Going to church for many families today means that the parents sit in the main service while their children are sent to childrens church. Maybe that works fine for some families. In fact, Ive heard many parents say that they were glad to get a break.

However, there is an entire population of children and families for which there is no place in the majority of todays churches -- families who have children with special needs. Autism alone impacts as many as 1 out of every 166 children in America today according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). So what are the churches doing for these children and their families who really need some extra support? Sadly, many do nothing but ignore these families and their children, while some even reject them.

Families who have a child with autism or other special needs are overwhelmed. Daily life is exhausting. Leaving the house is an ordeal. Going to church is, unfortunately, often out of the question. How can we expect a child with autism to sit quietly in a church service? We cant. How can we expect a child with autism to be left in a large group of other children for childrens church? We cant. As the parent of an autistic child, I have learned how to survive the daily stress of caring for my sons needs, but it seems too much to ask from a church. I know other parents who feel this way as well. We can choose to just stay out of church or attend without our special needs child. We can attempt to have our child sit in the service with us which is usually very stressful as we deal with the stares and comments from people who dont understand. We can stay with our child in the childrens church class but then we never get to be a part of the church service ourselves. None of these options seem to meet the needs of our family.

Perhaps if more churches took an interest in learning how they could be of help to families of children with special needs, they could then offer appropriate assistance. Any outreach to these special families first requires understanding what they are dealing with. A video presentation has been developed by Autism Speaks that offers a glimpse into what families who have children with autism deal with on a daily basis. This video can be viewed online at: http://www.autismspeaks.org/sponsoredevents/autism_every_day.php

Churches need to welcome all children including those with special needs. There is a huge ministry opportunity being missed as the number of families impacted by disabilities like autism continues to rise. It is my prayer that churches would help to bear the physical, emotional, and financial burdens that these families carry.

If churches dont know what to do, all they have to do is ask. A great first step would be to have some volunteers offer to be trained by the parents so they could help out in the familys home and in church services and related activities. Perhaps the church could ask if there are any financial expenses for therapies that they can help with. At the very least, just offering a word of encouragement to a weary parent and letting them know that you are praying for them helps families not feel that they are all alone. Through supportive words and actions, churches can demonstrate the love of God through touching the lives of these special children and their families.