Children are naturally inquisitive about the world around them, explained Katie Steed, disability specialist in the Church’s Priesthood and Family Department.
“We would never want to silence a curious child with responses like, ‘Don’t stare,’ or ‘Don’t worry about it,’ when they sincerely inquire about something new to them,” Steed said. “It’s important that we help provide our children with the skills to successfully navigate the world around them.”
To aid parents in helping their children foster these social skills, the Church has a home evening lesson outline on disability awareness and inclusion.
The lesson outline can be found at disability.ChurchofJesusChrist.org under Additional Resources and in the Gospel Library app in the Resources section of Disabilities under Life Help.
The objective of the lesson is two-fold: help family members understand things that are good to do when they meet someone with a disability and that all of God’s children can help one another.
“Providing children with a platform to talk about and interact with differently abled people can provide them with the social skills to better connect with all of God’s children and not just those who are just like them,” Steed said.
The outline includes suggestions for teaching young children and youth, hymns and songs to sing, and an invitation to apply what is learned.
The outline also links to three articles from Church magazines:
- “How Do I Talk to My Kids about Disabilities?” from the June 2020 Ensign.
- “Katie and Quincy” from the October 2018 Friend.
- “Really Seeing the Gospel” from the October 2018 New Era.
Find the lesson outline here. To see more of the Church’s disability resources, visit disability.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
