Recommendations for Including People with Intellectual Disabilities in Faith Communities

Abstract

Although people with intellectual disabilities have a low rate of participation in faith communities, such participation has been identified as playing a significant role in their quality of life. This literature review examines the literature for recommendations of specific strategies to increase the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in the life and activities of faith communities. The results indicate that there is a need for meaningful inclusion of people with disabilities in faith communities beyond physical presence. Several strategies for doing so are recommended, including utilizing the expertise of special educators, using explicit teaching strategies, and providing training for leaders and members of faith communities. Recommendations for further research are discussed.

Partnerships From the Pews: Promoting Interagency Collaboration With Religious Organizations

“…To support students, religious organizations can support the caregiving role family members serve (Gallagher et al, 2015). Despite these considerations, special education and transition literature have not extensively addressed religious organization partnerships, and the scarcity of methodology on this topic might make finding ideas and practices difficult for families and practitioners looking to build partnerships with religious organizations (Ault, 2010; Slocum, 2016). Available strategies and definitions for interagency collaboration (e.g., Rowe et al, 2015) appear to be relevant for partnership with religious organizations.…”