Those of us who care for children and young people with additional/special needs, whether as parents/carers, children’s and youth workers, or in other professional roles, become good at expecting the unexpected, anticipating the unpredictable, and dealing with unsurprising surprises! Our lives are different than most, no two days are the same, and we get to…
November 6, 2019 Autism, Challenges, Special Needs Parenting This past April I wrote the first part of this blog, based on a workshop that I and my writing colleague, Sarah Broady, presented at Key Ministry’s Inclusion Fusion Conference that month and also presented at the Wonderfully Made Conference in October. The workshop is based on a conversation…
Being fourteen months younger than my sister with Down syndrome wasn’t always easy. We were a grade apart in school, in a town where everyone knew everyone else. I was occasionally referred to as “Syble’s sister” instead of by my own name. When people made jokes about the kids on the short bus or used…
column width=”1/1″ last=”true” title=”” title_type=”single” animation=”none” implicit=”true”] Crying when God gives what I need and not what I want is a regular event in my life. It’s most recent occurrence happened on Sunday. At church. During the sermon. I thought I’d hidden my tears. Until the woman to my left scooted a few inches away,…
There’s a weight like no other that exists in the world of medically complex kids. You spend your days—and sometimes nights—advocating, transporting, scheduling, and caregiving for this most precious treasure that you call son or daughter. You learn to be master juggler of all things, even if you have no athletic bone in your body….
It’s one thing to say you care, and another to show you care. Quite honestly, it seems to be getting easier to tell the difference in everyday life. For instance, the person who says, “Yes, I really hope that Sally is doing okay with the children; her son with special needs is a handful. I’ll…
This morning my Bible reading found me in Psalm 34. I sometimes will read a Psalm and circle the attributes or roles of God that I see throughout the Psalm and note it in the margin. I don’t do this every time I read the Bible, but that’s what I did this morning. I’m only…
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.…” Romans 8:1 NASB This morning, as I planned for the day, I saw that my son’s physical therapist would be coming to the house this afternoon. Then I remembered that exactly one week ago, she spent much of the session teaching me…
I remember the moment perfectly. I was a counselor and was at a Burger King with a client when I heard the news about the planes hitting the twin towers in New York. The rest of that day, my role was to help my clients process their own fears as the news unfolded; coming alongside…
James has an infectious laugh; it is one of those laughs that can start as a chuckle, a little giggle, and then builds and builds into a raucous belly laugh that barely gives him opportunity to take a breath. All sorts of things can set him off, maybe something he’s watching on his iPad. Once…