Tom and Julie Meekins One thing that is always on our prayer list for special needs families is that they will build a community to support one another. A recent example of this happening in our world is that we were able to participate in a fun project with another special needs family. Lauren and Brandon are a special couple. They have three little boys, ages 8, 6 and 3. Their oldest has Autism. If you have followed our ministry for any length of time, you have seen us highlight the ministry Lauren founded and directs called Zach Speaks. (www.zachspeaksinc.org)....
Speaking Truth into the Heart, Mind, and Soul of your Child Combating Low Self Esteem, Negative Self Talk, and Low Motivation All of us at some time or another struggle with our self worth and where we fit in the family, in our jobs, with extended family, with our friends, at our church, etc. Some of our children struggle big time with self worth most of the time. The root cause of this can be a lot of things, but the important thing at this time is that you can speak truth into their hearts and minds and souls. Here...
Is your child “good” at school and for everyone else but fills your life and home with meltdowns, misbehavior, ugly moods, disrespect, etc.? We hear this often from parents who have children with lots of different kinds of challenges. Our guess is that these children give everything they’ve got outside the home to be “good”. Then, they are exhausted and are at the end of themselves when home. Here are some ideas that you can implement that could make a difference: These tried and true ideas work for many. Could they need a snack? Sometimes the blood sugar gets low...
We are guessing that if you work in ministry, you have a heart for people. We all come to the table with our own experiences, hurts, challenges, victories, and passions. We are limited in being aware of every kind of struggle people may face and limited in knowing how to support folks in every kind of situation. That is why we need each other to raise awareness. Parents raising kids with challenges may experience some or all of these hurdles in getting plugged into the community: No one to care for the children. Children who have special needs of any...
We think it is safe to say that sometimes our children do not always understand what we are trying to teach them. We want to impart a particular social skill and they just don’t seem to catch it. Today we are sharing three very effective and powerful tools that you can use to teach a particular skill – physical, social, etc. The example we are using today is teaching a child how to wait, particularly one who is prone to interruptions but you can use the tools for other skills as well. Solutions: Tool #1 – Social story –Written –...
Our children who have sensory concerns struggle sometimes with wearing certain clothes. Some of them struggle with wearing any clothes.Some of them will only wear one dress – or one kind of pants – or one kind of shirt.Some have a great deal of difficulty with wearing socks and shoes.This can be very challenging for parents. We have solutions for you! Scratchy glove Get a bath glove. We like to call them scratchy gloves. Put the glove on your hand and then very lightly rub the glove over all four limbs, the torso, and any areas that are bothered by...
As coordinator for the Pre-K department at our church, Julie is positioned to not only serve the typically developing community of 4 through 6 year olds, but also is strategically placed to serve the children who are struggling. For example, struggles some children have been dealing with for a while become a little more obvious as they interact with their peers and the volunteer staff. These parents are being thrown into a whole new world of research and discovery. You may have encountered this situation in your church in one way or another. Maybe it looks like this: A child...
A message to Parents: You need to recharge. You work hard. This is especially true if you are the parent of a child with special challenges. You are often, if not always, on high alert. This is not you being selfish, this is not only survival, BUT guaranteed you will be a better parent if you get refueled in a way or a variety of ways that work best for you. Ideas: read a book if that relaxes and refreshes you, go out with some friends to a ballgame, eat chocolate,sit quietly in a coffee shop ALONE or with a good friend, attend...
Visual Chart, Verbal Instruction, Loving Support Do you have a child in your ministry who struggles with transitioning from one activity to another? Here’s a few things you can do to make transitions easier: Create a visual chart showing the sequence of the agenda.Whenever possible use pictures and words on the chartTake the child to the chart as soon as they arrive and talk it throughTake the child to the chart periodically throughout the eventIf appropriate, give a copy of the chart to the parents/guardians for home.Whenever possible, give a few minutes warning before moving to the next thingGive the...
Volunteers are such a vital piece of any community thriving. The dynamics of volunteers working with each other are complex. Today my head and heart are filled with the swirls of helping volunteers serve well. As coordinator, my Sunday morning focus is ultimately on the pre-kindergarten children under my charge. When I started this gig, I was thinking there would be a fair amount of physical set up of converting elementary school classrooms to Sunday School rooms, curriculum preparation and supervising of the delivery, but I really had no idea of the 5,000 piece puzzle I was signing up for. ...
