How can I teach my boys about god

[Tyson88]

Hi, I am a mother of 3 children, and a fairly new christian, my two eldest children who are 5 & 3 years old both have autism and a severe speech & language disorder, I'm wondering if there is anybody else in a similar situation, how can I teach children about god that have limited speech and no understanding ie my eldest can say 20ish words but can only understand those keywords, I have two children's bibles one is a picture bible and another is probably for 5 years plus, my eldest will tolerate looking at the book briefly but he fixates on the rhino that is going on Noah's ark and that's the end of that, my eldest was assessed last year and given a mental age of 18 months but I feel he has made progress since and my 3 year old is extremely delayed too.
I am in the process of finding a church however I feel it may be a challenge to find one that my boys will be okay going to.
Any fresh ideas I may not have thought of?
Thank you

 

[bdentzy]

Hi, I am a mother of 3 children, and a fairly new christian, my two eldest children who are 5 & 3 years old both have autism and a severe speech & language disorder, I'm wondering if there is anybody else in a similar situation, how can I teach children about god that have limited speech and no understanding ie my eldest can say 20ish words but can only understand those keywords, I have two children's bibles one is a picture bible and another is probably for 5 years plus, my eldest will tolerate looking at the book briefly but he fixates on the rhino that is going on Noah's ark and that's the end of that, my eldest was assessed last year and given a mental age of 18 months but I feel he has made progress since and my 3 year old is extremely delayed too.
I am in the process of finding a church however I feel it may be a challenge to find one that my boys will be okay going to.
Any fresh ideas I may not have thought of?
Thank you

I think I would focus less on teaching and more on modeling a relationship with God and creating an environment where they can become familiar with God the ways that they can understand and interact with the world. I don't know exactly what that means for you but when daughter was young (less than a year old) our prayer was always that she would be familiar with God's presence so she would know him as she grew older. She's very smart (in our humble opinions) but she clearly has a soft heart towards God.

The other thing I would say is to trust God in this. Trust him deeply and bring your cares and concerns to him. I think you might be surprised by what He's able to accomplish in your children.

I know a guy from our church who has severe intellectual challenges but loves God dearly and trusts Him completely. His passion and willingness to serve within his abilities are humbling because he loves God so wholeheartedly. I look up to him. I really do. He's a walking miracle and a living testimony.

 

[Darkhorse]

My older son has high-functioning autism and the younger one has Asperger's Syndrome, so I don't know how helpful I can be. The older son was barely verbal at 18 months, and we got him speech therapy until he was 6; it helped a lot.

When they were young, we made church a fun event as much as we could. Small Sunday-school classes (sometimes with my wife or I helping) were something they could handle, and being around other good kids laid the groundwork for friendships and "safe" social interactions. Adult church was too much of a demand, especially when they were small; my older son would start screaming every time the congregation stood up to sing.

Where kids really learn about God is in everyday-life situations. Praying with them when they're afraid or agitated, reading interesting books to them (even if your son doesn't get past the hippo), and seeing you grow in your Christian walk will teach them more than anything happening at church. Church is important, but life is at least as important.

 

[bdentzy]

Where kids really learn about God is in everyday-life situations. Praying with them when they're afraid or agitated, reading interesting books to them (even if your son doesn't get past the hippo), and seeing you grow in your Christian walk will teach them more than anything happening at church. Church is important, but life is at least as important.

That's a great comment and insight! So very true.