Category: Children’s/Youth Workers

These blog posts include tips to help children’s and youth workers engage with, include, and create places of belonging for everyone, especially children and young people with additional needs.

Learning You – A Review And Questions

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

When I was asked to review the new First Capital Films release ‘Learning You’, the story of an Autistic young person (Elijah) and his Dad (Ty), I thought it would be easy. You see, I’m Dad to an Autistic son myself, so I though “Hey, this will be a breeze”... It turns out that I was wrong; ‘Learning You’ isn’t just a story about somebody else, it was a story that spoke to me about my own story, and my sons story too, and took us all on a road trip. As I watched this film, I saw so much of my son James in Elijah, and so much of myself in Ty, through the storm, through the tears, through it all. So, buckle up, have a look at the review I wrote, be prepared for an emotional roller-coaster, and if you can, watch ‘Learning You’ and learn from it through the tears... My review has got a few key questions for you to consider too...

Understanding Behaviour in Children and Young People with Additional Needs

Featured by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Parents/Carers

For children and young people with a range of additional needs — including Autism, ADHD, sensory processing disorders/differences, or developmental delays — behaviour is often the most reliable tool they have to communicate a need that their words cannot express.

Recognising And Respecting Choices: A Trip To The New Forest with James

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Parents/Carers

James did really well, in part because we had listened to him and recognised and respected his wishes. He felt heard. He felt cared for and loved. And he was filled with joy.

Was Apostle Paul Disabled? Insights from His Journey

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Parents/Carers, Sensory/Senses

Do you know someone, whether a child/young person or adult, who is blind or partially sighted? How could you help them to encounter Jesus, grow in their Christian faith and thrive in Christian community?

The Transformative Power of AI in Supporting Children with Additional Needs

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving, and its applications are extending into diverse fields, offering innovative solutions to complex challenges. One area where AI holds immense promise is in supporting children with additional needs. From personalised learning experiences to enhanced communication and therapy, AI-powered tools are opening new avenues for development, independence, and inclusion for these children. Note: As this article is about AI, I used AI (Google Gemini) to help create it!

A Creative Way To Use AI To Enhance Communication

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Film/Media, Parents/Carers

I've been exploring how to use AI to reimagine some photos of James into cartoon style images, so that I can put them together into a communication booklet for him to use to share what he would like to do.

James’ Wonderfully Inclusive Rainbow Cookies

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Parents/Carers

As we were making cookies today, I noticed something for the first time about the way that James added the colourful rainbow chocolate buttons on top of the pressed out cookie shapes... it got me thinking about how wonderfully inclusive he was being... Here's four things I noticed...

Was Isaac Disabled? Insights from the Old Testament

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Theology/Bible Study

There are theories that suggest that the Biblical character Isaac, son of Abraham and Sarah, may have been disabled. That one of the most well-known characters of the Old Testament, through whom God delivered the great Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 15:4-5), and who was an ancestor of Jesus, might have had additional needs, is really significant.

Is There An Increase In Autistic Children And Young People?

by The Additional Needs Blogfather, posted in All Blog Posts, Children's/Youth Workers, Parents/Carers

This is a question that is a hot topic at the moment, I get asked about it all the time, but what is the answer? Are there many more Autistic children and young people now that a few years ago, or is there another explanation for the changing data?