What is the ‘big picture’? In this blog post, I'm going to share some stories, some statistics, some tips, and some resources, so why not grab a cup of tea or coffee, settle in, and let's go on this journey together.
Tag: belonging
Going Beyond Inclusion
When thinking about working with children or young people with additional needs and disabilities, churches typically find themselves at one of three waypoints on the journey; accessibility, inclusion, or belonging. But what do each of these waypoints look like...
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Disability Parking – Blue Badge or Bad Behaviour?
We’ve all seen it haven’t we? A car pulls into a disability parking space and out gets the driver, with no blue disability parking badge on display, hurrying away before anyone challenges them. So why do people do it?
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Learning While Baking Chocolate Brownies!
Today we helped James to do some baking and he absolutely loved it! It combined two of his favourite things, food and doing things together! Baking sessions like this provide a great opportunity to have fun, get some screen downtime, get messy (!) and spend quality time together, all great objectives to achieve! We learned … Continue reading Learning While Baking Chocolate Brownies!
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10 Top Tips For Returning To Children’s And Youth Work
As the return to children’s and youth work after the summer holidays gets closer for many of us, or has already started for some, it can be a time of great anxiety and stress for some children and young people, especially children and young people with additional needs. It can also be a challenging and … Continue reading 10 Top Tips For Returning To Children’s And Youth Work
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Why “Hello!” Means The World To A Child With Additional Needs
We only get one shot at this, one opportunity to show a child or young person with additional needs how valued, loved and cared for they are. Let’s not blow our big chance, but let’s do all we can to be the difference for every child and young person who chooses to journey with us. Let’s have them at “Hello!”
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Could This Be Your Group or Churches Story Too?
There are many more stories like this that I could share of groups and churches that have recognised how important it is to create accessibility, inclusion and belonging for the one-in-five children and young people who have additional needs of some kind. What about your group or church, does your group or church include children and young people with additional needs, could this be your story too?
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How The Faith Of The Canaanite Woman Inspires Us Not To Give Up
There is an often-overlooked short story in the Gospels that many miss but which, while short, is rich with symbolism, meaning, and most of all hope! It’s the story of when a Canaanite woman (sometimes referred to as a Syrophoenician woman) came to Jesus to ask him to heal her daughter, how the disciples and … Continue reading How The Faith Of The Canaanite Woman Inspires Us Not To Give Up
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The Happiest Of Birthdays
Just because James didn’t know it was his birthday didn’t mean we could treat it like any other day; we wanted to give James great memories to look back on, for him to know that he is loved, that we care enough for him to make his day extra special anyway. And it worked, it really was the very best of birthdays and James was smiling all the way through.
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How Some Disney Pixar Films Can Teach Children That Disability Is ‘Bad’
Do Disney/Pixar movies help our children to develop a balanced and inclusive view of disability, or can they instead teach children that there is something ‘wrong’ with disabled people, including their disabled peers?
The Additional Needs Blogfather 