Where inclusion in church is done well, particularly where it is done well within children’s and youth work, there are often unsung heroes working in the background to care for and support those with additional needs and disabilities. These folk get alongside children and young people who need additional support and provide them with the … Continue reading One-to-One Heroes
Often the starting point for a church looking to be more inclusive of children and young people with additional needs is to seek out some training to help them to do this better during their Sunday morning sessions, or during a mid-week club night. To be able to work more effectively with all children and … Continue reading Additional Needs Families And A Truly Supportive Church
One of the things about parenting a child or young person with additional needs, is that life is never predictable… Just when you think that everything is going along quite well, out of nowhere something will happen that turns everything upside down and breaks it apart again. That this might happen on a fairly regular … Continue reading Disrupted, Resilient, Vulnerable, Broken, Loving
The opportunities to make good or bad choices regarding children and young people with additional needs or disability exist in our church based work every week. A few months ago I wrote a blog post ‘Haircut Sir?’ that included a brief story about a youth leader being put through to my ‘phone one day whose … Continue reading Lessons From Exclusion
Sometimes, I’m really surprised by people… in a good way. Sometimes, in circumstances that could go badly wrong, you see the best of people in unexpected ways. Sometimes, angels appear where and when you least expect them to… A few days ago I needed to pay a cheque (yes, they do still exist!) into the … Continue reading This Little Light Of Mine
I will never forget the events of that sultry mid-summers day, both for the great significance of them for a young boy called Freddie, but also for how his story speaks to each of us that care for, and about, children or young people with additional needs… The day had started quite uneventfully, but as … Continue reading Swept Away, But Saved!
Have you ever built a great big tower out of Jenga blocks? Seen how high you can build it until it falls over? Great fun isn’t it! Around this time last year, I was helping out at Spring Harvest, the Christian festival that runs every Easter. My role was to support guests with additional needs … Continue reading Weak Made Strong
Heartbreakingly, 60% of children with additional needs are bullied (source: Ability Path). With some 2.5 million children and young people in the UK having an additional need of some kind, that’s 1.5 million who have experienced bullying… One is one too many, 1.5 million is an absolute outrage! When we think about childhood bullying, the … Continue reading Tuts, Looks, And Loud Comments – Let ALL The Little Children Come To Me (Part 2)
I received a message last Sunday that made my blood boil… Those of you that know me will appreciate that this doesn’t happen very often; I’m rather determined at times but rarely lose my temper. The message I received made me furious, absolutely mad as could be… Livid… I still am, and here’s why… Some … Continue reading Let ALL The Little Children Come To Me…
That moment… that moment as a children’s or youth worker when you realise during the ‘talk time’ that you’ve just lost some of your group. They were able to focus for the first three or four minutes, but now, five minutes in, you see them starting to get distracted, starting to fidget. You’ve lost contact … Continue reading Minecraft, Lego & Additional Needs Children’s Work!
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 