Love, Wisdom and Belonging in Schools & Faith Communities: Embracing and Empowering Our Children, Youth, and Adults with Disabilities
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2026
Pages: 166
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2026
Pages: 166
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People with disabilities are gifts to those of us who know them, and they are a gift to their families, faith communities, and schools. Too often, their gifts ahve been missed. Too often, in our hurry and noise, we have failed to hear the voice of God speaking through them.
When schools and faith communities create spaces of love, wisdom, and belonging for people with disabilities, our lives are enriched, our communities are made more human, and our classrooms and churches become what they were meant to be. That's what this book is about.
You might be an educator, a teacher candidate, a pastor, a church volunteer, a family member, or a person with a disability seeking to understand your role in the church and in your community. Love, Wisdom, and Belonging will provide you with understandings and resources that will help you embrace and empower everyone, especially people with disabilities.
Authors and Contributors
CHAPTER 1 Understanding Disability from God’s Perspective
Jeff Hittenberger, Ph.D. and Joanne M. Van Boxtel, Ph.D.
CHAPTER 2 History of Disability and Inclusive Education
Joanne M. Van Boxtel, Ph.D.
CHAPTER 3 Understanding Disability Conditions
Joanne M. Van Boxtel, Ph.D. and Megan Chaney, Ed.D.
CHAPTER 4 Understanding Neurodiversity and the Need for NeuroDignity in Education
Ludmila Praslova, Ph.D.
CHAPTER 5 Schools and Faith Communities in Partnership with Parents and Families
Jeff Hittenberger, Ph.D. and Christine Corbin Hittenberger
CHAPTER 6 Fostering Peer Relationships
Louise Gosbell, Ph.D.
CHAPTER 7 Leadership For Belonging in Schools and Faith Communities
Sagui Doering, Ed.D. and Craig Johnson, M.A.
CHAPTER 8 All God’s Children Got a Place: Black Church Theology and the Sacred Inclusion of People with Disabilities
Christopher J. Cormier, Ph.D. and Jamie N. Pearson, Ph.D.
CHAPTER 9 Curricular Strategies and Adaptations
Dana Crawford, M.A.
CHAPTER 10 Behavior Support Frameworks and Strategies
Helene Morris, Ed.D.
CHAPTER 11 Transition to Adulthood
Joanne M. Van Boxtel, Ph.D. and Amy Wilms, M.Ed.
CHAPTER 12 A Sense of Belonging and Resilience
Rodney B. Hume-Dawson, Ph.D.
Index
Jeff Hittenberger (Ph.D., University of Southern California) serves as a Professor of Education at Vanguard University. He has served as Chief Academic Officer at the Orange County Department of Education, Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the School of Education at Vanguard University, and as a teacher of History and English in the Santa Ana Unified School District. He has studied, lived, or done research in Haiti, Morocco, Cameroon, Mali, South Africa, Togo, and Israel. He is lead author and editor of Education for Love and Wisdom: Effective Teachers for Challenging Times, co-editor of Love, Wisdom, and Belonging in Schools and Faith Communities: Embracing and Empowering Children, Youth, and Adults with Disabilities, and author of Why Wage War? An Interaction Unit Exploring the Ethics of War and Peace. He also serves as host of the Education for Love and Wisdom Podcast. You can communicate with Dr. Hittenberger at jhittenberger@gmail.com.
Joanne M. Van Boxtel (Ph.D.) is a professor and faculty director for special education in the School of Education at Vanguard University. Dr. Van Boxtel holds a Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Disability Studies from Chapman University. She has authored and co-authored numerous peerreviewed articles and book chapters and she has presented extensively at national and international conferences, including in Romania and El Salvador, on topics such as inclusive education, Universal Design for Learning, and teaching and learning for students with disabilities. She previously served as Co-PI on a $1.2 million OSEP grant (CFDA 84.325K), Project SEEDS, which provided scholarships to candidates pursuing a special education teaching credential and master's degree. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Van Boxtel worked as a special education teacher and later served as a curriculum development and professional development leader for K–12 special education in the Long Beach Unified School District, California's third-largest urban school district.