Hello! 

My name is Corey Parish. I am an independent researcher, local church pastor, and disability support worker in Fergus, Ontario. I am conducting a survey to better understand how families in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and surrounding regions experience church spaces. 

I am seeking insights from all families willing to participate, but I am also particularly grateful for insights from families of children who have disabilities and impairments that affect their ability to engage and interact with their physical and social environments. Whether or not you use terms like "disabled" or "impaired" (or neither) to describe your child, your input on this survey will be valuable.

This survey has two main objectives:

1. To raise awareness about the unique experiences of families with children, particularly those with various disabilities and impairments, in church settings.
   
   

2. To gather insights on how congregations and children's ministries can collaborate to create church spaces that are more inclusive and welcoming for all families and children.

Your feedback will contribute to a public presentation titled “A Place for Appearing: Reimagining Church Spaces for Families with Children with Disabilities” at the Toronto Children's Ministry Conference in November 2025. (No direct quotes or personal stories will be shared at this conference or in any other material, written or other, without your express permission. And no identifying details will ever be asked of you or shared in any public capacity.) 

Please note: Your participation in this survey is entirely voluntary, and no personal or identifying data will be required of you. Your responses will remain anonymous, including to the researcher, unless you choose to seek a follow-up interview.* In any case, no identifying information will be shared in the presentation or subsequent article. You may skip any question you’re not comfortable answering, and you may withdraw from this survey at any time. Survey responses will be stored on a secure cloud (Google Forms) and deleted within 8 weeks of their completion.   

(*The only exception to anonymity will be any disclosure of church experiences that recall harm or illegal actions toward minors, including physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.)

Thank you for participating in this survey. It should take about 15-20 minutes to complete.