Special Needs Inclusion Ministry Resources for Free!

Special Needs Inclusion Ministry Resources for Free!

by | Apr 20, 2017 | Books and Resources, Different Dream, Special Needs Parenting

Special Needs Inclusion Ministry Resources for Free!

Special needs inclusion ministry conferences abound every spring, and for the past few months I’ve attended several of them–The Engage Conference hosted by 99 Balloons in Fayetteville, Arkansas; the That All May Worship Conference hosted by the Faith Inclusion Network (FIN) in the Norfolk, Virginia area;  and The Accessibility Summit hosted by McLean Bible Church near Washington, DC.

Spring is filled with special needs inclusion ministry conferences. This post spotlights resources featured at several of the conferences, and they're free.

Key Ministry representative and fellow author, Sandra Wood Peoples, and I shared a booth at the Accessibility Summit.

Besides providing an opportunity to spend time with parents of kids with special needs and to meet online colleagues like Sandra in person, these conferences are a wonderful place to learn about special needs ministry resources. I’d like to share 3 resources, all completely free, that can help you and your church start a new special needs inclusion ministry or beef up what’s already available.

Special Needs Inclusion Ministry Resource #1: Key Ministry’s Special Needs Parenting Blog

This blog features posts from parents of kids with special needs from all over North America. Moms and dads raising children and caring for young adult children with special needs share their struggles and joys with transparency and faith. The diversity of special needs they represent make this a blog easily relatable for parents. New posts go up almost every weekday, so check it out at Key Ministry’s Special Needs Parenting Blog.

Special Needs Inclusion Ministry Resource #2: Faith Inclusion Network (FIN) Panel Discussions

The morning sessions at the That All May Worship Conference featured 3 panel discussions with special needs ministry leaders from the United States and Canada. The 3 discussions were video recorded and are available on YouTube.

The first panel addressed beginning efforts in special needs ministry inclusion. Panel members were Milton Tyree (Univeristy of Kentucky and Presbyterians for Disability Concerns), Shelly Christensen (Inclusion Innovations),  Laureen Lynch-Ryan (Archdiocese of Washington DC, Deaf Ministry Coordinator), Barbara Newman (CLC Network founder and author), and Carrie Price (Grace Bible Church, Virginia Beach, VA Disability Ministry Director)

The second panel discussed pathways that support individuals and families affected by disability. Panel members were Jolene Philo (author), David Morstad (former head of Bethesda Institute), Lorna Bradley (Hope and Healing Center in Texas), Neil Cudney (Christian Horizons in Ontario, Canada), and Angela West (Partnership for People with Disabilities)

The third panel considered new paths to explore as disability inclusion efforts in faith communities mature. Participants were Dr. Jeff McNair (California Baptist University, and Director of Public Policy for Joni and Friends Ministry), Bill Gaventa (Director of the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability), and Anne Masters (Director of Pastoral Ministry of Persons with Disabilities of the Archdiocese of Trenton, New Jersey)

 
Special Needs Inclusion Ministry Resource #3: CLC Network Worship Resources

Barb Newman of the Christian Learning Center (CLC) Network and the Calvin College Institute of Christian Worship recently teamed up to create resources churches can use to promote inclusive worship in their congregations. At Worship as One: Disability in Community, you will find an introductory worship video and a downloadable video PDF guide.

Other Special Needs Inclusion Ministry Resources

Want to give a shout out to other special needs ministry resources? Share them in the comment box. Thanks!

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon.

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EA TEF Awareness Month Is Here Again!

EA TEF Awareness Month Is Here Again!

by | Jan 9, 2017 | Books and Resources, Different Dream, Special Needs Parenting

EA TEF Awareness Month Is Here Again!

January is EA TEF Awareness Month. If you’re not sure what EA TEF Awareness Month is about, Different Dream is the right place to fill in your knowledge gap. The word “gap” was carefully chosen because EA TEF (short for Esophageal Atresia/Tracheo-Esophageal Fistula) is a birth anomaly caused by a gap in the esophagus and trachea of a newborn.

Different Dream makes a big deal about EA TEF Awareness Month because my son was born with the condition in 1982. During past awareness months, I’ve shared our story. Some of those posts will be featured during January. But for me, the most exciting part of this year’s awareness raising are the stories new guest bloggers who are parents of kids with EA TEF are sharing. Posts from bloggers like Matt Allen, whose son was born with with EA TEF just a month ago. Tips from moms of toddlers and young children. Their stories put flesh and bones and faces on the life-threatening medical condition that affects 1 in every 4000 newborns.

I hope you find EA TEF Awareness Month to be informative and encouraging. I hope it offers a peek into life for kids with EA TEF and their parents. Most of all, I hope that if you’re the parent of a child with EA TEF find this page. I hope you will leave a comment in the box below to introduce us to you and your child. And I hope you’ll find the support and encouragement you need to be the advocate your child needs.

Welcome to the family!

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon.

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Top 5 Special Needs Posts at Different Dream in 2016

Top 5 Special Needs Posts at Different Dream in 2016

by | Dec 28, 2016 | Books and Resources, Different Dream, Special Needs Parenting

Top 5 Special Needs Posts at Different Dream in 2016

Different Dream is filled with special needs posts that reach families with the support and encouragement they need. As this year winds down, here’s a look at our readers favorite special needs posts in 2016.

Post #5: So You’re a NICU Parent

Brianna Lennon shared 5 lessons she learned when her newborn son spent several months in NICU after his EA/TEF repair surgery. The lessons she learned resonate with parents with a hospitalized child  of any age.

Post #4: Disability Etiquette

Readers loved guest blogger Trish Shaeffer’s advice about what to say and what not to say to parents of kids with special needs. Her bottom line about disability etiquette is this: Make positive comments about kids with special needs because all parents love to hear good things about their kids.

Post #3: Adopting a Child with Special Needs

In February Kimberly Drew, mom to a daughter with special needs, announced that she and her husband were adopting a baby with special needs. Her post explains what her older daughter has taught her about the true special needs of kids with special needs. When you read her surprising and delightful lessons, you’ll see why this post continues to be popular.

Post #2: 11 Ways to Reduce Special Needs Stress

Special needs posts that encourage stressed parents are always popular at Different Dream. So it’s no surprise that Jolene Philo’s list of 11 ways to reduce special needs parenting stress was an instant hit when it went live in May. If you’ve been feeling stressed lately, you might want to give it a read if you haven’t already.

Post #1: When You Can’t Put Special Needs Behind You

Different Dream’s top post of 2016 tackled a difficult subject: PTSD in parents of kids with special needs. The post reviewed symptoms of this mental illness and treatments to alleviate it. If you can’t put your child’s special needs trauma behind you, this post is one you need to read immediately!

Add Your Favorite Special Needs Posts to the List

Are your favorite special needs posts of 2016 missing from this list? Add them in the comment box!

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon.

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Autism Thunderstorms and Beautiful Days

Autism Thunderstorms and Beautiful Days

by | Aug 3, 2016 | Books and Resources, Different Dream, Special Needs Parenting

Autism Thunderstorms and Beautiful Days

Today Different Dream welcomes guest blogger Ron Sandison. Ron writes and speaks around the country about his experiences growing up with autism. He’s also husband of Kristen and the proud papa to a new daughter, Makayla Marie. I had the pleasure of meeting Ron, his wife, and tiny baby (totally adorable) and hearing him speak at a conference in May. His story of a mom who devoted her life to refining his autism is both moving and powerful.

Autism Thunderstorms and Beautiful Days

On April 1 of 2016, I was the keynote speaker at Ernie Els Awe in Autism Conference in Jupiter, Florida. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining, 80 degree weather, and a cool breeze. Life seemed perfect. Two days later when I returned home to Michigan, I was greeted by 27 degree weather and an ice storm. My cloud nine experience quickly deflated.

My journey with autism has been like Michigan weather. Rain, ice, and snowstorm days–meltdowns from sensory overload and seasons of underemployment. But also sunny beautiful days–graduating from college with a Master of Divinity and marrying a wonderful wife.

2 Beautiful Days

On March 20, 2016 my beautiful daughter, Makayla Marie, was born. Four days later when we arrived home from the hospital the first copy of my book, A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom was waiting for me. That was another beautiful day.

Too Many Autism Thunderstorms

Due to my sensory issues, my life was filled with more autism thunderstorms than beautiful days. As a young child, I had difficulty managing my emotions. When I became frustrated or angry, I would scream and bang my head full-force repeatedly against my bedroom wall. I also struggled with regulating my sense of fear and anxiety.

At five years of age, I went with my family for the first time to the movie theater. During one of the movie previews, a hand began to expand on the screen. After the hand covered the whole screen, it suddenly exploded. The unexpected sound of the explosion caused me to have a meltdown. I screamed and ran from the theater. My mom had to take me home immediately.

Overcoming Autism Thunderstorms

To help me reach my full potential, my mom quit her job as an art teacher and became a Ron teacher. She implemented pre-ABA art therapy to teach me social and communication skills. She decided to help me refine my disabilities into beautiful gifts.

When you walk on the hot pavement to the beach and your barefoot steps on a sharp jagged piece of glass, you shout out in pain. Autism unrefined is filled with jagged autistic quirks, unfiltered inappropriate comments, relentless head-banging, and meltdowns.

Autism refined, on the other hand, is like walking on the warm sandy beach with the ocean waves and discovering a smooth piece of glass that has been changed by the power of the ocean. Such glass we put on display as art.

My autism was not always refined. Autism caused my speech to be delayed. My seven-year-old brother Chuck bragged, “My brother sounds weird; he speaks Norwegian!” Through intense speech therapy I have overcome my speech impediment.

The Story of Autism Thunderstorms and Beautiful Days

My mom’s passion to empower me to succeed in life and her unconditional love was my motivation for writing A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom. I desire to provide hope to parents with a child or children with autism and share the insight I learned from my mom. While writing the book I also interviewed over forty of the top experts in the autism field and also forty parents who have a child with autism.

The book shares the dark stormy days when I experienced horrible sensory overloads. It teaches parents methods to handle sensory issues. It also shares the beautiful days of setting the school record for the 3,200 meter relay, getting married, and having a baby.

Autism is not an illness to be cured, but a different neurological way of processing information. You can’t cure autism, but you can refine it with therapy and love. Autism refined is beautiful.

Your Autism Thunderstorm Experiences?

Comments about Ron’s story or your own autism thunderstorm are welcome. Please share them in the comment box. Thanks!

Do you like what you see at jolenephilo.com/? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Ron Sandison works full time in the medical field and is a professor of theology at Destiny School of Ministry. He is an advisory board member of Autism Society Faith Initiative of Autism Society of American. Sandison has a Master of Divinity from Oral Roberts University and is the author of A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom published by Charisma House. He frequently speaks at colleges, conferences, autism centers, and churches. Ron, his wife, Kristen, and daughter Makayla reside in Rochester Hills, Michigan. You can contact Ron at his website, SpectrumInclusion.com.

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Healing for Every Special Needs Parent’s Heart

Healing for Every Special Needs Parent’s Heart

by | May 25, 2016 | Books and Resources, Different Dream, Special Needs Parenting

Healing for Every Special Needs Parent’s Heart

Different Dream welcomes Dove Award winning songwriter, author, and speaker Steve Siler as today’s guest blogger. He shares the story that led to his recently released book about parenting a child with spina bifida and how he and his wife found the healing every special needs parent requires.

Healing for Every Special Needs Parent’s Heart

My wife Meredith and I have always chosen to be rather private about our personal story surrounding the diagnosis of our son’s spina bifida and subsequent four years of surgeries. I first broke that public silence with a blog post on the Music for the Soul website.

But when I decided to write a book about my journey in ministry I felt I needed to be even more transparent about the events surrounding our son’s birth and early years. After all, the experience had gone a long way toward deepening our faith and enlarging our compassion for others.

My wife, understandably, was reluctant to share the details we’d always kept to ourselves. Its amazing how much pain we still carry in our hearts all these years later even though our son’s outcome turned out to be much better than we were originally led to expect.

The Breaking of Every Special Needs Parent’s Heart

Ultimately, my wife graciously allowed me to share part of our story in my new book Music for the Soul: Healing for the Heart. As I was writing I had the chance to relive memories that I believe, although bittersweet, shine a light on the range of conflicting emotions that co-exist for parents loving a child with special needs.

We’d moved to Nashville from Los Angeles a little less than a year before Henry was born. When he was diagnosed I called the pastor from our old church in Los Angeles for comfort, Dr. Larry Keene. He told me, “It’s been my experience that special needs kids are compensated in the spirit.”

There was a side of me that thought he was just trying to make me feel better. But it wasn’t long after Henry was born that I felt as if I began to experience what Larry was talking about.

The Healing of Every Special Needs Parent’s Heart

Henry’s spirit was evident from his first steps. In the beginning there’d been some doubt as to whether he’d ever be able to walk. I still remember how I felt when Henry pulled himself up and took his first steps with casts on both legs!

Overjoyed. Distressed.

In his preschool years the sweetness of his spirit emerged. I found myself saying, “Henry’s the only person in our house with a reason to be upset and the only one who never is.” Even as a little guy he never met a stranger. He’d as soon hug a stranger as look at them.

When he got to be five or six we started playing touch football in the yard. “I’m a fast runner,” he’d proclaim, breaking my heart with his effort. His running was barely a fast walk.

He wanted to play in a soccer league so we signed him up. We’d sit in the stands and watch Henry’s futile efforts to be part of the action. He’d spend the entire game chasing after everyone else. The only time he’d ever get to touch the ball was when someone kicked it to him accidentally. But he worked so hard. At game’s end he’d look like he had taken a shower in his uniform.

So we knew there wasn’t any quit in him. But then came the day of a race at his elementary school. I was so afraid he was going to be embarrassed about finishing last. Instead he “won” the race before it was even over.

The Compensation of Spirit that Marks Every Special Needs Parent’s Heart

The teacher shouted, “On your mark. Get set. GO!” All the kids took off. But when one little girl got her feet tangled up and went down in a heap it was our Henry who stopped, turned around, came back and helped her to her feet.

Compensated in the spirit.

As parents of special needs kids we understand that while our kids may not be the fastest ‘runners’, they win a different kind of race every day of their lives.

How Has God Healed Your Special Needs Parent Heart?

Now that Steve shared how God healed his broken heart, it’s your turn. How has God worked healing in your heart and in your child? Leave a comment.

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Steve Siler is a Dove Award winning songwriter, author, and speaker. He is director and founder of Music for the Soul, a ministry that uses songs and stories as a bridge to hope and healing. He and his wife Meredith have two grown children and have recently become grandparents for the first time! Many years ago their son was diagnosed with Spina Bifida in the fourth month of pregnancy. At that time Steve wrote a song called ‘Whole in the Sight of God’ to help him process what he was feeling as a man about to become a father to a son with special needs. This song later became the basis for a Music for the Soul resource for those loving a child with special challenges. Later, after experiencing the prolonged illness of his mother and its impact on his own father, Steve produced a resource called ‘Dignity: Songs and Stories for Caregivers.’ You can read Steve’s blog and see these and other resources at www.musicforthesoul.org.

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The Truth about Special Needs: The Skies I’m Under

The Truth about Special Needs: The Skies I’m Under

by | Apr 13, 2016 | Books and Resources, Different Dream, Special Needs Parenting

The Truth about Special Needs: The Skies I’m Under

Different Dream welcomes Rachel Wright as this week’s guest blogger. Rachel is the parent of a son with special needs and author of the memoir, The Skies I’m Under. She and her husband are medical professionals, but their training went out the window as their son’s condition was unveiled. In her guest post, Rachel writes about the truth of special needs in her life, and how that truth seemed not to set her free.

The Truth About Special Needs

The glare of the theatre lights warmed my skin, as my body shivered. The cesarean section was about to begin. Everyone was poised, ready to carry out their designated duties yet I felt inadequate and out of my depth. I’d been in this environment before but this was different. This time I wasn’t a face amongst the milieu of professionals but rather a patient, a mother waiting to meet her child. Little did I know this role reversal would become the routine of my life; no longer a confident, qualified nurse but rather a nervous unqualified mother.

Ten weeks later, I sat across from another doctor and wished I was the nurse, not the parent. I had been in this room before. The room where the truth changes a life forever. but this time the news irrevocably changed my family; my son had severe and extensive brain damage.

Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
John 8:32

As my son grew, the complexities of his disabilities were revealed. With each new diagnosis, life-threatening seizure, and ambulance ride, I was thrust down an unwanted road. So much of the medical landscape was familiar. As much as I understood the truth of the equipment and readings, my emotions were unprepared to watch my child hooked up to a ventilator, fighting for his life.

There were times I lay in the hospital bed next to my son wishing I didn’t know the truth, feeling the truth about special needs trapped me, rather than set me free. I was fearful of what a new day might bring. Too often, as a nurse, I knew the ‘truth’ about our situation before most parents and I longed for blissful ignorance.

Recently, I published my memoir, The Skies I’m Under. In the process of writing my story I walked around the darkest rooms of my past, lighting them with the torch of my memory. Telling my story caused me to sit and wait, until my eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was a painful process but eventually I became so accustomed to the shadows that I was able to rise up, throw back the curtains and allow in the light. This didn’t make everything easier. Sometimes the light brought with it a painful clarity.

Having just celebrated Easter, I am reminded that this too was the experience of the disciples. Although the empty tomb brought truth and hope, it didn’t take away all their grief or confusion. Easter Sunday wasn’t the fairy tale ending they had expected, but it did become the amazing beginning of a different rocky and remarkable road.

In writing The Skies I’m Under, I expressed afresh the pain of my own Passion Week Friday and Saturday, and in doing so I found the miracle of Easter Sunday. My Sunday is complicated, confusing and at times hard. It wasn’t the miracle I wanted but turned out to just as transforming.

Your Own Truth About Special Needs

Rachel ends her guest post with a challenge for readers. She asks you this: Have you ever thought about writing your story? Doing so might just change you.

 

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Rachel is a nurse, author and mum living in Essex, the UK, with her GP husband and three wonderful boys. Her life changed the day her eldest son was born and introduced her to the world of severe disability and life-limiting epilepsy. As well as doing laundry and picking up Lego, she blogs at Born at the Right Time  and recently published her memoir The Skies I’m Under which can be bought as paperback in the UK or as an ebook in the US and around the world.

Author Jolene Philo

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