Benefits of Inclusion

Inclusion is one of the areas of the Special Needs Ministry at SCC. We offer inclusion either with or without a buddy, depending on the needs of the child. When people hear that the goal is to have more Special Needs kids included in typical programming than have them in a specialized classroom, some people raise their eyebrows. I find it funny because inclusion is a priority for me and it is a vital part of the ministry (& the church as a whole).

I grew up knowing that God made everyone in His image and that people weren't all just like me but I don't remember being around people with disabilities. I wouldn't say that I was sheltered at all but I don't remember ever being around anyone with a disability until I was in Junior High. When I look at my own children, I find that they are completely oblivious to the fact that the children and adults I work with have disabilities. They see them the same way they see anyone else. Sure, their second home might be the Special Needs area here at the church, but they also have special needs kids in their classes and groups when they're in Sunday School. It's not anything for my 4 year old to be playing with a child who then starts to flap their arms because they got so excited.

A few weeks ago during our Easter Sunday programming, I had an unusual experience with including a child in typical programming. Since it was Easter, we had a lot of volunteers in the Preschool Department who were just filling in for a Sunday and didn't typically serve on a regular basis. We wanted to allow some of our higher functioning children to experience JAM Time (the FABULOUS preschool large group program) so a youth and I took a few kids upstairs to try it out. In JAM Time everyone sits on the floor so we found space towards the back of the room to allow for an easy exit if one of the kids got uncomfortable. (The kids we took upstairs were not preschool age but it was more appropriate for them to be in JAM Time rather than being in a setting where the lesson was taught in another manner.) After the songs were over, it was time for the lesson. J sat right down in the middle of a class of kids. Since there was action on the stage grabbing the kids' attention, they didn't even look twice at J. The volunteer, on the other hand, immediately became nervous. She wouldn't take her eyes off J. Every time he made any movement or responded in a loud voice to the questions asked from the stage, the volunteer would look back at me with eyes as if to say, "Aren't you going to do something?" (I was close enough to help but far enough back to give J his space.) At one point I did have to remind J to sit on his pockets so others could see but I never had to say anything else.

It was at that moment I realized just how lucky we are to have a program where kids like J are integrated flawlessly into typical programs. To the kids in the class he joined, he was just another body sitting beside them yelling "Jesus is ALIVE". To the teacher, who might not have ever been around anyone with special needs, he was a worry. As a parent, I want my kids to be so in tune with how the Lord created us all special in our own way that they don't think twice about being around someone who might not look the same way they do or do the same things they do.

Inclusion, in my opinion, is not only important for the special needs child but probably more important for the typical children they're around. For some, church might be the only place they have positive interaction with people with disabilities.

Lord please protect the eyes that don't see prejudices or differences and please start to soften the eyes that do.