Thoughtfully Considering How to Love a Special Needs Family We recently asked some special needs parents how they would like to be loved by family, friends, and even strangers. Here is what they had to share: Do not judge. There are so many things that you may not know behind the scenes in a special needs family. Some disabilities are not as obvious. We call these “hidden disabilities.” Have compassion. Do not be dismissive of their concerns and frustrations. Many children who melt-down in public are extremely sensitive to what you might call normal noises, lights, and activity. What looks...

Life is hard. Everyone is feeling the pain of these days of COVID which brings some form of social isolation, disrupted routines, difficult perplexities in educating children, ministries that are upside/down and so much more confusion. We are also living with a lot of political unrest. These days are hard for everyone but especially troublesome for special needs families who are already dealing with sometimes seemingly insurmountable challenges.  Just in the last few days, we have interacted with people who are dealing with very difficult situations.  Here are some of their stories:  My son does not know how to social...

Tom and Julie Meekins Ministry is hard. It can be very lonely. There are often expectations made of ministry leaders that are overwhelming.  Let’s talk about Loneliness first. Don’t be a lone ranger. You may feel like you “should” be taking care of everything within the ministry yourself. You may feel that you were hired to do a job or commissioned to do a job and that you alone should take care of it – ALL of it. Wrong thinking. God created us for community. He doesn’t want us doing ministry alone. We had to learn this truth the hard...

By Julie Meekins When I sat down to write this blog post, my goal was to give parents who suddenly found themselves responsible to navigate the education of their children at home some tips to not only survive but to do well. After completing the article, however, I realized that these tips work for all parents. If you are a parent who was intending to send your child to school but are thrust into educating at home, this is for you. If you are a parent of a child with special challenges of any kind, this is for you. If...

Helping to Reach for Highest Potential By Tom and Julie Meekins Champions4Parents.com There are so many facets to parenting a child with special needs. In the early days, we, like many parents were focused on getting a diagnosis and then defining what comes with that diagnosis. Then, as the days and months and years unraveled, we learned who Amy really was as an individual. Of course, this is ongoing because she, like all of us, is always growing and developing. For us, the diagnosis became less important and her needs, strengths, and abilities become the focus. Does that sound familiar?...

By Tom and Julie Meekins Champions4Parents.com As a leader (either as staff or as a volunteer) in special needs ministry, have you ever wondered if social media could be helpful to your families?  We decided to put the idea to the test. A little over four years ago, we created a Facebook Group for the benefit of supporting special needs parents in our local area.  Our Facebook Group is a secret one in which folks need to be invited to join. The invitations can come from members but the moderators need to approve those who want to join. In the...

Tom and Julie Meekins Over the past few months, we have had the privilege of spending time with people who are doing ministry to families with special needs throughout the country and, really, the world. It is so wonderful to come together and discuss how to love God and love people better. Here are some ideas that have either come from folks in those discussions, or as we have observed others doing ministry, and a few that were created in our own minds as we participated in these brainstorms.  That is what ministry is all about, right? Brainstorming, collaborating, trial...

Tom and Julie Meekins Points to Ponder: Children are not little adults. Whether typically developing or with developmental challenges, children do not process the same way we do. They do not have the benefit of years lived and therefore the scope of experiences that we do. We believe this is a very important understanding to have as we go about the mammoth task of raising children. We often expect things they cannot deliver because they are not at the level of understanding of adults.  Children are sponges. All children have an innate desire to learn. What a joy is ours...