Our first day on the ninth floor, the doctors never said, "Your child has cancer." You know those childhood cancer commercials that tug at your heart? Never happened. My husband received a phone call that confirmed a biopsy, but once we were on the oncology floor, the word cancer was never uttered. Medical textbook words were used, and the rush was definitely on. We knew exactly what was happening without ever being explicitly told in those basic words.
It’s February, and we’ve all somewhat settled into 2025 and are ready to look ahead to what the year will bring. To help you prepare for your church’s steps of accessibility and inclusive events, we’ve created a Ministry Planning Calendar! In this episode, Sandra Peoples will walk you through ideas for planning ahead and praying for what God will do in 2025.
Elaina Marchenko sits down with Rachael VerMeulen from A Little Extra Love Ministries to talk about the reality for families affected by special needs, the need for disability support in Colorado, and what Rachael will be sharing at Disability & the Church Conference.
The church is a place for everyone, yet for many families with neurodivergent children, attending church events or services can be a challenging experience. Children with sensory and communication differences may need unique accommodations to feel comfortable, included, and valued. This season, as your church plans special services and activities, consider these three simple yet impactful ways to create a more welcoming environment for neurodivergent kids and their families.
Larah Roberts sits down with Beth Golik and talks about the annual Night to Shine Event sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation. Beth gives a peek into what the event looks like and also shares how your church can prepare and host one of these events in your city!
Guest blogger Kristin Evans notes that it’s not practical to expect every church to be able to provide for families with special needs in every way. But she encourages churches to consider one or two ideas for how your congregation might be able to better support persons with special needs and disabilities. Here are five ways your church can prepare to love special needs families.
Over the summer, my husband Fred and I have been working through some course material from an organization which has as one of their objectives, “To help one’s family member to achieve ‘An Awesome Ordinary Life.’ ” It is so easy to lose sight of how extraordinary it is when an ordinary life is lived in faithful ways. Let me explain.
Parents of children with special needs are often labeled negatively: ‘troublemakers,’ ‘confrontational,’ ‘needy,’ ‘over-sharing.’ The reason we (as yes, I’m one too) can sometimes pick up some of these negative labels is that we won’t take no for an answer when it comes to our child. Why do we enter into conversations, meetings and appointments with our boxing gloves firmly on? Because the world cannot understand.
Tis the season when caring ministry leaders and volunteers typically try to do some regrouping. The Bible has generous reassurance for leaders caring for individuals and families affected by special needs. I pray you know the tremendous value of the work you do and find refreshment in God’s truth here!
Today was a bad pain day. I never cry from pain. Never, except for today. I have seen God heal people with prayer. God. Is. A. Healer. That’s a part of who He is. But in the midst of my pain, today I saw a flaw in my church, a church that has worked so hard on disability inclusion, and it hit me where it hurts, literally.
Some individuals with limited speech may use AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) speech-generating devices. For roughly 7 years, my own daughter with special needs used a speech-generating device to communicate when she was nonverbal. Here are five ways I used my daughter’s device to aid her spiritual development and increase her participation in our faith.
Many young people with learning disabilities do not have adequate preparation for adult life. The reason sometimes is that people mistakenly assume that having learning disabilities means not being able to learn. This is not the case. Rather, it means that they have difficulty learning. To help with this needed preparation, I have just published a teaching pack for parents, educators and church leaders.
