If your facility has an extra space you can dedicate to ministering to children with special needs, it can prove extremely helpful. While children with special needs should be mainstreamed with their peers as much as possible, it can be advantageous to have a dedicated space to use when the regular classroom environment becomes too overwhelming or there is a health or other issue which makes it in the child’s best interest to be in a separate environment for a short time. This environment can be equipped with special tools that can help meet the immediate needs for calming, health concerns or other issues that might arise.
Regardless of whether or not you have a special environment, all of your Bible classrooms will find it helpful to have some or all of these items available to help young people with special needs participate as fully as possible in your Bible lessons and activities. It is important to note that some of the items listed below, however, may prove disruptive in a regular classroom environment and are best used in a dedicated space. These special tools often help with calming and provide important sensory stimulation. While none of these items is required to have a dedicated space, it can prove helpful to purchase or create as many of these items as possible.
- Pillows for positioning young people comfortably.
- Water beads
- Play doh, therapy clay
- Plastic tubs filled with beans, rice or sand and several plastic objects
- Soft scarves
- Interactive Bible story books
- Soothing worship music
- Calming clouds painted on ceiling or on fabric ceiling light covers
- Lamps to replace overhead lighting
- Body socks
- Weighted vests, lap pads or blankets
- Bean bag chairs
- Fidget items
- Lava lamp, aquarium or other soothing visuals – actual or virtual
- Exercise or therapy bands
- Timers
- Movable room screens or dividers
- Noise cancelling headphones
- Large red and green switches for assisted communication
- Readers’ theater/social stories/role play scripts
For more information on making classroom accommodations for young people with special needs, check out our free, new ebook Ministering to Marginalized Children.