May 9, 2025 • 14 mins
Tracy Corll tackles the challenging reality that over 80% of Americans with disabilities are not inside church walls. She explores intellectual disabilities, their impact on daily life, and how churches can break down barriers to become truly inclusive communities where everyone can know, grow in, and serve Christ.
• Understanding intellectual disabilities as below-average intelligence that impacts life skills before age 18
• Discussing how intellectual disabilities can affect learning, communication, problem-solving, and coping abilities
• Exploring accessibility beyond physical accommodations to include sensory considerations
• Emphasizing that attitudinal barriers in the church often present the biggest obstacles to inclusion
• Promoting relationship-building to overcome fears and misconceptions about people with disabilities
• Encouraging multi-sensory approaches to worship, Bible study, and church activities
• Creating meaningful ministry opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to serve with their gifts
• Reclaiming the biblical narrative that all people are created in God's image with divine purpose
For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensable-people.com and visit Amazon to purchase the books The Indispensable Kid, Gospel Accessibility, and The Indispensable People.
Mark as Played
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.
(00:49):
Hey, hey, and welcome to thisepisode of Indispensable People.
We're talking aboutintellectual disabilities and
barriers that can be broken.
So how do we do that?
What is it and where do we gowith this?
Well, first we have to considerwhat is an intellectual
disability.
An intellectual disability isconsidered below average
(01:11):
intelligence and it impacts aset of life skills that are
presented before age 18.
Intellectual function can bemeasured with a test and some
symptoms may include now, thisis silly, saying symptoms sounds
really funny when it isconsidered an intellectual
disability, because you knowit's not fever, feeling sluggish
(01:35):
, rash, anything like that.
It is literally directlyconnected to life skills that
can be impacted that includecertain conceptual, social and
practical skills, so you canexperience some different
(01:55):
behavioral things, such ashyperactivity, impulsivity or
restlessness, difficultythinking or understanding
processing information may alsobe impacted.
So how does an intellectualdisability impact someone's life
?
It may affect a person'sability to learn new information
(02:16):
, communicate, cope effectively,solve problems on their own
problems on their own.
It can create stress andvulnerability for not only the
person with the intellectualdisability but those who are
caring for that person.
Some diagnoses that aredirectly connected to an
intellectual disability iscerebral palsy, down syndrome,
(02:40):
fragile X syndrome, fragile Xsyndrome and autism.
There are some difficulties.
Some people that have an autismdiagnosis struggle with that
and they prefer to fall into theneurodivergence kind of
(03:01):
thinking.
However, many individuals withautism do have intellectual
disabilities.
So how can the church break downthese barriers, be welcoming
and inclusive to those withintellectual disabilities?
We're going to dive into thosechallenges and the opportunities
that exist within thechallenges of someone who
(03:23):
experiences an intellectualdisability.
How can the church worktogether to break down those
barriers?
Well, first and foremost, wealways talk about accessibility.
Accessibility is not justphysical, which some individuals
with a physical disability havean intellectual disability, but
not all people with a physicaldisability have an intellectual
(03:44):
disability, and not all peoplewith a physical disability have
an intellectual disability, andnot all people with an
intellectual disability have aphysical disability.
It doesn't always go hand inhand.
So physical accessibility needsto be considered, but it's not
necessarily the top priority inthis group.
However, if you're consideringsomeone with a diagnosis of
cerebral palsy, it is likelythat their physical is impacted,
(04:07):
so we do have to make sure thatwe consider that.
In addition to that, we want toconsider how we're going to
adapt our worship surfaces.
It's crucial to considersensory needs physical needs,
although not every person withan intellectual disability has
sensory needs, so we need tounderstand that this isn't a
(04:31):
blanket statement.
These all don't apply.
It is very individual.
However, someone who wouldstruggle with dealing with
problem solving or processinginformation it is likely that
when too many sensory things arecoming at them, that their body
(04:52):
may have difficulty regulatingthat.
So it would be good to considerproviding sensory bags that
would help with reducing noiselevels, if needed, by having
noise canceling headphones orassistive devices, headphones,
fidget tools anything that mightprovide a comfortable
(05:16):
experience.
Also, we can create anincredible building.
We can have all the toolsnecessary to create an adaptive
worship service, but if ourattitudes are not right, then we
will always struggle to serveindividuals with disabilities of
(05:39):
any kind and they're going tofeel as though they do not
belong, nor should they be, inour churches.
So we want to make sure thatwe're promoting understanding
through our staff, ourvolunteers, our entire
congregation.
We want to make sure that weare accommodating to individuals
with intellectual disabilitiesand using education.
(06:03):
Through training can dispelmyths, reduce stigma and create
a more welcoming atmosphere.
And here's the thing Church isnot about.
I say this often if you knowand love Jesus and you are there
to serve him, church is so muchless about you than it is about
(06:24):
the people that are coming in.
And the people that are comingin whatever, whatever
circumstances they are cominginto, whatever they are dealing
with in their life, right, ourjob is to help them to know
Jesus, and we can do that in somany different kinds of ways.
(06:45):
And people with disabilitiesare just.
They're another category ofpeople that we learn about, get
to understand and then be ableto find ways to share the gospel
with them, because that is ourwhole purpose, that is the sole
purpose of the church to sharethe gospel.
(07:07):
And if we are stopping becausethere are barriers or because
there are difficulties, thenwe've really missed the mark.
So how do we get past thoseattitudinal issues?
By building relationships.
That is gonna be key.
And relationships impacteverything, because so many
(07:36):
times that we've talked aboutthis fear of the unknown that
stops us from getting to knowpeople with disabilities, and
that fear of the unknown reallyputs that barrier of seeing who
they are in Christ, how theywere created in his image, how
he has plans and purposes forthem, because all we see is the
disability.
We don't see the human.
And breaking the barrier isbuilding relationships,
(08:00):
challenging those negativestereotypes that the world has
told us that someone with adisability is less than, or that
they can't enjoy life, or thatthey can't serve a purpose and
that they'll only be a burden onsociety, because those are not
truths from God's word.
Those are lies that have beenseeded through the value that
(08:23):
the world puts on people.
We don't have the same valuesystem as a follower of Christ,
and thank goodness that we don't.
And I just want to point outright here and right now how
much we're talking aboutbreaking down barriers.
And when you think aboutbreaking down barriers with
people with intellectualdisabilities, it sounds as if
(08:47):
their, our understanding, oureducation, our relationship
building.
We're the main barrier.
We can change what we do andhow we think, and that is going
to bust past the barriers thatpeople with intellectual
(09:10):
disabilities are dealing with,because we're the barrier.
So let's fix us, let's get usin a place of understanding, of
compassion, of co-laboring,coming together to make sure
that the gospel is shared andthat people have the opportunity
(09:31):
to know Christ, to grow in himand to serve him.
That is going to be the thing.
How can we do that?
When we get past us, when weget past our barriers, what can
we do?
Listen, multi-sensoryapproaches, finding ways to use
visuals, music, tactile, all ofthose kinds of ways for Bible
(09:54):
studies and sermons and eventscan help connect, and that is.
We've talked about that overand over and over on here,
because that is how the brainlearns, that's how your brain
learns, that's how my brainlearns, that's how my neighbor
next door, their brain learnsthrough multisensory experiences
, connections, repetitiveness,multi-sensory experiences,
(10:18):
connections, repetitiveness.
The other thing that we can dois we can provide support,
one-on-one support, throughbuddies, extra volunteers in the
spaces who can help thatindividual be able to experience
the event, the service,whatever is going on in the
church, in fullness, not inparts because it's what
(10:39):
convenient and what works for us, but in fullness we can help
them to not only be on thereceiving end of ministry but we
can also make sure that theyare engaging in ministry,
encouraging individuals withintellectual disabilities to
take on ministry roles so thattheir contributions can enrich
(11:00):
the church community and providethem with meaningful and
opportunities to serve, notfluff.
I'm not saying let's give themfluff, let's not have them do
things just so we can say thatthey're doing things, but so
that they have an opportunity toserve God with the gifts that
he has given them, because hehas, if they have breath in
(11:24):
their lungs, they have a placeand a plan, because the God of
the universe said I need them, Iwant them.
He didn't have to choose any ofus, but he did.
And if he chose in hissovereign, then he has purpose
in it.
(11:47):
That exists within ourselves.
We want to open up learningopportunities and serving
opportunities, and then we wantto take some extra theological
(12:08):
considerations.
Now I'm going to back this up,because this really should have
been our foundation, andscripture is always the
foundation, but we want to makesure that we don't forget.
We want to reclaim thenarrative, challenging the
notion that disability is acurse or a burden.
Don't get me wrong, becausewe've talked about balance.
There are challenges, there aredifficulties that people are
facing, but also understandingthat there are unique
(12:30):
perspectives and abilities andchoices that God made to put
these people here because theyhave something that someone else
won't have.
We want to affirm the divineimage within them.
We want to emphasize that allpeople, including those with
intellectual disabilities, arecreated in the image of God.
They are valued and they areloved, not because of what they
(12:51):
can do, but because of whocreated them.
We want to embrace diversityand understanding that God made
us all different for a reasonand he has purpose in that.
By addressing these things,churches can truly become
inclusive spaces whereindividuals with intellectual
disabilities feel welcomed,supported and empowered to
(13:16):
participate fully in the life ofa faith community.
So let's continue to worktogether and break down barriers
and build a church whereeveryone belongs, not because
that's what the world says today, but because God has a plan and
God has a purpose.
Let's break down those barriersand remember those barriers.
(13:37):
Start with you and then we canbreak the barriers in others.
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
conversation so that people ofall abilities can have the
(13:58):
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
the Indispensable Kid and GospelAccessibility and the
(14:18):
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.
(00:49):
Hey, hey, and welcome to thisepisode of Indispensable People.
We're talking aboutintellectual disabilities and
barriers that can be broken.
So how do we do that?
What is it and where do we gowith this?
Well, first we have to considerwhat is an intellectual
disability.
An intellectual disability isconsidered below average
(01:11):
intelligence and it impacts aset of life skills that are
presented before age 18.
Intellectual function can bemeasured with a test and some
symptoms may include now, thisis silly, saying symptoms sounds
really funny when it isconsidered an intellectual
disability, because you knowit's not fever, feeling sluggish
(01:35):
, rash, anything like that.
It is literally directlyconnected to life skills that
can be impacted that includecertain conceptual, social and
practical skills, so you canexperience some different
(01:55):
behavioral things, such ashyperactivity, impulsivity or
restlessness, difficultythinking or understanding
processing information may alsobe impacted.
So how does an intellectualdisability impact someone's life
?
It may affect a person'sability to learn new information
(02:16):
, communicate, cope effectively,solve problems on their own
problems on their own.
It can create stress andvulnerability for not only the
person with the intellectualdisability but those who are
caring for that person.
Some diagnoses that aredirectly connected to an
intellectual disability iscerebral palsy, down syndrome,
(02:40):
fragile X syndrome, fragile Xsyndrome and autism.
There are some difficulties.
Some people that have an autismdiagnosis struggle with that
and they prefer to fall into theneurodivergence kind of
(03:01):
thinking.
However, many individuals withautism do have intellectual
disabilities.
So how can the church break downthese barriers, be welcoming
and inclusive to those withintellectual disabilities?
We're going to dive into thosechallenges and the opportunities
that exist within thechallenges of someone who
(03:23):
experiences an intellectualdisability.
How can the church worktogether to break down those
barriers?
Well, first and foremost, wealways talk about accessibility.
Accessibility is not justphysical, which some individuals
with a physical disability havean intellectual disability, but
not all people with a physicaldisability have an intellectual
(03:44):
disability, and not all peoplewith a physical disability have
an intellectual disability, andnot all people with an
intellectual disability have aphysical disability.
It doesn't always go hand inhand.
So physical accessibility needsto be considered, but it's not
necessarily the top priority inthis group.
However, if you're consideringsomeone with a diagnosis of
cerebral palsy, it is likelythat their physical is impacted,
(04:07):
so we do have to make sure thatwe consider that.
In addition to that, we want toconsider how we're going to
adapt our worship surfaces.
It's crucial to considersensory needs physical needs,
although not every person withan intellectual disability has
sensory needs, so we need tounderstand that this isn't a
(04:31):
blanket statement.
These all don't apply.
It is very individual.
However, someone who wouldstruggle with dealing with
problem solving or processinginformation it is likely that
when too many sensory things arecoming at them, that their body
(04:52):
may have difficulty regulatingthat.
So it would be good to considerproviding sensory bags that
would help with reducing noiselevels, if needed, by having
noise canceling headphones orassistive devices, headphones,
fidget tools anything that mightprovide a comfortable
(05:16):
experience.
Also, we can create anincredible building.
We can have all the toolsnecessary to create an adaptive
worship service, but if ourattitudes are not right, then we
will always struggle to serveindividuals with disabilities of
(05:39):
any kind and they're going tofeel as though they do not
belong, nor should they be, inour churches.
So we want to make sure thatwe're promoting understanding
through our staff, ourvolunteers, our entire
congregation.
We want to make sure that weare accommodating to individuals
with intellectual disabilitiesand using education.
(06:03):
Through training can dispelmyths, reduce stigma and create
a more welcoming atmosphere.
And here's the thing Church isnot about.
I say this often if you knowand love Jesus and you are there
to serve him, church is so muchless about you than it is about
(06:24):
the people that are coming in.
And the people that are comingin whatever, whatever
circumstances they are cominginto, whatever they are dealing
with in their life, right, ourjob is to help them to know
Jesus, and we can do that in somany different kinds of ways.
(06:45):
And people with disabilitiesare just.
They're another category ofpeople that we learn about, get
to understand and then be ableto find ways to share the gospel
with them, because that is ourwhole purpose, that is the sole
purpose of the church to sharethe gospel.
(07:07):
And if we are stopping becausethere are barriers or because
there are difficulties, thenwe've really missed the mark.
So how do we get past thoseattitudinal issues?
By building relationships.
That is gonna be key.
And relationships impacteverything, because so many
(07:36):
times that we've talked aboutthis fear of the unknown that
stops us from getting to knowpeople with disabilities, and
that fear of the unknown reallyputs that barrier of seeing who
they are in Christ, how theywere created in his image, how
he has plans and purposes forthem, because all we see is the
disability.
We don't see the human.
And breaking the barrier isbuilding relationships,
(08:00):
challenging those negativestereotypes that the world has
told us that someone with adisability is less than, or that
they can't enjoy life, or thatthey can't serve a purpose and
that they'll only be a burden onsociety, because those are not
truths from God's word.
Those are lies that have beenseeded through the value that
(08:23):
the world puts on people.
We don't have the same valuesystem as a follower of Christ,
and thank goodness that we don't.
And I just want to point outright here and right now how
much we're talking aboutbreaking down barriers.
And when you think aboutbreaking down barriers with
people with intellectualdisabilities, it sounds as if
(08:47):
their, our understanding, oureducation, our relationship
building.
We're the main barrier.
We can change what we do andhow we think, and that is going
to bust past the barriers thatpeople with intellectual
(09:10):
disabilities are dealing with,because we're the barrier.
So let's fix us, let's get usin a place of understanding, of
compassion, of co-laboring,coming together to make sure
that the gospel is shared andthat people have the opportunity
(09:31):
to know Christ, to grow in himand to serve him.
That is going to be the thing.
How can we do that?
When we get past us, when weget past our barriers, what can
we do?
Listen, multi-sensoryapproaches, finding ways to use
visuals, music, tactile, all ofthose kinds of ways for Bible
(09:54):
studies and sermons and eventscan help connect, and that is.
We've talked about that overand over and over on here,
because that is how the brainlearns, that's how your brain
learns, that's how my brainlearns, that's how my neighbor
next door, their brain learnsthrough multisensory experiences
, connections, repetitiveness,multi-sensory experiences,
(10:18):
connections, repetitiveness.
The other thing that we can dois we can provide support,
one-on-one support, throughbuddies, extra volunteers in the
spaces who can help thatindividual be able to experience
the event, the service,whatever is going on in the
church, in fullness, not inparts because it's what
(10:39):
convenient and what works for us, but in fullness we can help
them to not only be on thereceiving end of ministry but we
can also make sure that theyare engaging in ministry,
encouraging individuals withintellectual disabilities to
take on ministry roles so thattheir contributions can enrich
(11:00):
the church community and providethem with meaningful and
opportunities to serve, notfluff.
I'm not saying let's give themfluff, let's not have them do
things just so we can say thatthey're doing things, but so
that they have an opportunity toserve God with the gifts that
he has given them, because hehas, if they have breath in
(11:24):
their lungs, they have a placeand a plan, because the God of
the universe said I need them, Iwant them.
He didn't have to choose any ofus, but he did.
And if he chose in hissovereign, then he has purpose
in it.
(11:47):
That exists within ourselves.
We want to open up learningopportunities and serving
opportunities, and then we wantto take some extra theological
(12:08):
considerations.
Now I'm going to back this up,because this really should have
been our foundation, andscripture is always the
foundation, but we want to makesure that we don't forget.
We want to reclaim thenarrative, challenging the
notion that disability is acurse or a burden.
Don't get me wrong, becausewe've talked about balance.
There are challenges, there aredifficulties that people are
facing, but also understandingthat there are unique
(12:30):
perspectives and abilities andchoices that God made to put
these people here because theyhave something that someone else
won't have.
We want to affirm the divineimage within them.
We want to emphasize that allpeople, including those with
intellectual disabilities, arecreated in the image of God.
They are valued and they areloved, not because of what they
(12:51):
can do, but because of whocreated them.
We want to embrace diversityand understanding that God made
us all different for a reasonand he has purpose in that.
By addressing these things,churches can truly become
inclusive spaces whereindividuals with intellectual
disabilities feel welcomed,supported and empowered to
(13:16):
participate fully in the life ofa faith community.
So let's continue to worktogether and break down barriers
and build a church whereeveryone belongs, not because
that's what the world says today, but because God has a plan and
God has a purpose.
Let's break down those barriersand remember those barriers.
(13:37):
Start with you and then we canbreak the barriers in others.
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
conversation so that people ofall abilities can have the
(13:58):
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
the Indispensable Kid and GospelAccessibility and the
(14:18):
Indispensable People.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!