The 5 Stages
A Framework for Changing Attitudes About Disability
Most communities want to welcome people with disabilities. But wanting to isn't the same as knowing how, or knowing where you actually are on the journey.
The 5 Stages gives individuals, churches, schools, and organizations a clear picture of where they stand on disability inclusion and what the next step looks like. It's not a theory. Dan developed it through years of real-world use with organizations, churches, and schools. It has been refined across six continents and translated into 27 languages. People understand it in fifteen minutes. Communities are still talking about it years later.
THE FRAMEWORK
From Ignorance to Co-Laborers
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STAGE 1: IGNORANCE
Disability is invisible, or seen as the result of sin or a lack of faith. People with disabilities are unknown, avoided, or forgotten. There is no awareness and no interest in changing that.
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STAGE 2: PITY
There's genuine sorrow for people with disabilities, but it stops there. "That's too bad" is the full response. Helping feels like the ceiling. Pity isn't wrong. Staying there is.
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STAGE 3: CARE
People with disabilities are recognized as made in God's image and deserving of love and service. Programs are started. Accommodations are made. But there is still a helper-and-helped dynamic, not a relationship.
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STAGE 4: FRIENDSHIP
Real relationship. You know someone with a disability, spend time with them, and recognize your life is better for it. The friendship goes both ways. You receive as much as you give.
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STAGE 5: CO-LABORERS
The fullest expression. People with disabilities are seen and valued as partners in God's mission, not recipients of charity but co-workers in the Kingdom. Ministry happens with them, not for them.
FIELD-TESTED
Why This Framework Spreads
Gives teams and congregations a shared vocabulary for conversations that are often hard to start
Simple enough to apply immediately, without oversimplifying what is actually a complex culture change
Works for individuals and for organizations, addressing personal growth and systems-level change
Moves communities beyond programs and compliance toward genuine belonging
Field-tested across churches, schools, nonprofits, corporations, and international organizations
Available in 27 languages and free to download and share
FREE RESOURCE
Download the Free PDF
The 5 Stages is available as a free one-page poster in 27 languages. Download the version that's right for your team, congregation, or community.
Other Available Languages:
Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali Bangla, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Dutch, French, German, Hindi Formal, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean English, Korean Formal, Malay, Mongolian, Nepalese, Romanian, Russian, Slovene, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish, Ukrainian.
Who's Already Using It
National Organizations
Joni and Friends | Agoura Hills, CA
Young Life / Young Life Capernaum | San Jose, CA
Salvation Army Canada
Christian Horizons | Ottawa, ON
Bethany Christian Services | Grand Rapids, MI
Friendship Community | Lancaster, PA
Disability Concerns CRC/RCA | Grand Rapids, MI
All Belong | Grand Rapids, MI
Voice of Care | West Chicago, IL
International Organizations
Adventist Special Needs Association | Grantham, England
BCM International Inc. Disability Camp | Lima, Peru
Hope Centre Ministries | Winnipeg, MB
Ekisa | Kimaka, Uganda
The Banquet Network
Virgin Islands University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities | St. Croix, USVI
Scripture Union Northern Ireland | Belfast
Wheaton College Center for Faith and Disability
Churches
Anaheim CRC | Anaheim, CA
Church of the Brethren, Open Roof Ministries
Church of the Resurrection | Wheaton, IL
Faith Church | Dyer, IN
Moody Church | Chicago, IL
Orland Park CRC | Orland Park, IL
Special Connections at Parkview Church | Orland Park, IL
St. John's | Wickham, UK
Third Church RVA | Henrico, VA
Walnut Hill Community Church | Connecticut
...and hundreds of churches across the United States, Canada, the UK, and beyond.
What People Are Saying
"The 5 Stages has been a defining influence on the work of the Wheaton College Center for Faith and Disability, functioning not merely as a borrowed framework but as a foundational pillar shaping its pedagogy, vision, and implementation.""
Dr. Thomas Boehm,
Director, Wheaton Center for Faith and Disability;
Chair, Education Department | Wheaton, IL
"Part of our calling at Wonderful Works Ministry is to help church leaders shift their mindset when it comes to disability. When we have these conversations, the first resource that we recommend is the 5 Stages of Changing Attitudes. We believe that this is a powerful tool to help change church culture"
Barb Stanley
Wonderful Works Ministry | Hilliard, OH