Raising a Child with Special Needs
Every child is made in the image of God with their own individual purpose. Though it can be hard to raise a child with physical or mental disabilities, it can be a joyful experience.
Raising a Child with Special Needs
Only those with first-hand experience truly understand the blessing and challenges of raising a child with special needs. Parenting is hard work under the best of circumstances.
When you add managing the needs of a child with physical or mental disabilities, it can bring a whole new level of physical and emotional stress for parents. It also brings a level of joy others rarely comprehend.
Whether you have just recently received a troubling diagnosis, moved into a new stage of care, or just started attending this church, we want to be a source of encouragement and hope as you fulfill your calling to parent a child with special needs.
We believe every child is a gift from God made in His image and reflects His dignity. We also consider those caring for children with special needs worthy of special honor and support. To become intentional about your unique situation, we encourage you to reflect on your blessing, your call, and your challenge.
YOUR BLESSING: A Special Connection
Those nurturing a child with special needs often encounter the heart of God in ways that can only be described as a spiritual mystery. While these children may be unable to participate in certain physical and/or academic pursuits, they can thrive in the most important arena of life — the spirit. Even those who cannot understand the written word of God can embody what it means to love and be loved as one totally dependent upon the Giver and Sustainer of life. Those honored to serve these children are given a unique connection with the God, with whose image they bear, as seen in a gazing smile, a shrieking laugh, or an unspoken moment of delight that proclaims to all “the refreshing water of God’s joy is available to us all.” We can entrust our loved ones with special needs to Him with confidence and expectant hope.
OUR CALL: Laying Down Your Life
You have one of the most difficult yet vital callings in the kingdom of God. How can you maintain the ongoing energy and passion needed to parent a child with special needs? There is no other way to do it than to daily embrace the call to lay down your life. Philippians 2 says:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
All Christian parents are called to mirror Jesus by taking on “the very nature of a servant” at home. It is especially real in the midst of the never ending sacrifices demanded of those caring for special needs. Even if those around you never understand the load you bear, you play a part that is immensely important from God’s perspective and is credited as serving Christ himself (Matthew 25:40).
YOUR CHALLENGE: Finding Support & Replenishment
Whether your child has mild or severe needs, you require replenishment in order to stay faithful and avoid burnout. You need practical help and spiritual nourishment. Stephen Covey talks about the importance of “sharpening the saw” — of prioritizing physical, emotional, and spiritual restoration so that your efforts can be fueled with new strength and purpose.
You and your child need periodic breaks. Of course, making that happen can be difficult because very few offer to help and those who do may not understand what to do, your child’s unique needs, or just how hard it can be. This church offers a variety of ministries for families just like yours because you deserve the opportunity to rest and replenish.
recommended books
Chicken Soup for the Soul
By Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
Raising a child with special needs is a lifelong commitment that is as unique as each person who embarks on it. Written by a variety of authors who share in this distinctive relationship, Chicken Soup for the Soul Children with Special Needs offers a glimpse into the lives of others who are on a similar path.
I Am in Here
By Elizabeth M. Bonker and Virginia G. Breen
"She looked into my eyes and blinked hers slowly and deliberately, like a stroke victim, to show me that although she couldn't speak, she understood what I was saying to her. I stroked her hair softly. 'I know you're in there, honey,' I told her. 'We'll get you out.'" Despite the horror of seeing fifteen-month-old Elizabeth slip away into autism, her mother knew that her bright little girl was still in there. When Elizabeth eventually learned to communicate, first by using a letterboard and later by typing, the poetry she wrote became proof of a glorious, life-affirming victory for this young girl and her family.
I Am in Here is the spiritual journey of a mother and daughter who refuse to give up hope, who celebrate their victories, and who keep trying to move forward despite the obstacles. Although she cannot speak, Elizabeth writes poetry that shines a light on the inner world of autism and the world around us. That poetry and her mother's stirring storytelling combine in this inspirational book to proclaim that there is always a reason to take the next step forward--with hope.
A Different Kind of Perfect
By Cindy Dowling and Bernadette Thomas
Every parent dreams of having a happy, healthy child. What happens when these dreams are shattered by a physical or cognitive disability? A Different Kind of Perfect offers comfort, consolation, and wisdom from parents who have been there—and are finding their way through. The writings collected here are grouped into chapters reflecting the progressive stages of many parents' emotional journeys, starting with grief, denial, and anger and moving towards acceptance, empowerment, laughter, and even joy. Each chapter opens with an introduction by Neil Nicoll, a child and family psychologist who specializes in development disorders.
En Español
El papá frente al espejo
By Patrick Morley y David Delk
Los autores Patrick Morley y David Delk, disertantes y líderes de grupos de hombres, comparten en este labor el secreto de ser unos padres llenos de la gracia de Dios que comprenden que su tarea más importante es contribuir a la formación de la próxima generación tanto en sus actitudes como en su vida de fe.
Como criar a los varones
By Dr. James Dobson
Los varones son diferentes! Pero con la presión de la sociedad de que el "género es neutro," muchos tratan de moldear a los niños y a las niñas por igual. En este libro, el doctor Dobson explica por qué los varones son como son, cómo comprender su desarrollo emocional y físico, y la mejor manera de motivarlos a ser hombres consagrados a Dios.
Cómo criar a las hijas
By Dr. James Dobson
La presión. Los desórdenes alimenticios. Las demandas académicas. Las metas y cómo lograrlas. Las decisiones acerca del amor, acerca del romance, acerca del sexo. Estos son sólo algunos de los muchos desafíos que las chicas encaran hoy en día, y la edad en la que los enfrentan es cada vez más y más precoz.
¿Cómo está usted guiando a su hija en el camino a ser una mujer adulta? ¿La esta equipando para que tome decisiones sabias? Aunque ella todavía juegue con muñecas o esté en el medio de los a menudo turbulentos años de adolescencia. ¿Está verdaderamente segura en su identidad como su hija amada y valorada?
Este libro de gran éxito de ventas del The New York Times, Cómo criar a las hijas del conocido autor y consejero familiar, el Dr. James Dobson, lo ayudará a encarar los desafíos de educar y criar a sus hijas para que lleguen a ser mujeres fuertes, sanas y seguras que sobresalgan en la vida.
La Bendición
By Dr. John Trent
Todo ser humano necesita el regalo de "la bendición", el amor y la aceptación incondicional que viene de una relación sana con nuestros padres. En esta actualización de uno de los clásicos de mayor éxito editorial La bendición, los coautores John Trent y Gary Smalley ofrecen una perspectiva novedosa de este regalo que cambia vidas, mediante consejos prácticos y concretos sobre cómo establecer cimientos firmes en la vida de cada uno de nuestros hijos. La bendición transmite, de forma poderosa, verdades bíblicas sobre cómo inspirar la autoestima y el bienestar afectivo en otros, con base en estos cinco elementos fundamentales:
- dar un abrazo amable
- decir unas palabras
- dar importancia
- visualizar un futuro especial
- un compromiso activo
La aceptación de nuestros padres afecta la forma en que nos vemos nosotros mismos y cómo nos relacionados con los demás. ¿Y qué pasaría si no hubiéramos vivido esto? Los capítulos finales incluyen ayuda y esperanza para aquellos que crecieron sin la bendición de sus propios padres, la bendición y los abuelos, formas de vivir la bendición, e ideas para momentos de bendición.