Do you remember summers as a child? I do. For some reason I remember them as going on forever; long fun packed days playing in the sun (or sometimes huddled in a tent or caravan watching monsoon weather sweeping across wherever we were visiting!) This year's summer has been different in many ways, but perhaps … Continue reading Making Wonderful Summer Memories That Last A Lifetime
Parents of children with additional/special needs and disabilities are often labelled negatively; ‘troublemakers’, ‘confrontational’, ‘needy’, ‘over-sharing’. I’ve seen parents blamed for their child’s disability. I’ve seen parents told that they have no right to speak on behalf of, or share details about, their child. I’ve seen parents told that they are wrong to feel or … Continue reading Special Needs Parents Are Candles, Burning Between Hope And Despair
Let me give you a little glimpse into how my mind works sometimes…. My family and I were watching Ben Fogle, his ‘New Lives In The Wild’ show on Channel 5, have you seen it? It’s about people who have given up the rat-race and gone to live a life in the wild places; it’s … Continue reading ‘The Dads Fire Circle’, A Place For Additional Needs Dads To Gather
A guest blog post by Cris Gangemi, Director of The Kairos Forum: As the director of the Kairos Forum, a small independent consultancy working in the field of church, access and disability, I have been truly amazed to be a witness to the unfolding of a very practical theology. Before I ran the Forum, I was … Continue reading The Kairos Forum: Bringing The Voice Of Creative Ministry Into The Church
A guest blog post by Kayte Potter from The National Parenting Initiative: I wonder who makes up your household? Perhaps there are lots of you, perhaps just a few. Maybe it’s noisy and difficult to hear yourself think, or maybe it’s quiet and small. Perhaps your house is full of medical equipment and activity charts … Continue reading The National Parenting Initiative: Welcome, Inclusion, And Community
On Sunday it is Fathers Day. A day which will be celebrated by some, mourned by others, a day of mixed emotions for more. As the Additional Needs Blogfather, Dads of children and young people with additional needs and disabilities have always been close to my heart, whether they are in the family home, apart … Continue reading Fathers Day: The Dads Collection
Parents of children with additional/special needs need stamina. We know that sometimes things can take a long time before we can see any positive change. We need to be resilient, in this for the long haul, for life! But sometimes we see a breakthrough with our child that energizes us again, that renews and refreshes … Continue reading Never, Never, Never Give In…
Some wonderful thoughts about acts of kindness in a pandemic (and a familiar face for regular readers of The Additional Needs Blogfather!) in this excellent blog from my friend Miriam, who writes as ‘faithmummy’ (do read more of her blog posts, they are awesome!)
I stood in the playground of my daughter’s school in mid March as parents and grandparents gathered. There was only one thing being talked about: Coronavirus and panic buying! While many were stressing about shortages of toilet rolls and hand soap I was getting more and more stressed about the availability of baby wipes with two disabled children who both needed them. Since I wasn’t about to disclose to otherwise strangers about my children’s intimate care needs I kept quiet and walked my daughter home wondering how I would meet her and her brothers needs silently.
No-one could have predicted that by the end of that week my daughter’s school would close, along with every other school in the country, for an indefinite period due to a worldwide pandemic.
Coronavirus was no longer about which shops had toilet rolls but now about life and death and living in lockdown.
It’s…
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Dads of children with special needs; I’ve met loads of them in the work that I do, nowhere near as many as the Mums that I’ve met, but whenever I’ve met special needs Dads, whether in a group or on their own, if I talk with them for long enough at least one of these … Continue reading Three Things Special Needs Dads Need To Know
Some of the most widely loved and memorable animated movies ever made have been created and distributed by Disney and Pixar, now part of the same media company. Many of these movie classics include characters who have, or may possibly have, additional/special needs or disabilities of some kind. Some of these characters, and their stories, … Continue reading Just Keep Swimming: Disabled Characters In Disney Pixar Films
Female Aspergers, Autism, Mental health/Disability to Neurodiverse adaption, Teaching/awareness for all especially Ethnic minorities, Collective consciousness and evolution
All you need to know about child care
