I'm not sure that a church setting is any different than any other setting in terms of assisting those with ADHD.

Learn about the various disorders, learn something about their individual needs, provide support, and find the appropriate places for these people to contribute and participate.

There are some very useful forms of support that a church could offer such as holding ADHD-friendly activities, coaching or support groups, child-care that is aware of the special needs, education, meditation classes or just resources such as books and videos. Some education for those not suffering with these issues might also be helpful. A mentoring program where the mentor has some understanding of the special needs could also be valuable to both the person with the disorder and the parents.

I found sitting still through church services incredibly difficult and I don't always have the patience or diplomacy skills required to help people struggling with personal issues. Those activities would not be well suited for me because of my ADHD. On the other hand, I would have been great with kid's activities or other high-energy projects or activities.

If you listen, their needs and their assets will become abundantly clear.

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Hello, My family attend church weekly with our 9 year old who has ADD, Tourettes, a learning disability and depression. We love our church and are very involved in it, but as his mother I feel great isolation in this area. Because he is inattentive (vs hyperactive) ADD, he is not disruptive and people probably think he's a squirmy boy who spaces out a lot and clears his throat a great deal. I've never felt like it was appropriate to seek support from them in this area. Mental health issues and disabilities of this nature are presented - in sermons, right in our church - as something you just need God for to "get over". Really, just trust God and pray and you won't be depressed and His joy will conquer all. They need educating on the fact that statistically there are likely other people in the audience who are medicated for these things and experiencing illness and conditions that are just as real as any physical problem. I have looked for books on parenting a special-needs child that are written from a christian perspective or author with very little success. Yes, God can heal any wound - but just as in any physical condition or problem, with this, His Will might be something else. My son's needs both at home and school often require more of me than I feel that I'm able to give, and not being able to turn to a fellow Christian about it is very sad. I would love to touch base with anyone else who can identify with this.

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The wife and I are studying but not baptised Jehovahs Witnesses and believe you me, we've had our problems. They expect us to be able to commit like everyone else, and as many of you may know, this is a VERY labor intensive religeon that requires tons of focus and dedication.......Things that we do not posess. Getting our studies and peers to realize how incapable we are of these things has really been an uphill battle and has come close to dividing our family. We have offered ADD-ADHD literature, but I still feel Im being accused of being a cop-out. Any advice on how to approach commitment issues when expected or forced to commit?

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to CRUD.. I have been in church for more than 40yrs. I can tell you my hardest thing with well-meaning church members is the pressure I feel as an adult with ADD when they want me to commit to something or volunteer. You know as Adds we have problems with commitment and planning. I want to do it now, but in a few days I will change my mind and be upset with myself for committing. But as a Christian I have learned that God's grace is sufficient for me. Read the book of Romans and I am sure you will find peace in those scriptures. "There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.". And in the book of Luke it says " the work that is required of us is to believe in Jesus". I pray that you find peace in knowing that Jesus did all the work for us on the cross. If His dying didn't take care of us, then nothing we can do will cleanse us from sin or let me say, we can't work for salvation. Bless you.

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4 out of the 6 members of our family have some degree of ADD/HD, my husband, 2 of my sons, and our adopted daughter who also has NF1. For the first 11 years of our marriage we attended a more "traditional" church service as that is what we were accustomed to. I have to tell you that even though I desperately longed to find connection and community there, we rarely did. Our very active children were met with glares during the service, during our daughter's baptism the pastor made a "joking" remark about the activity level of our son, our oldest son was the only one not allowed to receive a certificate at the end of the children's program academic year because he hadn't successfully memorized all the memory verses( he also has LD with very poor short term memory). I began to dread going to church and the stress level in our house prior to going and then after we got home was just not worth it. We were not finding the love and acceptance we needed so much. So we left. We began attending a outreach focused missional church. Their services are much more relaxed, the music engages my children, the children's programs are very interactive. The focus is on loving one another wherever they are at in life, not on rituals, traditions, and religion. The Bible is taught in relevant and applicable ways. Our pastor is a former middle school teachers and uses many demonstrations to help people understand the message. The messages are impactful but to the point, which is important for ADDers and persons with LDs. I feel our family has experienced significant spiritual growth over the past 2 years, we are so glad we made the change.

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I am an adult with ADD. I used to go to church, and wish I could keep doing it, but I have found it's just too hard for me. Quite simply because the church service is always the same, quite long, and very repetitive. With my ADD, I find that instead of having a religious experience, I just try to sit there and make it through the service, there is nothing to keep my attention. I wish churches would vary their services more. Shorter services, more music and less speeches and long readings for instance, could make it easier for ADDers to be part of religious communities. This might be a bigger problem in my country that for instance the USA though, we have a state church with standardized services here, so it's the same most places.

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Wow. It's awesome that there's a new ministry for ADHD in churches. I'm glad this is finally being addressed. One of the biggest stigmas in churches today is the attitude that folks with ADD/ADHD are demon possessed and are sinners because their brains function differently. This definitely needs to be addressed. Also, there needs to be a specific ministry targeted for women with ADD/ADHD. Many times the focus is on men of all ages, but women seem to fall through the cracks. Women are wired differently than men and should be treated equally in this regard. I point both of these issues out as a woman with ADHD, who goes to church regularly. I have been blessed with a wonderful church where our senior pastor has 2 autistic boys, and he is very sensitive to mental health needs. He is aware of my ADHD and has rallied support from the membership in helping me to meet my spiritual needs. This direct support was a huge blessing when I served on our Board of Deacons. In fact, I'm thinking of going back to school for my Masters in Psychology with an emphasis on Christian Women with ADHD. I'm very interested in this kind of ministry and how I could help others in the church.

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