Disabilities and the Gospel

• Title: (dis)Abilities and the Gospel
• Subtitle: How to Bring People With Special Needs Closer to Christ
• Authors: Danyelle Ferguson and Lynn Parsons, MS
• Length: 255 pages
• Publisher: Cedar Fort
• Website: http://www.danyelleferguson.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=73
• About the About.com Rating

50-Word Review

Finding a place for a child with special needs in a faith community is a major concern for many parents, and those communities have been slow in finding a way to be welcoming. (dis)Abilities and the Gospel comes to the rescue with reasonable, tested suggestions for making worship more inclusive.

Most parents of children with special needs have had the experience of feeling profoundly unwelcome in their worship communities. It can be hard to accommodate an atypical child in a service or a Sunday school class, and it often seems like the people in charge don’t care to try. (dis)Abilities and the Gospel is heartwarming for the way it says, "Oh, come on, sure you can include these kids. Here’s how. It’s not such a big deal, you see?"

The essays, by two moms of children with special needs who have also worked as church helpers, are sometimes written for parents and sometimes for church personnel. They’re also written from the perspective of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and so much of the text specifically addresses various levels of Mormon youth ministry and family outreach. While the techniques described can certainly be adapted to the inclusion needs of other faith communities, some readers may be put off, and a more general text might have given this book a broader reach.

Then again, the most general part of the book -- the last forty pages or so, a hodgepodge of parenting advice -- was my least favorite. The information there, readers can get from many many existing parenting books. What’s much needed is guidance on getting our kids involved in their faith, and persuading our leaders to step up. There are great blueprints here, if you can put in the effort to adjust them to your specific situation.

It's definitely for you if: you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and want inclusion information specific to that faith ... you are excited about accommodating kids with special needs in worship and are willing to adapt the suggestions to your particular faith's own routines ... you've been told so many times that kids like yours can't be included that you're longing to read about successful programs anywhere they occur.

It may be for you if: you're a parent looking for suggestions to try out yourself and ideas to suggest to those you want to accommodate your child ... you're interested in ways to build up your child's understanding of faith at home even if the public inclusion isn't going so well ... you need ideas not just for young children but for teens and young adults as well ...

It may not be for you if: you're focused on one age group and hope for an entire book of age-appropriate strategies ... you're a parent and feel that your faith leaders should be putting in the effort to make inclusion happen and not relying on you to do the legwork ... you're not in the mood for upbeat stories of children with special needs succeeding beyond expectations ...

It's definitely not for you if: you are looking for advice specific to your own faith, and this isn't it ... you will be put off by details of the Mormon ministry and quotes from Mormon leaders ... you dread including children with special needs in your worship programs and want to believe it's not practical.

Introduction
Glossary of LDS Terms

1. General Information
   • Gospel Views on Children With Special Needs
   • Getting to Know You
   • Demystifying the Diagnosis
   • Sitting, Running, and Humming
2. Teaching Strategies
   • Teaching the Spirits
   • Lead Me, Guide Me, Walk Beside Me
   • A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
   • Power Card Strategies
   • Once Upon a Time
   • Putting It All Together
3. Primary
   • Every Star Is Different
   • The Baptism Dilemma
   • Girls Just Want to Have Fun
   • We'll Be Loyal Scouts
4. Young Men & Young Women
   • Teaching Youth With a Broader Gap in Needs
   • The Young Women Connection
   • The Scouting Adventure
   • Deacons, Teachers, and More -- Oh My!
   • Early to Bed, Early to Rise
   • I Love to See the Temple
   • I Hope They Call Me on a Mission
   • Let's Get Together
5. Adults
   • Church Callings
   • Love One Another
   • Mission Possible
   • Will You Remember Me?
6. Families
   • Sacrament Meeting Survival
   • A House of Prayer
   • Scripture Power
   • Family Home Evenings
   • Can I Make It Through Another Day?
   • Relationships Matter
   • Building Parent-Child Relationships
   • Sibling Relationships
   • Extended Family and Friend Relationships
   • The Holiday Survival Guide
7. I Am a Child of God
   • Expressions of Faith and Love

You can try out a few of the book's practical suggestions with resources found on the website of co-author Lynn Parsons. Download the .zip file of "Sample PECS pictures, Narrative Story, and Power Cards" and open it to access three Word documents. One of them has samples of the Power Cards the book recommends for using a motivating illustration and theme to remind a child of simple rules during religious activities. The PECS pictures can be used to put together a picture schedule to guide your child through a morning of worship; the book suggests laminating a file folder and sticking the pictures to it with Velcro, storing laminated pictures inside and then moving them to the front to create your schedule. As each scheduled moment goes by, your child can remove the card and hand it to you. Pictures can also be used to create a Narrative Story like the one in the example, to go over with your child in advance and prepare him or her for the routine ahead.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the author. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.