Indispensable People
Making the Gospel Accessible to people of ALL abilities so that they may know Christ, grow in Him, and serve Him with the gifts He has given them.
Indispensable People
Every Sense Matters
Tracie Corll addresses the challenge of creating church environments welcoming to those with sensory sensitivities. Over 80% of the 65 million Americans with disabilities aren't in churches, highlighting a significant gap in religious inclusivity.
• Understanding that sensory sensitivities involve both heightened and reduced responsiveness to stimuli
• Recognizing the difference between preferences (what most people have) and needs (what those with disabilities experience)
• Creating quiet spaces where overwhelmed individuals can retreat
• Managing sound levels to avoid harshness while maintaining energy
• Providing earplugs, noise-canceling headphones, and sensory bags
• Adjusting lighting to avoid harsh or flickering illumination
• Offering written materials for those with auditory processing challenges
• Implementing flexible seating arrangements to accommodate different comfort levels
• Educating church communities about sensory needs to foster empathy
• Maintaining open dialogue with those experiencing sensitivities
For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensable-people.com and visit Amazon to purchase the books "The Indispensable Kid" and "Gospel Accessibility."
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, pastor and missionary and I believe that every person should have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given, no matter their ability. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 25% of the population. However, over 80% of them are not inside the walls of our church. Let's dive into those hard topics biblical foundations, perceptions and welcome to this episode of Indispensable People.
Speaker 1:We're going to be talking about navigating sensory sensitivities in a church environment. First, before we dive into any accommodations or solutions, let's really take a moment to understand what sensory oh, here we go with my words again sensory sensitivities are. Sensory sensitivities refer to a heightened or reduced sensitivity to sound, lights, textures and even smells. Oftentimes, people really think only about the heightened experience with sensory sensitivities and they really forget about the kind of not the complete opposite, about the reduced sensitivity, not really experiencing those things that we're looking for, and we need to see the importance of both. Where we have the heightened, where things might be too much and they might be overwhelming and they might cause someone to, especially a younger child, to melt down or to be overwhelmed in a situation where a reduced sensitivity might show a lack of interest, not keep their focus. What we think is a completely and totally engaging environment is actually not interesting to them at all, because they're not feeling it and they require more. I'll give you a slight example of that my son. When he was super duper young, we actually had a exercise trampoline in our living room because we would notice that he would need some of that extra movement and bodily input from the movement, and so when we would see things starting to get out of kilter with him, we'd be like hey, bud, go do five or 10 jumps on the trampoline and then come back, and then we would be able to resume some of the activities that we were doing.
Speaker 1:So a heightened sensitivity or a reduced sensitivity really do impact either way, and so we want to take that into consideration. We need to understand that individuals who experience these sensitivities might find certain environments overwhelming or incredibly uncomfortable, and this can include places of worship, which most of us consider peaceful and a place that we want to be In our church communities. Our aim is really to create an environment where everyone can worship comfortably and meaningfully, but the question really is how can we achieve this when sensory sensitivities really vary so widely among individuals? Well, let's take into consideration um, I love a church that is going to turn the lights down, the music is going to be loud, I can't hear myself or the people around me, because in my time of worshiping I can focus, but for other people, they do not enjoy that experience. So and that is without disabilities taken into context Then you add the more heightened sensory sensitivities and that becomes a more even extreme. And what I try to explain to people is that you and I, those of us without disabilities have preferences, right, and a preference is I prefer something to be a certain way, but I can still work my way through it, even if it's not my preference.
Speaker 1:People with disabilities, it is a need, it is a necessity for the environment to provide a certain way, or they can't participate fully. And so one thing I wanted to highlight was I had seen a long time ago it was a video and it was of a child walking in the mall with a parent, and the sensory things that were happening in the mall were so overwhelming, and whether it was, you know, the photo booth flash that the child saw or the noise from something else that they had just heard, or another family kind of rustling past them and the child is breathing like doing deep breathing, belly breathing, trying to calm himself. And then the child goes into one, two, three, is counting, he's trying to calm himself again and they're going through all these modes of protection and kind of taking away that anxiety and that overwhelming feeling and trying to calm. But the child just couldn't. No matter what strategies they needed, the sensory things that were, the input that was coming at them, was just so overwhelming that they could not cope with that. And that is where I'm talking a need, this is not a preference, and so what are some practical things that we can do in the church? Because fitting everybody's needs seems to be so overwhelming, though the needs are so wide.
Speaker 1:So how do we best create an environment that is welcoming for all when all is not has so many different needs? So one very simple, easy thing create a quiet space. It's one of the simplest yet most effective accommodations is the creation of a quiet space. It is a designated area within the church where individuals can retreat to when they feel overwhelmed. It can be equipped with comfortable seating and soft lighting, and this space can offer a little respite from the hustle and bustle of larger gatherings lots of noise, maybe unexpected events or things that are going on that are different than normal. That's a really great thing and it can be something where a family member can take that person to, a buddy from the buddy system can take that person to, or an adult who is highly functioning, who doesn't need typically the support of someone else but on occasion gets overwhelmed, can take themselves to.
Speaker 1:The other thing that you can consider is sound management. Loud, loud noises can be particularly distressing. Churches can manage sound levels by softer music or reducing, maybe, the volumes. Now here's something I always say, because, again, you can't tailor everything to every person's needs, and my husband and my oldest son, they typically run sound at the church and so I will often say to them there's loud and then there's harsh, and that line can be very, very thin but can make a huge difference. You can have loud music without it feeling super harsh, and so we try to keep it kind of at that place without going into that harshness, and a lot of times your sound system has a lot to do with that. But what we also do in addition to taking that into consideration is we provide earplugs in all of our lobbies so anyone can grab a pair of earplugs before they go in. For our kids area we also have sensory bags with noise canceling headphones and some fidget tools in there that can be used during those times as well. Those can just be really great gestures, something easy that can be used during those times as well. Those can just be really great gestures, something easy that can be done and provided for those individuals who already know that they may need some support.
Speaker 1:The other, considering lighting adjustments within the church. Harsh lighting can be uncomfortable for individuals with sensory sensitivities, so you can consider using dimmable lights in the church. Harsh lighting can be uncomfortable for individuals with sensory sensitivities, so you can consider using dimmable lights in the church to avoid and avoiding, like flickering fluorescent bulbs you know, just being aware and changing those as needed. Natural lighting can also be utilized to create a more warm and inviting atmosphere. Again, in our sensory bags we also include a pair of sunglasses, so if anything feels harsh, that can be kind of put into assistance.
Speaker 1:You might struggle with some auditory processing, ensuring that sermon notes or songs or hymns and prayers are available in written forms that allow everyone to participate fully in service. Some of those things, depending upon your church and your denomination, are readily available and easy access for you. For others not so much as easily, but still some things can be provided to help with that. We can also consider flexible seating arrangements. This is really easy to do, especially in like kids, church or youth atmosphere, those kinds of things. Providing options for individuals to sit at the back or near an exit could be an option, a different type of seating, like I said, for kids or youth, and we can have space between seats to help those who might feel uncomfortable in crowded settings. Probably one of the most difficult times of the church was COVID, but one of the most comfortable times of the church for my son was COVID because there were more spread out, people didn't have to be crowded and that brought a lot of calm to him as he participated in church.
Speaker 1:A next step is always educating the church, going beyond those physical accommodations, helping them to understand sensory sensitivities, building awareness so that it fosters empathy and patience, and creating a more harmonious community. I know it shouldn't be this case, but in the church a lot of times we get stuck on I, I, I, I, I, I like this, I prefer this, I want this, but we need to take into consideration others and how church impacts them, because if I already know Jesus, church isn't so as much about me as it is about them. So we want to make sure that what we're doing is inviting for those who are going to be coming in. Also, don't ever discount an open dialogue. You want to be able to have conversations with the people that come into your church, hear about their experiences, ask them to share what would be helpful and most beneficial for them as they participate in the church, because, again, our church experience, if we know Jesus and love Jesus and are following him, isn't so much about us, it's more about them.
Speaker 1:So let's make it more about the indispensable people that God has placed in our lives and, hopefully, inside the doors of our church. Do I know everything about disability ministry? Do I have all the answers? Have I done everything perfectly? I have absolutely not, but we are going to continue this conversation so that people of all abilities can have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given them. Grow in him and serve him with the gifts that he has given them. For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensablepeoplecom and visit Amazon to purchase the books the Indispensable Kid and Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People Outro Music.
