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.
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.
Was Apostle Paul Disabled? Insights from His Journey
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?
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The Transformative Power of AI in Supporting Children with Additional Needs
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!
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A Creative Way To Use AI To Enhance Communication
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.
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James’ Wonderfully Inclusive Rainbow Cookies
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...
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Was Isaac Disabled? Insights from the Old Testament
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.
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Is There An Increase In Autistic Children And Young People?
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?
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Between A Rug And A Hard Place
Reposted with kind permission of the author, Alison Morley
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The Unbreakable Boy – A Review And Questions
'The Unbreakable Boy' is a new film from Liongate, the people that brought us the film 'Wonder'. It follows the story of Austin (sometimes nicknamed Auz-man in the movie) and his family, as they journey and learn life together. This review asks some key questions along the way, for anyone journeying with a child with additional needs.
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Making Sense Of Our Three ‘Mystery’ Senses
We have at least eight senses; five that we can all think of, sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, as well as at least three ‘mystery’ senses that we might not know so much about, including vestibular (balance and movement), proprioception (body awareness), and interoception (awareness of what’s happening inside the body).
The Additional Needs Blogfather 