Indispensable People
Making the Gospel Accessible to people of ALL abilities so that they may know Christ, grow in Him, and serve Him with the gifts He has given them.
Indispensable People
How predictable transitions unlock access
We explore how predictable transitions reduce anxiety and open ministry spaces to people of all abilities. Simple, low-cost tools like visual schedules, timers, and gentle cues build trust, increase engagement, and make the gospel more accessible.
• why transitions shape belonging and participation
• common barriers across sensory, cognitive, emotional, physical, and communication needs
• defining transitions across church settings
• using visual schedules with pictures and words
• verbal countdowns and multi-sensory cues
• visual, auditory, and tactile timers
• consistency with compassionate flexibility
• reducing sensory load in hallways and rooms
• giving clear roles to volunteers
• measuring success by access and engagement
For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensable-people.com and visit Amazon to purchase the book The Indispensable Kid and Gospel Accessibility and Indispensable People
Hi, my name is Tracy Coral and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, pastor, and missionary, and I believe that every person should have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in him, and serve him with the gifts that he is given, no matter their ability. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 25% of the population. However, over 80% of them are not inside the walls of our church. Let's dive into those hard topics, biblical foundations, perceptions, and world-changing ideas. Hey hey, and welcome to this episode of Indispensable People. Today we're focusing on transitions and transition tools and how those can aid in our ministry environments, making sure that we've considered people of all abilities, how we can best include them, make them feel comfortable, and help them to know and understand what's coming next. Transitions are crucial in any environment, especially churches, where diverse groups of people come together, right? We're not all the same. We don't all think the same. We don't receive the same. We don't um have the same um processing. Um, whether it is slower, faster, um, the way that we hear or understand um transitions impact every single person. So understanding this for people can really um make for um a lot of understanding, um providing accommodations that can create an environment where people feel comfortable. Um, so what are transitions? Transitions refer to the process of moving from one activity or environment to another. This could be a transition from the car to inside the church, from the worship service to a Sunday school class, um, or it could be uh transition within the same room from activity to activity. So um this could be um all kinds. It depends in what environment you're in. Um, kids, youth, um, if it's a main service, if it is an outreach event, or just any activity really. Um so we want to understand that individuals with disabilities when it comes to certain things, transitions can often be overwhelming. So they the reasoning behind that could be um an intellectual understanding, um, a sensory impact, or emotional factors. Understanding these challenges can really aid in a ministry where um, you know, sometimes we'll just look at um, let's take a kiddo, for example, right? If we have a a child in a room and we say, okay, um, five minutes guys, and this is what we're gonna do, and then that particular child refuses to leave an activity. Well, there's a lot of consideration to go along with that. Now, old school thinking is you want what you want, so you're refusing to move on, kind of through pitch and a fit kind of deal, and so you're just not doing it. And that's not the behavior that we're talking about, okay? Um, we're talking about I am engaged in an activity, and my brain will not allow me to go to the next thing, or I need time to think about what's next before I move on to it. Um, so that could be processing um and timing and um getting yourself ready. The other things that we can think about are um I just got comfortable and settled, and I am in an area that I'm not overwhelmed with the senses, and maybe you're asking me to go into an area that I might be overwhelmed um sensory-wise, and so um I need preparation for that. So let's let's look at the different disabilities and how that fully impacts what they do and how you can best serve them. So, an individual with an intellectual disability, um, also known as a cognitive disability, um, such as um uh this could be learning, this could be um impacting individuals with Down syndrome, um, different things like that. And um, they may under struggle with the understanding of a concept of time um and predicting future events. And this can make the act of transitioning from one activity to another confusing, it can feel alarming, and the lack of predictability can lead to anxiety or stress, emphasizing the need for clear and consistent transition tools. So, oh another um thing to consider is sensory processing issues, where um these transitions become overwhelming because changes in the environment bring new sensory input. So, lighting, sounds, smells, and this can be very distressing and um to someone who is extremely sensitive to that sensory stimuli. So, transition transition tools that incorporate gradual changes um and sensory-friendly cues can help with these challenges. Individuals with emotional or behavioral challenges, um, transitions can trigger emotional responses such as frustration or agitation. And the unpredictability of a new setting or activity might make it seem a lot worse or might make those feelings become incredibly intense. And they might be feeling insecurity or discomfort, and providing structure and predictable routines along with clear expectations can help ease these transitions. Those with physical disabilities, you're gonna say, What in the world are people with physical disabilities have anything to do with transitions? And here's the thing: logistical challenges, right? If they're switching from one area to the next or they're doing one activity to the next, that's gonna require a different um, you know, uh a change in room and space. How by getting there, how does that, um, who do I need assistance? Um, how will that work? Um, do I have to get ready for something that I'm doing with um, you know, assistive devices or something like that that I need? Um, so those and preparations of those transitions um gives them time to properly participate in what's coming next. Individuals with communication disorders might find it difficult to express their needs or understand verbal instructions during transitions. So visual aids, such as um social stories um or pictures or visual schedules, all of those kinds of things are really going to benefit those individuals. It supports comprehension, provides clear guidance, reduces anxiety, and promotes smooth transitions. Um, so how are we going to incorporate these transition tools? Um, well, first you need to know that um these are practical things. Um, they're timers, they're verbal warnings, they're visual pictures, and all of those things can be provided at low cost, minimal effort. And um I would say the number one thing or the most important thing with that is to um remain consistent with it. So um before switching that all the activities, five minutes and then it's time for and you list what it is. Um, two minutes, one minute, that kind of thing, um, to utilize that strategy. Having a visual schedule up in the space, if that's possible, is um very easy and easy strategy, again, helpful for everyone in the room. And I would use pictures and words so that you're making accommodations for a multitude of people in one tool. Um, here are again, here are some main reasons that we're doing this, right? Um, we want to reduce as much anxiety and stress as as possible. We take away the unpredictability and some of the sensory load by doing this. And those individuals are gonna feel more secure, more comfortable. And that means that they're going to more readily be able to engage and participate in what is going on. We also um that transition is gonna enhance engagement because they're gonna know what's coming, they're gonna have those anxieties removed, they're gonna feel supported, they're gonna know what's expected. So all of those things bring an enhancement to engagement because we're taking away the barriers of all the things that not knowing what's coming or understanding what's coming or when it's coming is taken out of the picture. And this allows for spiritual growth, right? Um, a brain that is always heightened um and concerned or worried will not engage or retain information anywhere near as much of a relaxed being able to um calm, feel secure, and comfort that individual will. So that's going to be incredibly important because otherwise they're going to be distracted or overwhelmed and um they're not they're not thriving, they're surviving. And so um we want to make sure that we're thriving because if we're thriving, then we have access, and access leads to growth. And so we want to make sure that that's what's happening. Also, um, this using these strategies builds communities, and you might think, uh, how does that work? What do you mean? Well, it's going to foster um relationships and it's going to create security um with the the individual who's on the receiving end and the individual who is on the um communication end, who's leading, directing um that safety allows for reception, right? We can receive um from those that we trust. And so building that trust because someone cares about how you feel and how how you're interacting and what you're receiving um makes a huge, huge transition. Um again, these tools are simple, they are low cost, they are easy to produce. Um visual schedules, number one easy way to do this, right? And how are you creating this visual schedule? You're identifying key activities. You are going to choose appropriate visuals that will represent them. You're gonna organize them in a schedule, which doesn't have to have times because sometimes times, if you're not consistent on them, can actually bring um more anxiety to someone who's anticipating what's supposed to happen at a specific time if it doesn't. So sometimes just listing the activities is most beneficial. Um, then you're going to um organize that schedule and display it in a prominent location, right? If it's hidden in a way and they can't see it, it's not very helpful. Also, you can involve the participants by showing them, talking to them, um, discussing those activities. Um, and if um it works with that particular individual, it can actually be interactive. Um, they could put up the schedule, they can take it down as each thing is completed, um, or they can mark it off somehow, however you choose to um create it and share it. Um remember to be cautious and thoughtful to um update it regularly as needed, right? If you change something in the schedule and it's not changed on the visual schedule, it will actually cause more um hurt than help because um then you're gonna have to go through why you didn't do that thing and explain all the things and it's going to um create a little bit of tension there. So consistency is vital, um, but flexibility is also necessary, and um, you might have to from time to time accommodate unexpected changes, but think about the transition in that, how you can explain it, use some other strategies that we have um talked about, and um just know that not everything is going to be perfect, and that's okay. Um, but if you try to be as consistent as possible and um across the board and communicating the transitions and communicating the the the need and the changes and and what is coming, um consistency is gonna be key. But again, from time to time, it's gonna mess up or something's gonna go off schedule, and you can work through things um in that way. Um you are gonna want to consider some visual timers for transitions. So um a visual schedule is great. Um, verbal warnings are wonderful, but visual timers are much more concrete. So you can use um digital countdown timers with numbers on it. You can use sand timers, you could use um some color changing timers. Uh, there's all kinds of like face timers that you know, the face disappears or the face is is put together on the on the face of the the timer. Um, the color changing ones is, you know, it might be green when it's go and red when it's stop, all different kinds of things like that. Also consider um auditory cues that you can use for transition time, such as um chimes or bells. Um, you don't want them to be harsh sounds, you want them to be um soft and pleasant, and um, they can signal the end or the beginning of activities. You can also have pre-recorded messages or um songs that you use to um indicate changes, and you can even combine some of those visual and um auditory transitions to help. Um, also, this uh for an individual who may not be able to hear um or struggle with uh visuals, you can use um vibration um alerts, uh wearable device that vibrates. Um it can provide a tactile cue in addition to the visual or auditory. Um I've seen watches um that children wear. So not only do they see and they hear, but they feel it. And that feeling um is a switch in their sensory. So that helps with um that helps with that type of uh switch up. And um transitions become a little bit easier because it was almost an alert to the to the body, to the core, not just in your ears, not just in your eyes, but also in your feeling. And it kind of um how we describe it with our son is like it's like flipping a switch um to show it. So these tools, all of these tools, everything that we talked about today can be tailored to meet the needs, the specific needs of individuals. These are general options that you can utilize. But again, as you get to know the person that you are serving that you're ministering to, you will get to know what works best for them. Um and we do our best to opt off offer those things again, all of these strategies, low cost, minimal effort, um, but consistency is key, um, support is key, and it all leads to a security that is going to benefit and make the gospel accessible. Do I know everything about disability ministry? Do I have all the answers? Have I done everything perfectly? I've absolutely not. But we are going to continue this conversation so that people of all abilities can have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in him, and serve him with the gifts that he has given them. For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensablepeople.com and visit Amazon to purchase the book The Indispensable Kid and Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People.
