April is Autism Awareness Month! We have several activities planned that promote awareness, acceptance, and inclusion. These activities are part of our annual Accessible Faith Initiative, which helps places of worship to become more autism friendly. These events include webinars and resources such as an Activity Toolkit and Children’s Ministry Prayer Guide. We hope that you and your place of worship will join us in these autism awareness activities!
Webinars
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- Tuesday, April 4th at 1:00pm EST – Join us for a webinar where we will discuss “How to Promote Autism Awareness Among Our Youth.” Kelsey Hollis, the reigning Miss Georgia, will be our special guest. Make sure that you register for this webinar! Even if you cannot attend, those who register will receive additional information on how to watch the webinar at a later date.
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- Wednesday, April 26th at 1:00pm EST – Ryan Wolfe of Ability Ministry will discuss “How to Develop Curriculum for your Disability Ministry.” You don’t want to miss all of the wonderful tips he will share! This webinar will be streamed on our Facebook and YouTube pages. Please make sure that you like and subscribe to our social media networks. Don’t forget to sign up for notifications!
Downloadable Tools
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- Activity Toolkit – We have a new and improved toolkit that shares simple activities for places worship that promote autism friendly environments. Download the Activity Toolkit here.
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- Children’s Ministry Prayer Guide – We created a prayer guide that you can use in your Children’s Ministry. It is designed to start conversations with children that promote awareness, acceptance, and inclusion. Download the Children’s Ministry Prayer Guide here.
Sensory Toolkits
We are giving out FREE Sensory Toolkits to places of worship! Our Sensory Toolkits include:
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- Headphones
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- Fidget spinners
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- Liquid Motion Timers
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- Stress balls
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- And more!
Here’s how your place of worship can receive one. Choose ONE of the below activity options:
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- Do an activity from our Activity Toolkit in April at your place of worship.
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- Use the Children’s Ministry Prayer Guide with your children’s ministry in April.
You do not have to do both options, but we won’t stop you if you do! After you do your activity, here’s what will happen next.
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- Those who download the Activity Toolkit and Prayer Guide will be asked to fill out a very short survey. You will be asked about your activity and thoughts on the resources provided.
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- While it is not required, we would love to see photos of your activity!
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- We will advertise your place of worship as a participant in our 2023 Accessible Faith Initiative.
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- Sensory Toolkits will be mailed out in May 2023 to places of worship that complete the survey.
Giving Campaign
Our first giving campaign of the year is now in effect! We would love to expand and provide more resources, but that takes funding! Please consider donating to our nonprofit organization. Your one-time or monthly donation will provide places of worship with sensory toolkits, food for autistic persons in need, and sensory tools and supports so that autistic individuals can thrive. You can make your tax-deductible donation here. You can also donate by texting the word “GIVE” to 404-800-1564.
More News Coming Soon!
We have one more special announcement that we will be making in mid-April. Make sure that you are signed up for our email list so that you won’t miss our wonderful news!