Using Sensory Bible Stories to engage children and adults with additional needs

A Sensory Bible Story for Palm Sunday is used as the model for this post. Download the whole story from https://www.bdeducation.org.uk/product/sensory-stories-for-easter/ Along with many others!

This is the Palm Sunday sensory story. And this is a video I did of how to prepare and present a sensory story at a training session last year. 

This video will show you how to prepare and present a sensory story.

Summary and helpful tips

A sensory story is a story with minimal language. We write only the key sentences and try to keep to between 8-10 where possible.  Then each sentence is matched with a sensory experience and throughout the story we try to engage all the sensory systems, but just one at a time.  As well as sight, sound, smell, touch and taste, we can engage our sense of movement, balance and our internal sensations of hunger, thirst, emotions and temperature.  Some are easier than others but in any one story we try to have a variety of different sensory experiences.

Sensory stories can be used with all ages.   I used them when I worked in a special school all the time for literacy lessons, RE lessons, history lessons and the teenage children I taught were really engaged with them.  I have used them in our adults with learning disability church group (The Good News Group) for years too.  They can be used in children’s groups of all ages and even with growth groups or other small groups.  Anything that gives us space and time to engage all our senses with God’s word can be helpful in many different spaces. 

If possible, know your children’s sensory triggers.  Find out before you start the story if there are any particular triggers such as certain noises.  If your story has something that triggers, find out if it can be tolerated if they don’t get involved (eg, a texture of something) or if it needs to be changed (eg. a noise that causes pain).  Thinking of alternatives in the moment is a skill – but it does develop with experience.  We must never put a child through pain or distress.  We are trying to help them see these Bible stories as something full of awe and wonder, something to engage with and experience. So do be careful and respectful with your sensory activities.  

Take time to read the story.  Keep to the script so it says the same thing every time.  Those who cannot read can listen to the rhythm of the language and look at the symbols to see the sequence of events.  All the stories we have created come with Widgit symbols.

Don’t rush on to another activity afterwards. Such as the craft to ‘prove’ what you’ve been doing.  Let the group take time over the story and if they like it, read it at least twice and the second time they might get more involved because it will be familiar to them.  If someone is likely to want to keep hold of an item, don’t tell them off.  Use that as a chance to talk about that part of the story again, and maybe have some additional items next time.  The idea is not to move on a quickly as possible and get on with the next thing, but to tarry, to take time, to walk the story through and have some time to process and think about what it might have been like.  

Have a main story teller.  Let the other helpers sit back and maybe sit beside a person who might need some gentle support.  This person should not make the person pass on the objecteg. Not “now you must pass it on to the next person”, but to gently encourage by saying things like “maybe the next person would like to fell the hard stone that was like the one at the tomb.”

Let the group decide what to do with the story once it’s finished.  Some might like to retell it themselves, some will just walk away and do the next thing.  That’s ok.

Consider using the story again. Remember reading a favourite story over and over again.  We can help ingrain these stories into the lives of the people we are sharing them with through familiarity.  The more they experience the Bible, the more they can develop their relationship with Jesus. 

And consider developing the stories with the Why? Stories.  Here’s some that could be used with this Palm Sunday story. https://www.bdeducation.org.uk/product/why-stories-for-easter/

(The next blog will be about Why? Stories – so look out for it!) 

I believe in healing.

Following on from my last blog, “Should I ask God to heal me of ADHD?”, I wanted to expand on the theme of healing.  

Images from Pixabay.com

Psalm 30 1-3

Lord, I will give you honour.

You brought me out of deep trouble

    You didn’t give my enemies the joy of seeing me die.

Lord my God, I called out to you for help.

    And you healed me.

Lord, you brought me up from the place of the dead.

    You kept me from going down into the pit.

I believe God heals.  I believe Jesus heals today.  I believe in miraculous healing.  The gospels are full of healing testimonies.  Jesus healed wherever he went.  

Luke 4v40

At sunset, people brought to Jesus all who were sick. He placed his hands on each one and healed them.

Luke 6 v17-19

Jesus went down the mountain with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there. A large number of other people were there too. They came from all over Judea, including Jerusalem. They also came from the coastland around Tyre and Sidon. They had all come to hear Jesus and to be healed of their sicknesses. People who were troubled by evil spirits were made well.  Everyone tried to touch Jesus. Power was coming from him and healing them all.

When I first met Jesus, I was healed too.  I was healed of depression, the effects of trauma and bad relationships. I was healed of the effects of being involved in spiritualism.  The scripture in Luke 6, “People who were troubled by evil spirits were made well,” is my testimony too.  Over the years, that healing has continued.  Growing in faith, reading God’s word and putting it into practice in my life has healed different things at different times. There are things I would still like to be healed from.  But trusting God through Jesus Christ has to be the my main thing.  Like Paul said, 

But he said to me, “My grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So I am very happy to brag about how weak I am. Then Christ’s power can rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

I have listened to many disabled people and their thoughts and experiences about healing.  Autistic and ADHD people who want healing for the trauma of being judged and labelled as bad or broken.  People with serious illnesses who long to be made well physically.  Deaf people who do want to hear and those who don’t, but want the world to be more accessible to them.  People with long term illnesses or physical disabilities who have ministries that have grown out of their disability.  I have known a person healed from a serious back condition, their spine was straightened miraculously.  The only certain thing is that Jesus can and does heal.  But is this something we must desire or seek above all else?  Can God not use us in the state we are in?  Many disabled people do want healing, but the power and will to heal belongs between them and Jesus himself, just as it did between Jesus and those he met in the gospels.  

Jesus said that those who came to him were looking for signs.  He had compassion on them.  But why when at the pool of Bethesda did he only choose one person to heal?  Why not all the others?  Even then, Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed – he didn’t assume what he wanted, which showed great respect to the man.   

“When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’

John 5v6

Did the others not deserve to be healed?  It’s a hard and unfathomable fact that not everyone is healed. It is easy to assume that the others did not have the faith to be healed.  But the Bible does not say that. In fact, Jesus expressly said that disability was not the result of sin when he healed Bartimaeus,

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

John 9 v1-3

The man who was lowered through the roof by his friends was forgiven his sins.  Not healed at first.  The healing that came, was described as a sign to prove Jesus’ authority to the religious leaders who were calling Jesus a blasphemer.  

Joni Erickson Tada, a quadriplegic woman who has been a disability minister for many years since the accident that caused her disability says;

“God has taught me that he wants to display his power in my life in far more glorious ways than if I were to jump out of this wheelchair.”

Her story and testimony can be listened to here https://joniandfriends.org/podcast/a-deeper-healing/

So, the focus of healing or not being healed is to display God’s power.  Can you get your head around that?  I agree with Joni that God is concerned with the health of our soul much more than our bodies.  We should seek healing in our souls more than healing in our bodies.  I do encourage you to listen to Joni’s podcast about this. 

One of the biggest problems is the judgement that comes from those Christians who impose their narrow understanding of how God works in people’s lives on disabled people.  I have friends who are wheelchair users who regularly have people coming up to them and praying for their healing without even asking them if that is okay, or even if it’s what they want.  I have friends who are autistic being told they are demon possessed, and those who have mental health conditions who are told by other Christians they must not have enough faith because they haven’t let God heal them.  

A deeper understanding of our human condition is needed.  Jesus came to save us all from our sins.  Yes, he heals. Yes, healing can lead to salvation, but so can living with a condition that leads you into deeper trust and even ministry with Jesus.  I see Jesus working through the ministry and testimony of disabled people all the time.  Joni is one example, but there are many more.  Sadly, there are those who haven’t been able to minister, preach or serve in the church because their disability is seen as a sin or lack of faith.  

I pray for the healing of bad attitudes and mistaken theology.  I pray for the healing of our souls – the same souls that are persecuting, judging and bullying disabled people out of the church.  Jesus came to renew our minds, to give us life to the full – but what that looks like in each of us is much deeper than an outward or physical change. It is our hearts that need the healing.  Again, I don’t ask for healing of my ADHD because when the situation is right for me, I thrive in my faith, and my ADHD is an asset not a curse.  Maybe that could happen for more and more people who we see as disabled.  If we created the environments that were more accessible for more people, then we would release their gifts, enable them to serve and preach and Jesus would be glorified in their lives.  Healing is much more than we might first think about.  

Dear Father, 

I pray for the healing of your people, in your church. May we really see each other as you see us, help us seek you and your kingdom, may we learn to seek the healing you want for us deep in our souls.  Expand our understanding of how you use the weak things of this world to shame the wise.  Lord release all of our gifts, and help us create environments that enable those gifts to be used for your glory. In Jesus Name.  Amen. 

Should I ask God to heal me of ADHD?

I’ve struggled with my own brain for all my life.  When I became a Christian, I became exposed to the ‘right way of thinking’ or ableism of church participation.  The ideas that good Christians read the Bible every day, prayed in quiet times and took notes on sermons that they could discuss intellectually in home groups were bombarding me.  

I have struggled with my brain all the years I’ve been a Christian.  Which is more than 30 years.  I became a Christian when at the age of 21, and in a real mess in my life, God came and rescued me.  I asked a question to the sky “God, are you really there?” and he answered me.  I felt it, I experienced it as a physical wave of peace washing through my body.  And I have loved him ever since. 

But that doesn’t mean I’ve found church easy.  I am naturally enthusiastic, chatty, quick to volunteer for things, struggle when I get bored and am very fidgety – but unless you know ADHD and masking, you wouldn’t put those things together in me…well, not at first.  I love organising, but it’s because I struggle to manage when other people are in charge.  And even though I regularly sail very close to disaster, somehow, God has brought me through the regular chaos of things being left to last minute or forgetting to do some vital thing.  I blurt out the stupid questions (that are probably what others want to ask but daren’t). On the surface, I am a master of masking.  I try to fit the expectations and be a good Christian.  But something just isn’t right about that.  I feel like an out of sync clock – a few seconds behind everyone else, and always trying to hide it. 

All images from pixabay.com

The reality I have had to come to terms with is that ADHD affects me more than I admit to others.  Daily functioning only happens with many lists and many mini-panic attacks that I’ve forgotten something or messed up again.  My greatest fear is letting people down and my rejection sensitivity disorder disables me more than anyone could imagine.  One small mistake or criticism means two weeks of physical shame as I struggle with the impact of that one small comment on my brain’s emotional centre.  Over the years of being a Christian, the impact of my early life and trying to be something I wasn’t (someone else’s idea of a good Christian) has led to depression and many years of soul searching.  I never seemed good enough.  I have even lost jobs because of what I now know was my ADHD disabilities.  

But should I ask God to heal me of ADHD?  Could he make my brain function differently so it doesn’t forget things or become bored so, so easily?  Could he make it concentrate better and not miss important information from other people when they are talking to me?  Could God change my brain to help me fit into society better and not be so impulsive?  Would my new brain remember to do daily quiet time and remember who to pray for each day?  Would I benefit from being able to concentrate on a sermon all the way through and not interrupt people during house group sessions.  Would I be able to calm my emotions so I don’t get so worried or panicky or upset for letting people down?  

The other side of this is the deep joy I have had in following Jesus for all these years.  The intensity of my emotions means I feel joy as a deep spiritual experience and the connection with God is deep and wonderful. I feel waves of peace through my muscles and organs as I connect with Him in praise and prayer.  I pray all the time, in my mundane and everyday activities rather than a set-aside quiet time because that works for me.  I seek God in everything because my brain is switched on to noticing everything around me.  In church I notice people, I see who looks sad, who is tired and who is struggling.  I hear God’s voice, sometimes audibly, often in reading the Bible ad-hoc and sometimes in dreams.  I respond impulsively to God’s leading to give someone a gift or to ask if they are okay.  I am keen to try new and creative ways of reaching out to people, to connecting with them and I have learned to use Makaton in worship because that means I can move and not have to sit still.  I was part of a congregation of people with learning disabilities and still speak out in church about disability and inclusion.   And healing has been part of my story – but not healing of the way my brain works – but healing of trauma, of rejection and of hurt.  I have been broken and remade my God’s love in all these years.  My relationship with my parents has been restored, my marriage has been kept strong and I have blessings beyond measure because God has worked with who I am and the way I am.  I learned to pick myself up from rejection and start a new thing. I’ve taken huge risks that led to amazing things.  I know that my life with Jesus is the most awesome thing that I would never change. 

Having had the official diagnosis only two and a half years ago, there has been a process of understanding myself and reframing my past in the light of this new identity.  Rather than disabling my identity in Christ, it has made more sense of it.  I won’t be asking him to heal me of ADHD at all.  The disabling aspects of my brain are those that make me turn to Jesus for help.  They have made me reliant on him and not afraid when there is a big problem in front of me.  I am a spiritual warrior because of my ADHD not despite it.  I believe I will have this brain in my resurrected body, but in the new heaven and new earth, I won’t be disabled by the disabling expectations that were never meant to be there in God’s Kingdom. 

Barriers – 1

In the UK we have been slowly breaking down the barriers to including people with disabilities.  I remember as a student visiting a large institution called Calderstones – a residential hospital for adults with learning disabilities. I cried all the way home. That was in the 80s.

Now the old hospitals have closed down and we have care in the community.  Whereas there are horrible stories like Winterbourne to contend with, there are also many successful and wonderful care organisations enabling people with learning disabilities live and be included in our communities. We have legislation and funding that enable people with LD to have some control over their lives and make decisions for themselves.

Read more: Barriers – 1

There is still a looooooooooong way to go. It is easier, however, to complain about what is not being done than join in and do something about it…  That is why I support organisations like Count Everyone In https://www.counteveryonein.org.uk   and Through The Roof https://throughtheroof.org who are doing some amazing work and are Christian organisations supporting churches to become more inclusive.

This of course is something very close to my heart. Years of leading a group for adults with learning disabilities at my last church was brilliant, but not many of them actually went to join the main church services or activities.  It always seemed such a separate congregation.  However, it has endured the lockdowns and is still going.  When I visit and teach there, usually once a term, they are still loving Jesus and are a wonderful Jesus focussed community.  

In my new church I am focussing on how we include people with additional needs in the main activities of the church, so that all we do becomes more inclusive.  It’s a journey and a challenge but I am so grateful to God for leaders that want to learn too.  

So as I reconsider the barriers to inclusion, I’ve updated this blog and am starting to write more up to date articles.  Here is barrier number 1 –

Barriers – 1 

Our church is open to growing and learning and doing what it can to include ALL people. It doesn’t happen immediately and despite an old building, accessibility is always on the agenda of that particular committee.  But it’s not only physical accessibility that is a barrier. In a way that is the easiest thing to deal with.

No…it’s the hidden barriers we must examine…like language, for example.

As soon as you walk through the door in many places of worship there may be a warm welcome and then a set of notices and/or a hymn book is thrust into our hands. But what if you can’t read?

We read the Bible…it’s a big book with small writing and lots of it. But what if you can’t read?

We sing songs from sheets, books or screens. But what if you can’t read?

There are posters about events and meetings, prayer letters, newsletters, gospel tracts. But what if you can’t read?

There is also those who struggle with sensory overload – the background noise that many of us are able to filter out can seriously impact their ability to hear what is said.  What seems like a quiet church to you might be sounding like a busy railway station to someone with acute sensory differences.  They may be able to read, but they cannot tune in or hear what s being said.  They can often end up with headaches or even become very distressed.  

Then there are people who can’t hear you?  Whether they have deafness through their life or acquire it as they get older there will be people who struggle to catch what is said, who can’t hear the greeting at the door, never mind the songs, sermons and prayers.  But deafness is not always complete loss of sound – some people really struggle with tuning into speech when there is background noise.  So sermons, conversations and readings can be very difficult to access. 

This article from a deaf Christian is really good at explaining some of the challenges and issues around being deaf at church. https://theconversation.com/deaf-christians-often-struggle-to-hear-gods-word-but-some-find-meaning-in-the-richness-of-who-they-are-128845 

All these are real experiences for people who have learning disabilities and other different needs in our church populations.  Even more concerning, they are reasons why people don’t come to church, or don’t hear the gospel in the first place.  By only relying on speech or having to read we are excluding people who need to be brought to the banquet.  (See Luke 14 verses 15-23).

Are we up to it?  Shall we ask the people with additional needs themselves what makes church good for them?  Shall we go and find out where they are and bring them into God’s Kingdom with us and work out how to do that in a way that will make sense to each person?  Shall we start a journey together and not be  afraid of trying things, learning together from our successes and failures and building a church fit for God’s family?

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ADHD and faith

It’s a challenge for me to write so personally. I’m worried that people will judge me and change their perception of me. But if I am to be authentic as a child of God, then I want to share my story to help others. So, here goes…

There is so much misinformation and prejudice about ADHD, from dismissal (there’s no such thing) to assuming it is a ‘naughty boy syndrome that people grow out of’.

So what if I tell you I am a 53 year old woman, recently diagnosed with ADHD?  

First, I would have to cope with your look of disbelief.  Then watch the cogs of your brain whirr around to find a suitable response.  I’d much rather hear “that’s interesting, what does that mean?” than “but you seem so normal” or “but isn’t that just a child thing.” 

In churches I have been part of over the years, I’ve often been pretending to be what I thought was normal and respectable.  I’d volunteer, share kindnesses with anyone and sit quietly through the sermons. Some churches have been places where I was able to open up and be more of myself and I am so grateful to them because that is how I started to heal and learn about myself.  It’s been a long journey to get to where I am now. Other churches have made me feel I don’t fit in.  I honestly don’t think they do this on purpose but teaching that implies ‘this is how to be a good Christian’ (and then Bible Study, quiet times, serving in the church, how to be a good parent, wife, woman… etc, are all ‘expected’) just crushed me.  I am not able to fit in that mould, I fight with the feelings of never being good enough.  I thank God that it has given me a deeper understanding of his grace.  I have learned that is the most important and only measure I need – am I enough for his grace. Always. 

SO, I have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) but I don’t argue with you all the time, I don’t visible fidget or climb the walls (oh, but if you really looked you’d see how much effort I need to employ to try and keep still) and I seem to be able to pay attention.  I don’t make impulsive decisions (do I not?) and people may think I am quite sociable.  I am. I am terrible at organisation, time keeping and am on the verge of chaos all the time.  However, when you first look, I seem organised, reliable and tidy.  (I am exhausted and have so many strategies to keep my life from collapsing into chaos, you could not imagine).  I am a people pleaser because I have such acute rejection sensitivity that any hint of criticism or rebuff, sends me into a spiral of depression and dread for weeks.   

In church I feel that I talk too much, take over with too much enthusiasm, struggle once the interest wains and can’t sit still for a whole sermon.  I often ‘need the loo’ in the middle or I manage to sit still and am squirming so much inside I can’t remember a word of what they said.  The best place for me was the Good News Group where we did things in small chunks, actively and practically.  I learned so much about my faith and belonging when I was part of that church. 

The thing is, we have got it wrong.   Attention Deficit is actually too much attention.  Everything catches my eye and when I go into a room, I scan and read every picture on the wall, every pattern in the wallpaper, the stains on the carpet and the drape of the curtains.  I have clocked all your family photos and the dust on your TV (sorry).  But I don’t judge. My brain just finds it interesting.  Then I scan the people.  I work out who is who, who they know and read their body language.  I notice what they are wearing, if they ironed their T-shirt and what their shoes are like.  I watch the interaction between the guests and work out quickly who is with who, who likes who and who feels awkward.   I can tell you who is feeling tired and who is excited to be there.  I love people and will soon start talking to anyone of them.  In the first two minutes I could know more about them than my husband would find out in 2 years. I might find it hard to stop talking but I’ve trained myself to ask questions and listen to the answers so I can make that person feel important and that I am interested in them.  Because did I tell you I love people?  I am curious and interested in their lives, what they do and why they are there.  I want to hear about their lives and their stories.  But yes, I also might be the one who gets stuck with your uncle Frank and his many tales.  I am not good at listening to something I’ve already heard.  As a Christian I fare better in quiet, unbusy places and environments.  I have grown in my faith and relationship with God through seeking these out.  I love places like Scargill House in Yorkshire and Whalley Abbey in Lancashire.  I pray best when I am in the countryside and walking on a quiet beach in the winter.  

Attention needs interest, so it’s a good job I am so fascinated by people and their stories.  But attention can be distracted and inanely bored if the interest fades.  And I have the boredom threshold of a gnat.  This is not attention DEFICIT.  This is attention overload.  That’s why people think people with ADHD don’t pay attention.  They only see it from the outside.  Not from the inside when there is so much going on in my brain all at once.  But faith stories and testimonies light up my life.  I love hearing how God works in people’s lives and love supporting and sharing those stories with others. 

Hyperactivity Disorder is not a disorder.  This is the need to move, the inability to sit still for long periods of time (are you sure humans were made to do that for 6-8 hours a day every day???) and to stimulate the brain through the sensory systems.  People think I can sit still, but it’s something I’ve been trained to do so all my life.  I also have what’s called rejection sensitivity.  This is related to my interoception sensory system (internal body signals and emotions).  I feel emotions hugely.  So criticism triggers a physical dread sensation in my body that used to last for more than two weeks, and if I felt really rejected, for years. That physical feeling I’d have to try and squash into my subconscious so I could function and manage day to day.  But this affected my behaviour.  I would override my need to move and mask my fidgeting to ‘be good’.    I find solace in my imagination.  Sometimes a Bible reading or something the preacher says sparks that imagination and I soar on wings like eagles! I can go off on a wonderful journey in my imagination where I am following the person who encountered Jesus back to their village, or imagining how I could put that in practice in my work and life.  I do go off on my own thought-journey during sermons (and it may look as if I’ve zoned out) so often, but for me that has been a gift from the preacher to help me go deeper in my faith. 

Impulsivity is another thing associated with ADHD.  It’s a curious one when you have rejection sensitivity.  You can’t upset anyone, so your impulsivity turns inwards.  You might do secret shopping on an impulse or turn to eating, special interests or hobbies – it doesn’t always have to be negative! Some people might get into drugs or addictions for this reason. I am creative and have probably tried nearly every craft going.  But you don’t just go for a starter kit – impulsivity leads you to buy the professional kit straight away.  But then, I am multi-talented and can produce a bit of craft for any occasion… but only if I am interested in that at the time!  But in church I might say yes to too many things and end up over stretched and over committed.  Please look after me and tell me to think rather than expect a quick answer.  I am so often exhausted by over-commitment, I’d like to rest a while sometimes.  It can lead to mental burnout and depression and in the past I have suffered with those. When Jesus is described as the Wonderful Counsellor – I have certainly found this to be a core aspect of my relationship with him, over many, many years of healing and restoration.

Self-esteem is a huge issue.  Imagine spending the whole of your life thinking you are broken. Wondering what is wrong with you and why things are so difficult that others seem to be able to manage naturally.   

Knowing Jesus has helped me walk through this life with a different perspective on everything.  I came to faith with a huge load on my back.  Over the years the Holy Spirit has gently and kindly led me through a journey of discovery and healing.  I have unlearned many self-destructive strategies I thought were helpful to me but actually hurt me and the ones I loved. I was trying to protect my fragile heart whilst pretending to be competent and I thought I knew best.   The best for me was to learn to surrender to the gentle, humble, powerful and kind love of God my Father.  In His grace I stand.  And having ADHD is who he made me to be. His power is made perfect in my weaknesses, his power works through my strengths. I am who he is making me to be because we are never finished.  I love Jesus with all my heart and am totally accepted, saved and made new in his death and resurrection.  I am not made wrong, but made differently (as Kat Mills sang) and that is God’s sovereignty over my life.  Hallelujah! 

Let the Little Children Come to Me.

Does this make you think ‘Ahhh” and visualise a cute picture of Jesus patting some innocent and attractive looking children on the head?   Some pictures have blond cherub like children…

Let the Little Children Come to Me – Jesus’ Words in 6 Bible Versions

some have happy, smiling and physically able children… (The LTLCCTM – website above is very good BTW)

You might even get a picture showing children from different races and cultures.But where are the pictures of Jesus with children with disabilities, with Down’s syndrome, those who are sad and angry, those who find it hard to pay attention and those who have physical differences like facial deformities? 

Would Jesus Be Welcomed At Your Church If He Arrived With Disabled Children?

Now that’s a bit more like it. 

There are truths about how society has treated the children (and into adulthood) who do not fit societies idea of ‘normal’  (fit, healthy, compliant, beautiful, economically useful and subservient perhaps?)  and this is going to hurt.

But not as much as it has hurt them.

For centuries our society has tried to forget the children who are different.  It has forced them to act normal, often through cruelty, strict discipline and punishment.  It has told them that if you want to be part of society you need to be what we decide is normal.  People who are different have been forced to be normal just to be safe.  

I hate using ‘them’ because they are ‘us’ – part of the body of Christ.  But they have been made ‘other’, not the same as ‘the normal ones’.  

They have been locked away in institutions, ignored and considered a ‘bad secret’ we don’t talk about.  Some still are. They are abused and beaten, deprived, medicated and ‘treated’ – anything to work towards making them ‘normal’. 

They have been told they are worthless and that they won’t amount to anything in a world that judges your worth by ‘normal’  (fit, healthy, compliant, beautiful, economically useful and subservient perhaps?) Exceptional people are only allowed to be exceptional in these areas of ‘normal’, unless they are one of the few that feel entitled to rule over others…because they are ‘more than normal’ than them and know what is best for the ‘less than normal’ people. 

Children with disabilities and differences have been persecuted and bullied by other children who are taught by society early on that ‘normal’ is the thing to be and ‘not normal’ is to be feared and ridiculed.  ‘Mong’, “Autistic’, “Gay” are now regular playground taunts even in the primary school.  Children who are different are taken advantage of, gaslighted, blamed and dismissed.  Everything they do is judged through the ‘normal’ lens. (fit, healthy, compliant, beautiful, economically useful and subservient perhaps?) They are told they have no potential and are a burden on society.  There are feeble attempts to support a few of them in schools, and then they are dropped and abandoned as they turn into adults. 

They are unheard, are not allowed to make decisions for themselves, talked over, rushed, ignored.  Scientists work hard to irradicate them.  It doesn’t even shock us when we hear that around the world, over 90% of children with Down’s syndrome are aborted.  Eugenics are celebrated.  Choosing the genetic make up of your child is on its way.  Would you make yours ‘normal’?  

Parents are told they have failed.  That they have failed to give society a ‘normal’ child and that they must now pay the price.  Families are judged, ostracised, excluded and dismissed.  They are given pity, not celebration when their precious child is born.  They are told they must fight but are always on the losing side of a system that fights back against them.  “Only normal people (fit, healthy, compliant, beautiful, economically useful and subservient perhaps?) accepted here”, it says.   They are gaslighted and bullied by normal people we call professionals because they have read about ‘their kind’ in books and theories.  They are blamed, ridiculed, fearful and overwhelmed.  They are exhausted.  

I have heard these stories but more importantly, so has God.  From the beginning he has heard the stones cry out to him.  The cruelty and the abandonment of part of the body of Christ is scandalous.  And that it is part of his church’s history and present state, is too.  

When Jesus walked this earth he showed us the way.  He didn’t just mean the ‘normal’ (fit, healthy, compliant, beautiful, economically useful and subservient perhaps?) children should be brought to him.   

Are you turning away those who Jesus loves?  Where are the ‘different ones’ in your church family?  Are you expecting them to be ‘normal’ to be accepted into God’s kingdom?  Are you putting your own rules around who Jesus will accept?  How many adults have grown up feeling God doesn’t love them or accept people like them – because they don’t fit into your ‘normal’ in the church? (fit, healthy, compliant, beautiful, economically useful and subservient perhaps?)

And then we enforce all that as they grow into adults. We treat them like children, pity them and ignore their talents, never giving them the chance to serve and use their gifts in leadership and church life. We limit their potential. We might be talking about children with additional needs in children’s ministry – but where are the talks about adults with additional needs in ministry training?

Dreams and Disappointments

Are you fearful and worried?  Are you disappointed with a dream you had that isn’t happening?   Are you trying to make things happen and barriers are in the way or there seems to be no response?  Do we feel that our lack of faith is making our dreams fail?

I have a dream of reaching out to people with learning disabilities with the gospel and equipping others to do the same (especially learning disabled believers themselves).   I’ve had this dream since I even before I became a Christian, even though I didn’t know what that desire really meant until I did know Jesus…. Then the context became clear. 

But when we face disappointment or failure, when we see the world but too many barriers in the way, then it is easy to question your dream.  Is it really from God?  Am I doing it wrong?  Do I not have enough faith? 

We can learn a lot from the dreamers in the Bible.  And the most famous of all is Joseph.  He dared to share his dreams, somewhat naively, to his brothers.  And we know how that turned out.  Don’t you think that when he was taken into slavery and later thrown into prison, that he questioned his dreams?  All those long years of it not turning out right.  I would have questioned God,  I would have asked him why had I got it so wrong?  I would have thought that maybe I needed to lower my expectations of what God was going to do, that maybe I’d got the dream wrong in the first place. 

I’m talking about this because I am dealing with my disappointments that my dreams, that I believe are God given, are not working out… but that is my pride.  I imagined the way my dreams would work out… and in pursuing my own plans I forgot that God works differently.  The other problem we often have is numbers.  How many times are we impressed by Christian and secular people who have thousands of responses to podcasts or you tube videos?  Of those with thousands of followers on any social media platform.  When you touch just one life do you think it is not enough?

Let me encourage you. 

When God touched your life – was it important?  

It was important to you… and it was important to God. 

So when we touch one person with kindness or encouragement or accessing the word of God, then we have made God’s dream come true.  There is so much frustration about what isn’t happening, so much comparison of numbers that we can forget that Gods measure of success is upside down from this world.  Just bringing up your own children with additional needs to know Jesus is a huge dream come true.  Just changing one attitude towards disability in your church is a huge dream come true. We don’t know the after effects.  But God’s plans will not fail. 

One day we might see huge numbers and huge changes, the things we dreamed about.  That will be in God’s time.  Joseph waited and waited faithfully.  He knew what disappointment was and so do we.  God is doing his work and he is giving us the privilege of sharing his dreams.  Our dreams are coming true in ways we can’t even imagine.  You are going to be amazed.  Worship and thank him now.  He is with you.  

I am disappointed but not discouraged and neither should you be. Come to Jesus and lay all your life before him. Surrender and humility isn’t popular in our society, but it is what will bring us into that place where Jesus is in the right place in our life – right at the centre. I am yearning for that holiness, and for holiness to be over all the self-reliance and over-effort I put into everything. Our time of not meeting, of being isolated from our Christian families, does not mean that Jesus has gone anywhere. He is there always. He is more than able to work in you to bring peace, hope and to fulfil HIS dreams in your life.

I have my dream.  I am wondering when it will happen as I imagine,  and I feel frustrated that I seem to be knocked back and getting nowhere.  But these thoughts about Joseph remind me that waiting is just part of the journey.  God’s will, will be done. 

People with learning disabilities and their right to a spiritual life

The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act  and The Human Rights Act state that people with disabilities have a right to a spiritual life.   There are studies that show hoe beneficial a spiritual dimension is to many people’s lives such as this:

“Common transcendent narratives that may be particularly relevant to people with disabilities include the belief that God endows each person with dignity and worth that is intrinsically based, cares about the pain and suffering people encounter in life, and has a redemptive plan for each person’s life experiences. Such narratives—when internalized, bestowed with sacred meaning, and reinforced by others—can foster positive health out- comes (Liu et al., 2014). In addition, theorists have noted the social support that flows from interacting with like-minded others in religious communities may positively affect wellness (Koenig et al., 2012).”

Health & Social Work Volume 44, Number 2 May 2019 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/hsw/article/44/2/75/5248513 by guest on 06 September 2020

But also, it is often found that adults in care homes and supported living are denied a spiritual life because staff lack training on how to support this.  I’m beginning to look at the writings and research on this issue and will be sharing more as I learn, but one thing I have noticed in my own experience of leading the Good News Group, that support from carers is vital to people with learning disabilities being able to access spiritual activities.  I have known a GNG member be discouraged from going to the group, being told “You don’t want to go to the GNG tonight, do you?”.  It was another carer who found this had been going on some time, when I had got in touch to see why the person hadn’t been attending. 

I think it is clear we need to pray for carers, who are often poorly paid, given little training, and would be terrified of answering spiritual questions from their residents in case they were accused of misleading or directing them to a particular religion.  Many carers have no religious belief themselves and would not feel confident in talking about the bigger questions in life.   Carers are part of our ministry too.

What is your experience?  Are you a person who feels left out or included on your church. Does your church make itself accessible for your needs? You may be in a church that provides a service for people with learning disabilities (such as the old Prospects Groups or our Good News Group) or you may be providing accessibility for children with different abilities and additional needs in your children’s work.  Children are often brought to church by their families, who have brought them because of their own spiritual belief.  If we work to make our children’s work more accessible to all, we can build a child’s faith and confidence that they belong in God’s family no matter what the world says their value in society is.   But there’s a huge gap in the guiding of children with additional needs into an adult life and an adult faith.  They are too often treated like children forever.  I really want to do something about this.   I haven’t been involved in the Good News Group for 2 years now and in that time I have reflected on where God would want me to get involved.  I have read and prayed and come to the conclusion that it is adults with learning disabilities that are neglected in churches and in resources online.  Lockdown has given me chance to talk with some of my differently abled friends and ask them about their faith, hope and ambitions in church.  They often don’t see a place for themselves apart from what others do for them.  I’d like to see more opportunities for them to grow in faith, lead others and share the gospel with people who haven’t heard it yet.  There is a Baptist study that showed that adults with learning disabilities are one of the most unreached people’s in the UK.  

We have all been challenged by not being able to meet.  It’s been so encouraging to see groups for adults doing services online and sharing ideas.  But the fact is that we are not going to be able to meet physically for a long time yet, as often the people in our groups are medically very vulnerable.  So it really is time to rethink how we reach out to people with learning disabilities.  It’s going to be a challenge and one I am praying and chatting to people about.  Making communication accessible, making online access accessible and thinking about those who cannot access the internet or our physical buildings all need to be included. 

Please do share your thoughts and links to useful information or research.  I’m interested in turning this blog into a more accessible website but have no technical skills to do this – so if that is on your heart and you do have those skills (or know someone who does) please do get in touch. 

Using Lego to teach from the Bible…

I’ve been doing Lego Based Therapy with autistic children in my schools for a couple of years now and often deliver training to teachers and care staff in how to run these sessions. I’ve been thinking for some time about how this might be used in a church setting as the children usually love the structure and format of the sessions and their communication skills develop really well in this context.

So what is Lego Based Therapy?

Lego Based Therapy has not been developed by Lego (who don’t endorse it) but by an autism clinic in America. It’s actually a communication, social interaction and problem solving therapy. Here is more information if you’d like to learn about it.

Over 12 weeks the children work in a group of three and take on a ‘job’ with a specific and clear role. There is the…

Engineer – this role is in charge of the creation. They hold the plans (as in a Lego kit) and have the responsibility to communicate each step of the plan to the right person.

Supplier – this role is in charge of the Lego pieces and has to listen to the Engineer so they can find the right piece to pass on to the…

Builder – this role is in charge of building the model. They have to listen to the engineer to put the pieces given to them by the Supplier in the right place.

Each child in the group rotates through each role so they have the chance to experience and develop in each one. When problems occur, the children are encouraged to work it out together rather than relying on the adult to come up with the answer. They are encouraged to build a good and trusting relationship with each other as a team and to develop social chat through this and free building which they do as part of the session.

I love these sessions because many children with additional needs in schools become very reliant on adults to tell them what to do, and learning to solve problems without adult interference is a great skill for them growing up.

Lego and the Bible

Lego is very inspiring and interesting to many children. Some children with fine motor difficulties may struggle to put pieces together, and children who do not use verbal language may either need specific support such as visual or voice communication apps…but adaptations could be explored to make this activity accessible to all.

Rachel Harris, our church’s Children and Families worker, has been using  Lego Bible books below at her Lego club that she runs at a local school.

But first I am going to share with you how I thought we could start to look at creation and the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit through using a Lego Therapy approach.

The Trinity – A relationship 

God the Father can be like the Engineer.  He has the plans and communicates his plan to the Holy Spirit who is like the Supplier (of all things!).  Jesus the Son becomes the Builder.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth didn’t have any shape. And it was empty. There was darkness over the surface of the waves. At that time, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.   God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light.  Genesis 1:1-3

In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him.  John 1:1-3

Bible Truth

When we do a Lego activity where 3 people have to work together to make something, by each fulfilling their allotted role, we can discuss how the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a relationship.  This particularly difficult concept is much more than we can really understand,  but for children and adults this might be a good way to start.  When we use analogies such as the sun (3 parts – physical, light, heat) to explain the Trinity, then we miss out the interactions of communication between the three parts.  Doing an activity that develops a 3-way relationship can help us begin to explore the pure love, communication and working together of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 Now, grace and truth come to us through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.  John 1:17-19

Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me, Philip? I have been among you such a long time! Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  John 14:9

But the Father will send the Friend in my name to help you. The Friend is the Holy Spirit.
He will teach you all things. He will remind you of everything I have said to you.  John 14:26

Once we have worked together to make a model we can examine how our relationships worked.  Were they perfect like the Holy Trinity? – of course they won’t be! But we can look at how being connected to God, following his Son and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can join in with that beautiful relationship and know how we are loved completely.

There are many more ways we can explore the Bible using children’s interests in these little plastic coloured bricks.  I have bought a couple of books and will be starting to try some things out at the Lego Club in the next few weeks.  The most important thing to me is to make sure we communicate who God is and how he wants the children to follow his son Jesus.  We can make scenes and learn stories, but it is important to learn the truth of God’s absolute love for us in the process.

Here are some resources for you to try:

Bible Lego cards

Slide shows from presentation

Lego and the Bible Sept20Downloadg

lego-online-1.10.20-owuk-1Download

lego-clubs-owukDownload

Lego Bible videos by Josh Carrol https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHT2JbV1RjL3CI_rA3skmCQ

Jesus your my Superhero song in Lego

Great books

The Brick Bible.

One church at a time

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will have seen me agonise over leaving the Good News Group and struggling find a place and purpose in what God wanted me to do next. It is that leap of faith we need to take sometimes – but it isn’t very comfortable.

It has been a time of visiting other churches and finding one we could settle in. Each time we visited another church it was refreshing to look at what impression of accessibility each one gave us in that first visit. We finally settled into Buckshaw Village church – back in the CofE (I was surprised about that having been more comfortable in ”free’ churches in the past). It meets in a community centre and isn’t too far from where we live. It’s lively and I began to feel free enough to raise my hands in worship without feeling ‘weird’ again.

The Friday before shutdown happened, I plucked up the courage to meet with the minister, his PA and the children’s worker to share with them my story, my vision and my passion. I am very blessed to be in a growth group with the PA and Children’s worker so they knew what was coming 🙂

I shared my heart like I have done on other occasions. When I did this in my last church I was given a favourable response, but then NOTHING changed. I was left deflated and patronised. Like they’d sent me away with a pat on the head. It always felt like the Good News Group ticked their accessibility box.

But this time it was different. James, our minister listened. He made a couple of notes and listened some more. At the end of my passionate speech he said one simple word… “YES”. And he’d already written a plan of action.

And then on that next Monday, the country shut down. Church buildings shut down and work shut down. Suddenly we all had to rethink what we were doing and how. A few of us had attended a Makaton training day before Christmas and started to sign the memory verse at the front of church each week. Once church went online I was asked would I please continue this. So each week, I have filmed the Bible verse in Makaton and it forms part of our online recorded service.

Then we started including some signed worship songs. And we set up a Saturday signing for worship group. And bit by bit, Makaton signing has become mainstream in our church. Learning to sign worship songs has been a challenge, but aided by the wonderful Becky Makaton Tutor , my own worship in lockdown has been wonderful. I was able to use some of this in making the two Good News Group services that I filmed for them and put on You Tube. I have learned so many tech skills which opens up so many new possibilities.

As we begin to think about reopening our buildings, it is vital we do not close this online door to those who can’t get to our buildings. The lockdown seems to have given many people in our church time to reflect and see that being more accessible can be a very natural process if you let it be part of what you do. Buckshaw Village is willing and I have asked if I can write my blog about our journey. It’s one church, but I feel it can be a beacon for what other churches can do. We’ve done one thing and its made a difference. My friend who has learning difficulties says it makes him feel like he is welcome and part of the church family. The Makaton helps him understand the words.

And we were part of this WONDERFUL song

There is a lot about this church I love. I love its heart for people and its cultural diversity. I love how James, Rachel (the children’s worker) and others have preached in smaller chunks and made their words clear and easy to understand whilst covering some deep truths of the gospel. I love the prayer montages each week and miss all the people so much.

I think the next step will to be speak to the church leadership and see if we can gather everyone together in this. I have ideas and want to help everyone feel they are part of this. So please do follow our journey. We will be honest and share what works and what barriers we come up against.

And do pray. That what this one church does, others might try too.

Lynn x