The good news about the new disability site is spreading, it has recently shown up in a number of places:

The homepage of LDS.org:

Disabilities.lds.org has recently been launched to help members with disabilities and their families participate more fully in Church meetings and activities. In addition to providing information on various disabilities, this new section includes suggestions and resources for leaders, teachers, caregivers, and Church members.

Exciting News! There is a new section on LDS.org dedicated to disability information. This is a great resource for individuals, families, teachers and leaders. From the site:

This Web section on disabilities has been created to offer support, comfort, and an increased level of acceptance toward those with disabilities.

LDS Disability Resources

An excellent article by Sharisa Lewis in Meridian Magazine titled Helping Autism Families Survive Church. She discusses the struggles that her own family had in Church and how one family made a difference. From the article:

Teaching the Gospel to Children With Disabilities is a short article from the LDS Newsroom that discusses adapting classes for children with disabilities.

In an article in Meridian Magazine, Sharisa Lewis writes abouts experiences at Church with her 4-year old son who has autism.

Why is church so hard for autistic children? The answers can vary as widely as the children. Initially, I thought our child was just being difficult, but autism specialists have advised me that church is hard for most autistic kids.

Taking Autism to Church

David Dollahite is a professor in the School of Family Life at BYU's School of Family Life. He has written extensively on the involvement of fathers with their children with disabilities, in addition to providing many other resources for fathers. A few months ago he was interviewed by Krista Tippett of the excellent public radio program Speaking of Faith on the spirituality of parenting and he specifically addressed the spirituality of children with disabilities.

There haven't been any updates to the site for quite awhile, but we have been working on a few projects behind the scenes...

First of all, there is now a user registration that you can sign up for.

Q: Why would you want to sign up?

A: So that you can go to the new message board to introduce yourself and meet lots of other great visitors.

There is a new page in the Young Woman section of LDS.org titled Young Women Who Have Disabilities. The page includes this statement:

Young women who have disabilities are normally included in their regular classes. Exceptions may be made with the approval of the parents and the priesthood leaders. Flexibility may be needed in utilizing the approved programs to meet the needs of these young women.

A few weeks ago, we posted some information on two disability presentations from the 2006 Womens Conference.

The first presentation is titled Dealing with Disabilities from Sandra Ruconich, Mary Ann Prater, Roselyn Baird is a PDF document of 28 slides from their presentation divided up into three categories:

1. Parents and Schools: Fostering Child-Centered Partnerships
2. Tips for Church Members and Teachers
3. How to Serve Those with Disabilities and Their Families