(Part Five in the series: The Biggest Struggles for Christian Parents of Children with Disabilities. Each blog post in this series stands alone well.) This post is for: parents, caregivers, and anyone who loves and supports parents and caregivers, along with ministry leaders who care and want to serve individuals affected by disabilities and their families and caregivers. We know that parents and caregivers of children with disabilities have many unique challenges – whether those children are still young or have grown to adulthood. Over the last few months we have been highlighting some of the biggest struggles and finding...
(Part Four in the series: The Biggest Struggles for Christian Parents of Children with Disabilities. Each blog post in this series stands alone well.) Parents, caregivers, anyone who loves and supports parents and caregivers, ministry leaders who care and want to serve individuals affected by disabilities and their families and caregivers, this blog post is for you! We know that parents and caregivers of children with disabilities have many unique challenges – whether those children are still young or have grown to adulthood. Over the last few months we have been highlighting some of the biggest struggles and finding some practical...
(Part Three in the series: The Biggest Struggles for Christian Parents of Children with Disabilities. Each blog post in this series stands alone well.) Parents, caregivers, anyone who loves and supports parents and caregivers, ministry leaders who care and want to serve individuals affected by disabilities and their families and caregivers, this blog post is for you! We know that parents and caregivers of children with disabilities have many unique challenges – whether those children are still young or have grown to adulthood. Over the next few months we hope to highlight some of the biggest struggles and find some...
(Part Two in the series: The Biggest Struggles for Christian Parents of Children with Disabilities) This blog post is for parents and caregivers and anyone who loves and supports parents and caregivers and whole families affected by disabilities, including ministry leaders. Parents of children with disabilities have many unique challenges – whether those children are still young or have grown to adulthood. Over the next few months we hope to highlight some of the biggest struggles and find some practical and hope-filled solutions. Our goal with this series is two-fold. We want parents to know that we see you and...
Parents of children with disabilities have many unique challenges – whether those children are still young or have grown to adulthood. Over the next few months, we hope to highlight some of the biggest struggles and find some practical and hope-filled solutions. Our goal with this series is two-fold. We want parents to know that we see you, we hear you. It is also our goal to enlighten everyone – to give greater knowledge or understanding – to expose that these challenges are real and often difficult, confusing, agonizing, and also sanctifying. In all of the experiences any of us...
I know that originally the majority of the people who will read this blog post are already sensitive and caring regarding what words we use to define people. So – this is common knowledge and validation for you. Also – I am praying that the message will go far and wide to those who have caring hearts but lack knowledge or are unaware of the negative impact of some words that are insensitive, thoughtless, hurtful, inappropriate, and incorrect. You can help with that! Recently I happened upon a podcast episode of a respected host. I turned on the interview and...
Church people: Have we paused to consider the determined strength of a mom encountering immense challenges advocating for her child, or the particular perspective of a sibling? Imagine just for a minute the constant demands, emotional pressure, and financial deliberations of parents and caregivers. Siblings sometimes are overlooked, often carrying tremendous responsibilities their peers know nothing about. They are often at war with all the different emotions they feel like love, guilt, and going into protective mode. Grandparents and other extended family love the parents and the siblings and the one with disabilities. They are processing their own roles in...
Imagine. Imagine that you have arrived at a very beautiful place. As you are approaching the building, there are people lined up on both sides of the door cheering you on and welcoming you with joy. You enter into the building and immediately there are people patiently asking your name and handing you and your caregiver lanyards with your name tags attached. Those same people tell you what table you are assigned to and ask if you need help finding it. You say no because you can clearly see where your table number is located. You get yourself situated at...
Some thoughts on Parenting, Mentoring, Teaching, Guiding them. Obviously, in this blog post, we are not going to solve all of the challenges that we have as parents or ministry leaders in parenting, mentoring, teaching, and guiding kids and teens. Our goal here is to just open up the conversation, share a few things to consider, and to point you to an amazing new resource. I recently had the great honor of being on the launch team and reading a pre-released copy of Kim Botto’s book: “Boundless Hope for Every Child – Help for the Hurting, Compassion for the Misunderstood,...
In the world of education we see a growing desire among educators to presume competence in their students. What does “presume competence” mean exactly? Here are some ways to explain it. Assume the student has the ability to understand and learn even if the behavior or communication style seems different – then, actively tease out those abilities. Focus on capabilities, not limitations Prioritize what a person can do rather than assuming they are incapable. Approaching the student with the expectation that they are capable of achieving things, and should have the opportunity to try with support and accommodations. Put aside...
