Department of Early Childhood, Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0001, USA.
Intellect Dev Disabil. 2013 Feb;51(1):48-61. doi: 10.1352/1934-9556-51.01.048.
Although religion and spirituality have received relatively limited attention in the literature addressing people with disabilities, each is strongly associated with a host of positive outcomes, including enhanced quality of life. One way to participate in religious activities and enhance spirituality is to participate in a faith community. In this article, we report findings from a survey of 416 parents exploring the ways in which they and their children with disabilities participated in their congregations and examining factors associated with participation and inclusion in those communities. Consistent with findings from general social surveys, the majority of parents indicated their faith was important to them and many-along with their sons or daughters with disabilities-participated in congregational activities. Although parents reported their sons and daughters with disabilities participated in somewhat fewer types of activities than they did, this involvement occurred most often in activities involving peers without disabilities. However, parents generally were not satisfied with the level of supports provided by faith communities, and they highly valued a welcoming and supportive attitude by the community. We discuss implications for extending inclusive efforts into congregational contexts and suggest future research directions.
虽然宗教和精神信仰在涉及残疾人群体的文献中受到的关注相对较少，但它们都与许多积极的结果密切相关，包括提高生活质量。参与宗教活动和增强精神信仰的一种方式是加入信仰社区。在本文中，我们报告了一项针对 416 名家长的调查结果，该调查探讨了他们及其残疾子女参与其会众的方式，并研究了与这些社区参与和包容相关的因素。与一般社会调查的结果一致，大多数家长表示信仰对他们很重要，许多家长——包括他们残疾的子女——都参与了会众活动。尽管家长们报告说他们的残疾子女参与的活动类型比他们少，但这种参与最常发生在涉及无残疾同伴的活动中。然而，家长们普遍对信仰社区提供的支持水平不满意，他们非常重视社区的欢迎和支持态度。我们讨论了将包容性努力扩展到会众环境的影响，并提出了未来的研究方向。
