we believe that God is
(22:30):
for all and so is the church.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers.
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I have absolutely not, but weare going to continue this
conversation so that people ofall abilities can have the
opportunity to know Christ, growin Him and serve Him with the
(22:53):
gifts that he has given them.
For deeper dives into thesetopics and more, check out
indispensablepeoplecom and visitAmazon to purchase the books
the Indispensable Kid and Gospel, accessibility and the
Indispensable People.
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