This is where you can see every blog post from every category.
Christmas has come and gone, with all of its celebration, joys, and maybe some trials and tribulations thrown in for good measure… Racing up next we say goodbye to the old year and cheer in the new; but how that makes you feel might well depend on the kind of year you’ve had, and any expectations you may have for the year ahead.
Christmas can be a very difficult time… especially for parents of children with additional needs. Everyone seems to be enjoying a perfect time of celebration, with invitations to meals, parties and festive fun flooding in, while for many of us the holiday period is a lonely time...
It’s Christmas!! Those two words seem to divide the nation even more than Brexit has, with people falling into one of two ‘camps’… Either you started wearing your Christmas jumper in October, had your decorations up in November and have already watched ‘Elf’ 12 times this season, or you feel like King Theoden in the Lord of the Rings movie 'The Two Towers' right before the major battle at Helms Deep when he grimly says, “So, it begins…”.
So, which are we? Are we the purse lipped, critical, selfish, glaring meerkat’s? Or are we part of the lion pride, standing up for those in our ‘family’ who need our help? Roaring in defence of those who are being picked on, bullied by members of our congregations that should know better...
But for many of us, our child with additional needs or disability is not our only child. We may have another child, or several others, all of whom need love, nurturing, care and support. This is an open letter to Phoebe, and to all the brothers or sisters of children with additional needs or disabilities…
There are many ways that those involved in children’s and youth work can make a big difference for children and young people with additional needs or disabilities, and their families. I often get asked what one change can make the most difference, can have the greatest impact, can enable lasting transformation. The answer I always give is this…
There are many occasions where Jesus’ encounters with children were miraculous, including when he met children with additional/special needs or disabilities, but what about today? Do miracles involving children with additional/special needs or disabilities still occur? What do they look like? As parents or children’s workers are we right to hope, to pray, for miracles?
While Halloween is a fun time of year for many children, it can be a really difficult time for some, including many children with additional/special needs. For them it can be a confusing, anxiety inducing, or even utterly terrifying time. But it doesn’t have to be like that; if we stop for a moment to think about the things they might find hard and how to put things in place to help them, they can safely join in the fun too.
This weeks blog post is from a guest blogger, Nicky Ellis from 'Horses and Foals' https://horsesandfoals.com who writes about how horse riding therapy can help Autistic children... If your child enjoys riding a horse it’s the best therapy you can give your child to improve their skills!
For many people church as it currently exists in many, many places just doesn’t work, can’t work, won’t work. And it’s not just people on the margins of society that this is true for, it’s true for the majority of the communities in which these churches are located. It’s just even worse if you don’t happen to conform to the ‘typical’, ‘expected’ profile of church attendee; and that includes many, even most, families who have a child with additional/special needs or disabilities. Church needs a reboot before everyone can truly belong.
Delightful Handmade Dog Products and Gifts
An additional needs Dad and Son baking adventure...
Special Education Teaching Resources, Sensory Stories and SEND Information
The Additional Needs Blogfather 