Intellectual disabilities

Latest posts

Weathering the Pandemic for Families with Special Needs
Note: All names have been changed in this article The Covid-19 crisis has people in our churches and communities facing intense stress. People living alone, laid off from their jobs, or quarantined in health care units, are experiencing scarcity or drought: a loss of freedom of movement, social connection, purpose, or income. For others, this pandemic is like a flood. Health care workers, parents, and those in the service industry are trying to stay afloat as the responsibilities and risks placed on them rise.
Why I Went to a Funeral for Someone I Never Knew
Forgiving God
We Are Able!
Making Her Presence Known
What do you get when you cross an extroverted woman with a profound developmental disability with a group of unsuspecting tourists at the small town diner? Lots of confused looks, blank stares, and uncomfortable shuffles.

All posts on Intellectual Disabilities

- A Generous Exchange
  A younger helper learns from a powerful teacher who happens to be an older woman with developmental disabilities
- A Gift for Loving
  A father learns that his son has a gift for loving others, which he shares freely with his church family.
- A Lot of Fun Miracles
  Tamara Gill shares how friendship with children with disabilities has changed her life
- A New Commandment
  Will we let people with cognitive disabilities wash our feet and transform our conceptions of what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be human?
- A Salute to College Mennonite Church
  College Mennonite Church offers many ways for people with disabilities to contribute their gifts.
- A Truly Perfect Heaven
  Would heaven would be a boring place if there were no people with Down Syndrome?
- A Worthy Part of God's Family
  Chrissie Denino's church celebrates her baptism after she expresses her faith using sign language.
- An Extraordinary Life
  An Extra Ordinary Life, by Rhoda G. Penny, reviewed by Rebekah Flores.
- Anti-Ableism 101
  Learning from people with developmental disabilities to experience healing as a broken person
- Bridget's Blessing
  A friend, met just minutes before, soothed my deepest grief for my aunt with the sweetest of smiles and the deepest of understanding. Like my aunt, my new friend had Down Syndrome.
- Camp Safari
  Camp Safari for people with intellectual disabilities was a new camp this year for the Southern Ohio District Church of the Brethren.
- Come and See
  Learning from Mary-Anne to see prayer time as sacred and enjoyable once again.
- Come Live with Me
  Five things I never knew about people with developmental disabilities until I started living with them. By Deborah Ferber.
- Community Transformation at L'Arche
  Community transformation means offering a stranger a cup of cold water and through that cup of water transforming the relationship into a friendship.
- Dancing with Alta
  Learning to contra-dance from a gifted young dancer with Down syndrome
- Discovering Discrepancies
  Opening our eyes to the mistreatment of adults with developmental disablities in the legal system, and a challenge to become involved.
- Forgiving God
  When Dayle's sons were diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome, she struggled to let go of the future she had envisioned. Here, she shares her journey to accept and embrace an unexpected life.

- Friendship's Worship Team
  A worship team from Friendship Community involves persons with intellectual disabilities in leading worship in Pennsylvania congregations.
- God, I know you're there!
  Learning about prayer and forgiveness through the deep spirituality of friends with developmental disabilities.
- Hear Then the Parable
  When we enter into authentic friendship with people with disabilities our worldviews and preconceived notions of humanity are confronted and transformed.
- Hsi-Fu’s Gift
  Getting to know Hsi-Fu is an adventure, and once you form a friendship with him, you know you are holding a rare gem in the palm of your hand.
- I'm Famous!
  Introducing Ellie Wenger, a teenage girl with Down syndrome who lives a rich life
- It's all in the face
  While I see a face with Down syndrome and think of home and life, our culture looks at this face and sees only abnormality.
- Learning Wisdom
  Learning wisdom through worship with people who have intellectual disabilities
- Little Things
  Those who know persons with disabilities know how important little things are – a sound, a movement, a breath. Wilfred Martens tells about the profound gift of a smile where it's least expected.
- Making Her Presence Known
  Enabling people with intellectual disabilities to fully express themselves requires turning away from society's discomfort with difference.
- Ministry at L'Arche
  Deborah Ferber reflects on the connection between living at L'Arche and her seminary studies preparing for ministry.
- My Brother Who Doesn’t Say a Word
  Even though Christopher cannot speak, Deborah has learned that togetherness can happen when they share a meal together, listen to good music together, or laugh at a good joke.
- Need and Creatureliness
  Many people with developmental disabilities know and befriend their neediness, and thus are able to live in a freedom of the Spirit that can also be transformative for us.
- On Learning to Grieve Beautifully
  Life lessons in living with grief learned from living companions with developmental disabilities
- On Learning to Live a Lot
  Life lessons from living with people with developmental disabilities: Learning to live a lot suggests that we haven’t giving up, that we are still breathing and moving forward.
- Panda Cake and Down Syndrome
  Friends with developmental disabilities help make a birthday party filled with warmth and love.
- Partners in Ushering
  Mari Janzen took the initiative to make Tom her ushering partner, and together they are learning to know everyone in their large congregation.
- Plan for their future
  An informative event about how to develop estate plans that benefit your loved one with disabilities.

- Ready and Able
  Tony Walters, a deacon at Papago Buttes Church of the Brethren who happens to have autism, helps prepare for the congregation's love feasts.
- Semester of the Heart
  A story of priorities reoriented by living in community with people who have developmental disabilities
- Thank You
  The words “thank you,” coming from a man who rarely speaks, embody God's hospitality and gratitude to a caregiver
- The Feast of the Incarnation
  Celebrating the Incarnation as a sign that our salvation comes through the earthly and material reality that we are
- The Kingdom of God is like...
  With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?
- The Life of a L'Arche Assistant
  The daily life of working as an assistant in a L'Arche community is not glamorous, but it brings joy in abundance.
- The Messages of Community
  After spending time with friends with developmental disabilities, the author comes to realize their rare awareness and maturity.
- The Peace of Christ
  Can we open our hearts and lives to the most vulnerable so that they can transform our vision about what it means to be Christian, citizens, and human?
- The Wisdom of God
  By choosing to become the scapegoat of humanity’s violence, Jesus radically identifies with the suffering “other”
- To stare or to gaze
  How will we look at people with intellectual disabilities? with a stare or with a gaze?
- Tribute to Aunt Debbie
  A tribute to a beloved aunt, who had many fondly remembered qualities, one of which was that she had Down syndrome.
- True Prayer
  Today I experienced a real God moment while praying with our core members at L’Arche.
- We Are Able Workcamp
  A balance of work and play helps create lasting friendships that makes this workcamp a meaningful experience for teens and young adults with developmental disabilities.
- We Are Able!
  We Are Able Workcamp of the Church of the Brethren is a chance for young adults with disabilities to serve, learn, grow, and form friendships. Consider registering!
- Weathering the Pandemic for Families with Special Needs
- Where's the justice in that?
  Why are so few people with developmental disabilities present in our churches? Next time you go to church, have a look around, note who is in attendance and resolve to do what you can do to bring those who aren’t already there into the fold.
- Why I Went to a Funeral for Someone I Never Knew
  Contributions made by a person with an intellectual disability often aren't recognized. L’Arche has taught me that God also uses those whom society deems unfit to teach us what humanity, love, laughter, and life are really and truly all about.