Official LDS Resources

The good news about the new disability site is spreading, it has recently shown up in a number of places:

The homepage of LDS.org:

Disabilities.lds.org has recently been launched to help members with disabilities and their families participate more fully in Church meetings and activities. In addition to providing information on various disabilities, this new section includes suggestions and resources for leaders, teachers, caregivers, and Church members.

Teaching the Gospel to Children With Disabilities is a short article from the LDS Newsroom that discusses adapting classes for children with disabilities.

There is a new page in the Young Woman section of LDS.org titled Young Women Who Have Disabilities. The page includes this statement:

Young women who have disabilities are normally included in their regular classes. Exceptions may be made with the approval of the parents and the priesthood leaders. Flexibility may be needed in utilizing the approved programs to meet the needs of these young women.

Many of you have seen the new test site that the Church is previewing before they officially release it. At the bottom of the Home page is a link to a PDF document titled 'What's New at LDS.org?' A couple of days that page was updated to include this information on page 2:

Disabilities

The redesigned LDS.org will better comply with accessibility guidelines than the previous Web site. We will continue to make improvements throughout 2006 until we comply with all the Church guidelines for ALT tags, navigation, and other functionality to assist site users who have disabilities or special needs.

The full title of this new DVD is Outline for Sharing Time and the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation, 2006. "I Will Trust in Heavenly Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ—Their Promises Are Sure," sign language and it is available as item number 2600201 from the Church Distribution Center for $4.50. You can order the Sharing Time DVD online or call the Church Distribution Phone Number: 1-800-537-5971

The Primary Songbook contains three songs under the topic of "Special Needs" that address acceptance, understanding and appreciation of persons with disabilities. Here are some links to the songs in the Church Music Player (I don't think it is accessible?):

• Every Star is Different
• I'll Walk With You
• We are Different

The Church Music Site also has a list of Church music materials available in alternate formats.

Brittany Karford of Church magazines has an excellent write-up on the availability of the new Book of Mormon in American Sign Language on DVD. From the article:

Look under the 'What's New' section of the LDS.org Braille page for the April Church Magazines as well as Home and Visiting Teaching messages available in .brf format (Ensign also available as a .txt file).

The long-awaited DVD version of the Book of Mormon in American Sign Language has recently been made available!

It is not available on ldscatalog.com at the time of this post, but you can order by calling the Distribution Center at 1-800-537-5971. The product number is 54011 010- if anyone has received theirs yet, drop a comment to give us some details.

The official website for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a vast library of resource materials available. Some of that material is available in a variety of formats including American Sign Language, audio files and electronic braille files.