Autism and Your Church: Nurturing the Spiritual Growth of People With Autism Spectrum Disorder Paperback – July 14, 2011

I love this book and think all churches should have a copy.

I passed this reference to a rector to consider for her church.

The author is obviously experienced and capable in supporting people with autism. This well-planned book, full of helpful guidelines and examples of visuals, social scripts etc hits the nail on the head. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in finding practical ways of including children and adults with autism into the life of the church. A must have book for every active caring church.

As a leader in our special needs ministry, I want to learn as much as I can to provide the best love and care for our children and families. This book has been one of the best tools to help me.

We have a school for special need children, therefore, we have a need to share this information with our church body. It is fulfilling this need

So informative! I love this book!

Exactly what I was looking for. This book really helped us come up with a good polices for our church.

This book is written precisely for servants and leaders inside a church. It is a concise yet comprehensive manual that requires no translation for the big-hearted lay person called to help in a church's special needs ministry. A volunteer training session could be developed around the content of the book. I appreciated the effective word pictures that the author paints for a lay person, like myself, who has no credentials in the area of special education.Below is breakdown and brief description for each section of the book:Introduction - This overview provides a number of valuable pointers for a church team that wants to more effectively minister to and with individuals impacted by autism. This section could be especially useful for developing opening words at a volunteer equipping event for the children's ministry and/or special needs ministry teams.Section 1: God's Handiwork - The framework for the book and for how to view disability inclusion is established. Again, wonderful ideas and analogies are provided to help every lay leader inside the ministry.Section 2: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) - The definition, explanation, and examples offered in this eight-page section of the book are worth the purchase price alone. I have learned (the hard way) that trying to provide a definition of autism can be received offensively without a careful choice of words. Barb does a beautiful job of respectfully and candidly explaining the ASD diagnosis in laymen's terms. Barb also weaves in stories of how differences attributable to ASD may show up in the church setting.Section 3: 10 Strategies for Including Individuals with ASD - This 50-page section of the book is the meat of the resource. Every page is packed with information valuable to lay leaders and staff members called to help anyone with autism (or any learning difference!) spiritually advance.Some pointers in this section are general, such as suggestions for word choices in ministry literature (e.g. use the word "survey" to name the document used to solicit valuable information from parents about their child and their specific needs.) Other ideas apply directly to the ministry environment and can help both the individual and the leader-volunteer experience success. In this section the author tackles issues such as:* disclosure vs. privacy* adjusting an environment to match an individual's sensory needs* understanding the sometimes unconventional communication of a person with ASD* the value of preparing an individual for change and establishing routine (schedules)* using varying types and means for communication* ideas for how to compose information stories to prepare an individual for a new social situationSection 4: Behavior Management - Including Individuals with Difficult Behaviors - Most likely every church in America could benefit from the ideas offered in this short but power-packed section. So many of the suggestions can apply to children of all abilities but whom may have a variety of needs and life issues.Section 5: An Action Plan - A step-by-step list is offered for a church in the early stages of developing or growing a special needs ministry.Reproducible Resources - 17 forms and documents are provided where a church could copy or modify any of these valuable documents for their own ministry. Included in this section are participant questionnaires, informational stories/narratives, permission - authorization documents, and an sample explanatory letter to typical families.Recommended Resources - Eight organizations are named and described that offer different products or services from which a church could benefit.*********************************My concluding thoughts: This book is a wonderful, practical resource for every church. This 125-page "manual" is an easy read and provides a great reference tool for special needs and children's ministry leaders. The content of the book was developed to support both children and adults with ASD. Also, it is a great credit to both the author and the publisher that the resource translates well across many denominations, theological persuasions, and faith leanings. The book is full of concrete, easy ideas that can be implemented immediately in ministry environments everywhere. If I were leading a church's special needs ministry, I would provide key ministry servants a copy of this book.Amy Fenton Lee[...] ~ Helping Churches Successfully Include Children with Special Needs

excellent book.... exactly what I wanted

Love this book, provides many resources