Those of you that read my previous blog, ‘School Minbus Mystery Mayhem’, will know that we’ve been having some significant issues recently supporting and helping James to get into school… Once he’s there he has a great time, does really well, and comes home happily, but getting him there is proving harder and harder… Yesterday, … Continue reading Prayer – We Don’t Always Get The Answer We Asked For
Routine is important in our house, it helps the day run more smoothly and it helps James to cope with the many transitions that the day brings. Our school-day morning routine has been carved in stone for many years… James is got up at 07:30, comes down to his den to be helped to wash … Continue reading School Minibus Mystery Mayhem!
As I was sat in church last Sunday morning, enjoying the opportunity to relax and be in the congregation for a change, we reached the part of the service that is included every week, a part that is so well known that we don’t really need the words to be provided; the Lord’s Prayer… There … Continue reading The Lord’s Prayer & Additional/Special Needs Parenting
Fiddle toys... are they a useful aid to focus and concentration for children? Can they help relieve stress? Are they a distraction for them and others? There has been much discussion about this, some very good and informed input provided (including from my good friend Miriam Gwynne, well worth reading her thoughts on this on her … Continue reading Fidgets, Fiddles, Focus and Fun!
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
Some days stay in the memory a long time… This one I will never forget; it was the day that I learned what a terrific sense of humour God has! And I was on the receiving end… As so many stories do, this one started quite simply… I set off from the Urban Saints offices … Continue reading Parents Out Of Fuel
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
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 