Does your church have a special program for your special needs child? Many churches do not. More and more families are falling away from the church because it simply doesn’t fit the needs of their family. The number of children born with some type of special needs has risen in the last several years. The 2007 Census report shows that 41 million, or 15% of children past the age of 5 have some type of disability. If your church has no program for these students, they are missing a huge opportunity to service the community.
Our church did not have any program that could help my son with his religious needs. Together, the church staff and I created one. My son is non-verbal but has typical intelligence. He only learns through technology. I shared my son’s public school records with the church and we created a program just for him. They assigned church members to him who were also employed as a public school teacher and a speech-language pathologist. They volunteered their time and worked with my son one hour per week for 18 months. He learned the same material as typical children learn for confirmation into the Lutheran church. He just was taught differently. He was taught in the manner in which he learns which is different for every child.
The picture above illustrates all that hard work being celebrated. He is pictured with his parents, family friend Christy Burgess and Pastor Chris Schneider of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
Becoming part of the community is part of our goal for our children with special needs. Church is part of that community. It should be the first leap for these children as it will be one of the most accepting places that they will find. It can be a lifetime support for your child for times of celebration and times of crisis. If your church doesn’t have any such program, you can help create it. Just start asking questions and meet with your pastor to see the possibilities. After it helps your child, it can continue to help other children. You can write me at 2ndchanceauthor@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like information about the program that we created.
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