Jesus’ ministry routinely included people with disabilities. People of all abilities can learn, play, and study the Bible together.

So consider…how inclusive is your space? What can you do to make sure everyone feels welcome? We asked Charla Holst, occupational therapist and founder of Overcomer Ministries, how churches can best modify spaces to include people of all abilities.

Take this simple evaluation to help your children’s ministry space be more disability friendly.

What Stage Are You?

Charla notes there are four basic stages your church may be in when it comes to disability inclusion:

1. Awareness
2. Acceptance
3. Accommodate
4. Appreciate

What is the next step you and your church can take to make your children’s ministry spaces more disability friendly and inclusive? Start with the children God has placed in your life and in your church.

Beginning with a heart and attitude of inclusivity is the first step to making a change. Here are some practical steps to consider when moving through each stage:

Awareness

Educate the volunteers, staff, and the church body about specific disabilities. This helps people gain understanding and empathy and removes fear of the unknown.

Acceptance

Evaluate and prepare your church. Be intentional about accepting people with disabilities.  Is your church accessible to people with a variety of disabilities? Consider physical accessibility but also teaching methods and attitudes toward those who attend your ministry. Use the tools in this article to evaluate your ministry.

Accommodate

Remove the barriers that limit accessibility in all areas and provide accommodation and support. Seek help from professionals as needed, but start with the tools provided in this article. Consider a free consultation for churches from an experienced occupational therapist at Overcomer Ministries.

As you read on, you’ll discover specific questions to help you evaluate how your church does or can improve at accommodating various disabilities.

Appreciate

Use the gifts and talents of everyone in the church.  Encourage children to serve using their strengths, and offer support to one another in their weaknesses. Remind both kids and adults that we all have strengths and weaknesses. 

Accessible Children’s Ministry Tool 1: Look Around

Look around and evaluate your physical space and consider if it’s conducive to learning for all abilities. Include all types of disabilities, such as…

• Physical disabilities: mobility, coordination
• Cognitive disabilities: thinking, learning, remembering
• Sensory disabilities: vision, hearing, sensory processing issues
• Communication disabilities: speech, language
• Invisible or hidden disabilities: those not easily observed by others, such as dyslexia, autism, ADHD

Accessible Children’s Ministry Tool 2: Questions to Consider

Use these questions and this video series to guide your assessment of your space:

• Are all parts of the learning environment accessible for each student? Make sure to consider areas like playgrounds, stages, and bathrooms.
• Are the tables and chairs the proper height? It’s hard for anyone to sit still in a chair when their feet are dangling. Also consider proper table height for a person using a wheelchair, to allow easy access for the armrests and footrests.
• How is the sound and noise level? Does the room echo? Is there noise from another area? Are there irritating noises like the buzz of fluorescent lights?
• Is your church too loud, too bright, or too crowded for kids with hypersensitivities? Be sensitive to bright colors and busy patterns on the floors, ceilings, or walls. These stimuli can be overstimulating and distracting.
• Does anyone need video captions, a hearing loop, or a sign language interpreter?
• Is the lighting optimal? A person with low vision or light sensitivity may need accommodations, such as lamps or light covers.
• Are the decorations distracting or helpful to the learning environment? Visual schedules and review materials can be helpful.
• Is information taught in a variety of ways, responses encouraged in multiple formats (written, typed, spoken, drawings)? Is multisensory learning and teaching encouraged? Universal Design—an educational method for developing practices that include and support the learning of students with disabilities—benefits everyone.

For a survey to help you evaluate in more detail how accessible your church is, click here.

Accessible Children’s Ministry Tool 3: Be Sensory Friendly

One in six people have sensory processing issues, which can greatly interfere with learning. People with sensory sensitivities can be easily distracted or overwhelmed by sensory input, but others may need extra sensory input to become engaged in learning.

Observe your students for signs of sensory sensitivity such as covering their ears or eyes or always wearing a hoodie, hat, or coat to shield themselves from sensory input. Some students may withdraw, hide, or try to leave the room if their sensory system is overloaded.  Sensory overload can even cause a neurological stress response such as a meltdown (can appear to be a tantrum), feeling ill, or shutting down (can appear to be non-compliance or zoning out).

Try these essential sensory tools and adjustments to help kids who show signs of sensory overload:

• Noise reducing headphones like those found in a hardware store
• Digital supports like text to speech and voice to text
• Extra time for a child to talk and take the extra effort to understand
• Calming weighted item such as a weighted stuffed animal or weighted shoulder wrap
• Alternative seating is another wonderful way to make learning more accessible to many. Allow students to stand at a table or at the back of the room.
• Wiggle seats (also called balance discs) and wobble stools are great ways to provide movement while staying seated.
• Allow students to move frequently during learning by building in active learning games and brain breaks. Group’s curriculum builds this in for you!
• Don’t call on someone to read or speak aloud; ask for volunteers.

Accessible Children’s Ministry Tool 4: Keep Learning

While you can take a few simple steps to begin adding more inclusivity to your ministry, there’s always room to grow! For video training about how to become sensory-friendly, check out these free short training videos from Overcomer Ministries.

Charla Holst, OTR/L, serves as founder and President of Overcomer Ministries, Inc., where she provides Christ-centered occupational therapy consultation and training. She also offers sensory regulation tools and resources for churches and ministries to overcome obstacles to Jesus. Her vision is for people of all abilities to have access to learn about Jesus, worship with fellow believers, grow in discipleship, and serve in ministry.  Charla and her husband Dave have two adult children, and they have worked together in ministry for over three decades of marriage.  They have taught fourth and fifth ^h graders at their church for 12 years. 

Charla also serves as the Disability Ministry Leader at her local church. During her 32-year career as an occupational therapist, she has authored three books: Empowering Occupational Therapy, All That I Want To Be, and Control Is My Goal. She is currently collaborating to write Act on His Word, an inclusive Bible curriculum utilizing the Universal Design for Learning framework.  You can find all of her free disability ministry resources here.