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20 Things I Know Now, That I Wish I Knew Then (The Special Needs Parent-Ninja Arts)
From time to time I get asked, “Do you have any advice for a Special Needs Parent?” It’s usually from someone freshly reeling from their child’s diagnosis, or a friend who wants to be supportive. BLESS THEM. To which I say (or think), Ohboyohboyboy! (and start mentally salivating.) I devoted this blog on Special Needs parenting to discuss exactly that: The...
read more2014 In Review | Why I’ve Been Away
Gracious Blog Readers, I know. I’ve been away. It’s been over six months since I last wrote a post. Thank you, though, for sticking around to see this one. It’s been a hard year. One that whooped me to the likes I haven’t experienced since Autism D-Day ten years ago. No incidents of death, disease or dismemberment. And certainly...
read moreHow Superheroes Decompress: Respites & Shawarma (A Tribute to Volunteers)
Confessions of a Respite Groupie Hello. My name is Diane. And I am a self-professed Respite Groupie. If there’s a church respite event within a 45-minute radius of our home: We. Are. There. “Neither rain, nor sleet, nor dark of night…” Whatever, man. We are there. It’s the only event I’m ever on time for. It blows my mind that a group...
read moreSpecial Teams (The Kicker) | A Post-Game Huddle
Confession: I’m not much of a football person. I just can’t wrap my brain around all the rules. I’m not a rules person. As they say in the Pirates of the Caribbean, “Rules? They’re more like guidelines, anyways…” Most of the time, I’m like this, But I can get into a Super Bowl party (who doesn’t love a snack buffet?) One of my primitive questions was, “Lemme get this straight: ...
read moreWhy This Special Needs Tiger Mama Bear Didn’t Intervene
There are helicopter parents, then there are Special Needs parent stealth bombers. How this Asian Special Needs Tiger Mama Bear (I know. That’s a lot of mixed metaphors) nearly became a weapon of mass destruction and ravaged a playground when her cub got threatened. Why I didn’t intervene. ******************************************** It was a classic Special Needs Mama Bear...
read moreGoldeluxe & The Three “Must Bears” of Special Needs Ministry
A tribute to special needs ministry champions who honor our families with “Gold-deluxe” service. I’ve been each of these three “Must Bears” at some point. Supporting complex families like ours can be a delicate, sensitive and prickly endeavor. Thank you for your calling, passion and dedication to serve where many others dare not tread. ...
read more31 Crazy Things Special Needs Ministry Leaders Never Say
Inspired by this recent humorous post by Dale Hudson of Relevant Children’s Ministry, here are: 31 Flavors of Crazy: Things Said By No Special Needs Ministry Leader, Ever “Special Needs”? Whatev. Just throw him in. It’ll be fine. Please, no more volunteers. Go serve 1:1 on the parking team or something. I’ve got a great idea: STROBE...
read moreScrewtape Screws with Autism: How To Ruin a Special Needs Family
In homage to C.S. Lewis’ “Screwtape Letters,” How to effectively ruin a family affected by autism. *************************************** My Dear Wormwood, I understand you’ve been assigned to a special needs family for your next Patient. Autism, to be precise. Regrettably, I am dismayed at the Administration’s dismal appraisal of...
read moreKim Fam Tricked-Out Van – Pt. 3: Mobile, Multi-Purpose Modularity
In the first post of the series, I introduced a Summer Survival Strategy: Tricking out the family minivan. In the second post, I detailed a checklist of Must Have items, particularly helpful for ASD families, or anyone weathering (withering?) the summer. In this third and last post, I present a survey of multi-purpose uses for the minivan. It’s not just for getting to places....
read moreKim Fam Tricked-Out Van – Pt. 2: The Checklist
In my last post (before my July got hijacked by a sudden housing move), I introduced part one of Summer Survival: The Kim Fam Tricked-out Van. Today, I finally get around to Part Two, “The Checklist.” The Usual Suspects Most moms I know carry the standard minivan supplies: a beach mat/blanket, lawn or soccer mom chair, reusable shopping bags, and...
read moreUnbroken Faith

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