Autism and your church by Barbara J. Newman — Book Review

One of the ideas that has come out of our Fanning the Flame revitalization project is the idea of a starting a Sunday School, or other program, for children with disabilities, particularly autism.  We have a couple of families already at our church who are affected by this disorder.  My husband and I reviewed several books on special needs ministries, and chose this one as best suited for our needs.

The author, Barbara Newman is a teaching consultant and director of church services.  She strives to create inclusive church communities through the CLC(Christian Learning Center) Network, https://clcnetwork.org/.

This short book includes an overview of Autism Syndrome disorder and ten different strategies to help congregations include those with ASD in church activities.  At the end of the book there are a number of useful and reproducible resources such as:

• Job Description for Coordinator of Ministry with Children and Adults with Disabilities
• Individual Spiritual Formation Plan (ISFP)
• Interview Questionnaires for both Children and Adult Ministry
• Observation Form
• Parent Permission Form
• Lesson Plans for teaching about ASD
• Letter to Families of members with ASD

There is also an action plan with detailed steps for any church considering this ministry.

VERDICT:  5 Stars.  I will be ordering a copy of this book to pass around as we pray and ponder making this decision