There's a J In there… Somewhere!

I grew up going to church. I am still a Christian even though, right now, I don’t have a church community.

When my kids were small, it was common for churches to have a ‘crying room’ for parents to take their small children. This was often a space at the side of the church or a separate room where kids could play with parents supervising and still hear what was going on in the church. This meant that parents didn’t miss out on the sermon or any other element of the service.

I quite liked this space. I didn’t have to worry about keeping my kids quiet, I could sit on a more comfortable chair, and still engage in the service. I could also move about as I needed.

At the time, I thought it was all about the kids and keeping them quiet, however, looking back, I realise how much of that room helped support me as an AuDHD person.

Being able to move about meant I could often listen more than if I had to sit still on a pew.

The seats were more comfortable than the pews, or even the plastic chairs, so I could sit in a way that felt more natural to me.

In the places where there was a separate room, the music was quieter than it was in the main church and this meant it wasn’t as sensory demanding and I could enjoy it more.

As an adult without kids, I’m not sure these spaces are available to me any more. It’s been a while since I looked at them. I know that not all churches have this area either.

It could be something that churches, especially larger churches, may want to consider when thinking about accessibility for neurodivergent people, these sensory spaces, where we can move or sit more comfortably while still hearing the service. The fact that I could still hear the service was important as I felt that I was still part of the community, while meeting my sensory needs (that I didn’t realise I had at the time).

These rooms could get overwhelming too if there were a lot of other kids in there, especially if they were noisy and crying, however that didn’t happen very often.

It’s fascinating looking back on my life at things that were available that helped my needs as an AuDHD person and I didn’t even realise it at the time.