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Abstract Youth ministry may not openly oppose the inclusion of teenagers with disabilities, but the actions—or lack of action—of many programs communicates a low commitment to this goal. As an initial step toward understanding and improving the experiences of youth with disabilities in the church, 17 parents and guardians of youth with disabilities were interviewed. These individuals expressed a desire for their children to be included within youth ministry programs and shared what their child might bring to a youth group. KEYWORDS: adolescentsdisabilityyouth ministryeducationparent Thanks to Alayna Goins for going above and beyond the call of duty in transcribing. Thanks to Dr. McKinney for her consultation on the interview questions. Thanks to the Association of Youth Ministry Educators (AYME) for grant support for this research. Other work arising from this data includes "Ostensibly Welcome: Exploratory research on the youth ministry experience with families with teens with disabilities" in the Journal of Youth Ministry (2007).
Amy Elizabeth Jacober (Sun,) studied this question.