one easy thing you can do to be a welcoming church for people with special needs
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Most children's ministries have good health guidelines. Ours are pasted below:
Many people with special needs are more susceptible to illness, either by nature of the disability itself or due to common coexisting conditions. I know one family that arranges for a babysitter on Sunday mornings in the winter to avoid the flu because it's so dangerous for their child, and I know a couple other families who just don't come when they know illnesses are rampant.
Of course, the best health guidelines won't catch everything. This past Sunday we kept my son home because he had a fever, but there have been times when we've gone with church with a seemingly healthy child, only to have the fever or vomiting hit on Sunday afternoon.
That said, I know some churches who don't have good health guidelines and others who don't enforce them because they don't want to keep a family from church that Sunday. What those churches don't realize is that the choice not to use or enforce health guidelines can keep other families from church.
Think about kids with compromised immune systems the next time you're hesitant about refusing to let a child join class if he/she is sick or getting parents to pick up a child who becomes sick. Keeping your ministry as healthy as you can is a simple way to make your church a more welcoming place for people with special needs.
(Also, I've rarely seen health guidelines shared for youth or adult ministry, but I have seen teens and adults at church who are obviously - even at times admittedly - contagious. I know our church has included blurbs in the bulletin asking people to forgo perfumes and other fragrances at church because others have adverse reactions to them. Perhaps a note at the start of cold and flu season about not coming when you're sick could be helpful. Any other ideas for communicating good health guidelines for adults?)
Photos of my son, the first one from a year and a half ago prior to an MRI and the second from this week while he's been sick (and *ahem* disappointed that Momma's school didn't make it to the Final Four). He does not have any diagnosed disabilities or other special needs.
We want to provide a healthy environment in our classrooms, so we ask you to keep your child at home when any of the following have occurred within the last 24 hours.
If your child becomes ill while in the classroom, you will be notified promptly.
- Fever/Vomiting
- Drainage from the eye(s)
- Green or yellow runny nose
- Frequent cough
- Diarrhea
- Questionable rash
- Sore throat
If your child is being treated with an antibiotic, he or she should have received treatment for at least 24 hours before coming to the classroom
Many people with special needs are more susceptible to illness, either by nature of the disability itself or due to common coexisting conditions. I know one family that arranges for a babysitter on Sunday mornings in the winter to avoid the flu because it's so dangerous for their child, and I know a couple other families who just don't come when they know illnesses are rampant.
Of course, the best health guidelines won't catch everything. This past Sunday we kept my son home because he had a fever, but there have been times when we've gone with church with a seemingly healthy child, only to have the fever or vomiting hit on Sunday afternoon.That said, I know some churches who don't have good health guidelines and others who don't enforce them because they don't want to keep a family from church that Sunday. What those churches don't realize is that the choice not to use or enforce health guidelines can keep other families from church.
Think about kids with compromised immune systems the next time you're hesitant about refusing to let a child join class if he/she is sick or getting parents to pick up a child who becomes sick. Keeping your ministry as healthy as you can is a simple way to make your church a more welcoming place for people with special needs. (Also, I've rarely seen health guidelines shared for youth or adult ministry, but I have seen teens and adults at church who are obviously - even at times admittedly - contagious. I know our church has included blurbs in the bulletin asking people to forgo perfumes and other fragrances at church because others have adverse reactions to them. Perhaps a note at the start of cold and flu season about not coming when you're sick could be helpful. Any other ideas for communicating good health guidelines for adults?)
Photos of my son, the first one from a year and a half ago prior to an MRI and the second from this week while he's been sick (and *ahem* disappointed that Momma's school didn't make it to the Final Four). He does not have any diagnosed disabilities or other special needs.