This past Tuesday, we began to consider the question of whether we should abandon use of the term “Special Needs Ministry.” The principal argument put forth is that most kids with disabilities that produce impediments to church participation and spiritual growth would not view themselves (or be viewed by their parents) as having “special needs.” Today, we’ll raise another issue…When we use the term “special needs” to refer to a population of underserved children, who exactly are we referring to?

Thanks to the wonders of Google, one discovers quickly that there is no uniform definition of the term “special needs” under Federal law. In fact, the term special needs is used very differently in educational settings as opposed to the foster care, child welfare and adoption systems.

In the educational system, “special need” is often used synonymously with special educational needs. Children with emotional, behavioral, learning or psychiatric disorders generally qualify for special education services under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Here’s a summary from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry describing how children qualify for additional services at school. Used within this context, the term “special needs” would be used to describe a very broad group of children and include kids with the full range of disabilities that often pose impediments to active involvement at church. Terri Mauro from About.com has a very nice summary article describing the scope of conditions falling under this broader rubric of “special needs.”

In the social welfare, adoption and foster care systems, the designation of “special needs” refers to qualifications under state law that qualify children and families for Federal financial assistance. Here’s an excellent summary from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of the differences in the use of the term “special needs” in the child welfare system. Kids who meet the legal definition of “special needs” for the purposes of the adoption and foster care systems will often not qualify for special education services. Likewise, kids with identified special needs at school may not qualify for additional funding or services when they’re adopted. To further confound the issue, the legal definition of “special needs” is different from state to state. Here’s a website listing the state-by-state definitions of “special needs.” A child can lose their designation of having “special needs” simply by their family relocating.

As more and more churches are led to serve and include kids with disabilities and their families, we need a common language if we’re going to work together effectively. In the absence of a common understanding of the definition of “special needs,” should we consider using different language to describe the nature of the ministry that we offer? And are there families impacted by disability for whom use of the term “special needs ministry” represents yet another barrier to church participation/attendance.

Updated August 2, 2014

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