Widening the Door of Inclusion for Children with Autism through Faith Communities

摘要

Faith communities can provide a doorway to full inclusion for families with children with disabilities. This essay will explore ways in which pastoral church leaders have the ability through their calling to widen the doorway and bridge families with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the Eucharist sacramental preparation process on the parish level. It also sheds light on the challenges and rewards our children, their families, and pastoral religious education leaders experience when we look to inclusion (opening our hearts and minds) as a means of building the Body of Christ and our own communities of faith.View full textDownload full textKEYWORDSautism, inclusive faith community, Catholic sacramental preparation, First Holy Communion, religious education, faith formation, pastoral advocacy, widening the door, Eucharist, inclusive ministryRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15228961003622351