Answer: An important first step may be forming and Inclusion Committee. The purpose of such a committee is to assess the current barriers and opportunities that exist in your congregation and to make recommendations regarding strategies for planning for increased access and inclusion of people with disabilities as full-participants in the life of your congregations. IDC has provided two (2) resources that may be helpful. The first is a handout on forming and inclusion committee and the second is an assessment of your congregation’s accessibility and level of inclusion of people with disabilities.

One of the most important things to remember as you navigate this process is to include people with disabilities and their families on your congregation’s Inclusion Committee. Your willingness to include their voices and experience on your committee will be a sign of your faith community’s commitment to inclusion. Including people with disabilities in the planning process can also save time and money because those individuals can keep you from making unnecessary and sometimes costly modifications. People with disabilities and family members are experts in this area. This expertise is among the first gifts that they can share with your congregation.

Answer: The answer below comes from Pat Kahn, Director of Religious Education at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta:

We began a "Special Friends" program several years ago for just this reason.  We had a child who was having difficulty participating in the Sunday School class and the volunteer teachers were spending most of the time dealing with disruptive behavior and we frequently had to get the parent out of worship to deal with him.  Needless to say, this was frustrating to all - the child himself, his peers, the volunteers and the parent.  Over the summer that year, he was diagnosed as having Asberger's Syndrome (this was about 7 years ago, before it was more widely known).  We researched this and talked with the parent, and decided to find a "Special Friend", someone who could be a facilitator for this child in the classroom, but who could also take the child out as needed to do something else.  We had a meeting with the children in the class, including the child, and talked about how we all have things we do well and some things we need help with.  We then did some education about autism and Asberger's, and sent a letter home to other parents in the class explaining the same things.  The parent helped us find a facilitator whom we paid for her work - a college student who had been this child's after school caregiver for many years, so the relationship already existed between the two.  Our reasoning was that if we had a child who came to our program who communicated with sign language, we would not expect the volunteer teachers to become fluent, we would of course, hire a sign language interpreter, who would facilitate the participation of the child, and from whom the teachers and other children could also learn communication skills.
 
The results were astounding.  First, the atmosphere in the classroom changed overnight.  Instead of the boy being ostracized by other children for his "bad behavior", they were much friendlier and eager to help find ways to include him.  The teachers were able to focus on the lesson and engage all of the students.  We had expected that the "Special Friend" would have to take the boy out of class....but not once did that happen!  She was able to help him participate, teaching us all ways to be together.  The child's mother was able to stay in the worship service and get the spiritual sustenance she needed.  We also learned more about environmental issues that we could fix - loud sudden noises, fluorescent lights and other distractors.  Our attention to including this one child showed us that everyone benefits.  Two wonderful resources about inclusion are books by Mara Sapon-Shevin "Because We Can Change the World" and her newest book, "Widening the Circle".  Another resource we found very helpful is Sally Patton's "Welcoming Children with Special Needs" and her "Involve" training for congregations; her organization is called Embracing the Spirit of the Child and the Web site can be found here.  
 
The young man, who was in 2nd grade when we began this journey, is now a sophomore in high school and still participates each week in our Religious education program.  We have had other children with "Special Friends" - many of whom have been volunteer high school students, who have formed lasting relationships and memories. 

Answer: The answer below comes from Ed McCoy, The Director of Ministry with People with Disabilities at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
Atlanta:

Mr. McCoy says that ASLPro.com provides one of the most comprehensive dictionaries of religious terms and their corresponding ASL signs. It is a web site that provides videos of religious signs.

Visit ASLPro.com and click on video dictionaries. Click on religious signs. You can the look up specific signs up alphabetically.

Please let me know if this is helpful or if you need additional information.