Empowering Christians with learning disabilities through simple Bible teaching 

Helping to launch a new small group for anyone who needed more time and support to learn, I found few teaching materials suitable for adults with learning disabilities - so I created my own, writes Jo Acharya

Those with low literacy levels are benefitting too

 
 
In 2017, I helped to launch a new small group in my church. It was the result of one church member’s straightforward vision: to provide simple Bible teaching and an accessible environment for anyone who needed more time and support to learn.

Our group grew to include adults with a range of learning disabilities, as well as some without disabilities who wanted to help or were attracted to our slower, quieter pace. It’s been a blessing to all involved and has allowed our members to participate more fully in church life.
 
In our churches, we rightly place a high priority on growing together toward maturity. This is a calling for all believers, and each of us needs guidance and spiritual nourishment on the journey. That’s why it isn’t enough just to welcome people with learning difficulties into Christian community. We must also find creative ways to disciple people of all abilities in the faith we share.
 
Those with learning disabilities cover a wide spectrum, and churches need help to disciple them well. In my group, some members could understand complex topics when they were explained clearly, while others could grasp only simple ideas but responded well to songs and sensory activities.

My background as a support worker and music therapist made me comfortable interacting with them all, but my early attempts to teach a group with such diverse needs and different levels of understanding involved a lot of trial and error.

Churches can access training and support from organisations such as Through the Roof, Count Everyone In and the Additional Needs Alliance, but when I came to plan our sessions, I found there were very few teaching materials suitable for adults with learning disabilities. Like most of the other group leaders I’ve spoken to, I had to make my own – a time-consuming task, and one requiring particular skills and experience. How much easier would it be for more churches to start a group like this if accessible resources were readily available?
 
As I started developing Bible study resources for our group, I discovered ‘easy read’, a set of guidelines for making written information more accessible for people who struggle with reading. Information should be translated into easy words and short sentences, and presented in a clear, uncluttered layout with plenty of blank space. Relevant pictures, symbols and use of colour increase engagement and support understanding. Easy read makes information easier to read and understand, less overwhelming and easier to visually process.
 
Wanting to help share my experience and address the need for resources, I began uploading my teaching handouts to my website, valleyofsprings.com, for others to use. This developed into an easy read ministry that now includes a devotional blog and articles about Christianity. I have also just published my first easy read book Living Well With God a collection of 52 interactive Bible lessons on wellbeing in different areas of life. It’s written at a 5-7 year old reading level and can be used as a devotional for individual study or a teaching resource for groups.
 
It's not just people with learning disabilities who benefit from easy read. A government survey in 2015 concluded that 1 in 6 adults in England have poor literacy skills, equivalent to a reading age of seven or lower. Research shows that people with low literacy skills are significantly more likely to experience poverty and poor health, and to be victims or perpetrators of crime. More than half of UK prisoners struggle with reading.

As Christians we not only worship alongside people who find reading hard, but also encounter them through our food banks, warm spaces, prison ministries, hospital visits and toddler groups. If we want to reach those outside our churches with the good news of Jesus, we must be able to present the Gospel in ways everyone can understand.
 
In my local Love Your Neighbour hub a few weeks ago, I was able to show Living Well With God to a man who often comes in for a chat.

'Oh, I don’t read,' he said immediately, and I explained that this book was designed for people who find reading hard. He had a look, found he could read it, and within a few minutes asked if he could take it home. This man didn’t have a faith, yet the simple experience of being able to read a book opened a door that I pray God uses to speak into his heart.
 
To make the effort to appropriately meets someone’s needs is not just helpful; it is also a tangible message that they are valued. The Body of Christ needs people of all abilities: their voices, their personalities, their gifts and their faith. By empowering Christians who find reading hard, we bless the whole Church.

 

Jo Acharya is a writer and qualified music therapist who has worked with people with learning disabilities for 18 years.

Living Well With God: Easy Read Bible Lessons for People Who Find Reading Hard is available from valleyofsprings.com, where you can also download a free leader’s guide and explore Jo’s collection of easy to read resources.

Jo offers discounts to churches and ministries when ordering three or more books – email jo@valleyofsprings.com for details

Do you have a view? Share your thoughts via our letters' page.