Congregational participation and supports for children and adults with disabilities: parent perceptions.
Faith groups already open the door to people with disabilities, but parents want practical supports that turn attendance into real participation.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Jones and her team mailed a survey to 416 parents who have a child or adult with any disability.
They asked two simple things: does your son or daughter take part in church, temple, or mosque events, and are you happy with the help the faith group gives?
Parents could write extra comments on the back of the form.
What they found
Most kids and adults with disabilities do join congregational activities.
They sit beside peers without disabilities in Sunday school, youth groups, and services.
Still, the majority of parents are not satisfied with the supports.
They want more training for volunteers, quieter spaces, and clearer welcome messages.
How this fits with other research
Rattaz et al. (2014) asked French parents the same satisfaction questions about autism services and heard the same tune: staff try hard, but communication and parent input are weak.
McKinlay et al. (2022) listened to UK parents who called mainstream school “a lion’s den” because their autistic children were included on paper yet excluded in practice.
The three studies line up: inclusion in the room is not inclusion in the group.
McConkey et al. (2010) add a twist. Staff across day programs rank care tasks above social tasks. That helps explain why parents in Ault et al. (2013) feel their kids are watched but not welcomed.
Why it matters
Faith groups are free, weekly, and close to home. They are perfect places to practice social skills and build community. If you serve a client who attends church or mosque, call the coordinator before Sunday. Offer a one-page visual schedule, train two teen buddies, and set up a quiet corner. These tiny steps turn “present” into “participating” and give families the support they asked for.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although religion and spirituality have received relatively limited attention in the literature addressing people with disabilities, each is strongly associated with a host of positive outcomes, including enhanced quality of life. One way to participate in religious activities and enhance spirituality is to participate in a faith community. In this article, we report findings from a survey of 416 parents exploring the ways in which they and their children with disabilities participated in their congregations and examining factors associated with participation and inclusion in those communities. Consistent with findings from general social surveys, the majority of parents indicated their faith was important to them and many-along with their sons or daughters with disabilities-participated in congregational activities. Although parents reported their sons and daughters with disabilities participated in somewhat fewer types of activities than they did, this involvement occurred most often in activities involving peers without disabilities. However, parents generally were not satisfied with the level of supports provided by faith communities, and they highly valued a welcoming and supportive attitude by the community. We discuss implications for extending inclusive efforts into congregational contexts and suggest future research directions.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-51.01.048