Tag: special needs help

Conference Time!

by James, posted in Ministry

This month’s blog comes to you from Cleveland Ohio!

This weekend is the 2022 Inclusion Fusion Live conference at Bay Presbyterian Church. I have been fortunate enough to be able to attend this year. I have really missed the opportunity to gather with other special needs ministry leaders. It is a powerful thing to be surrounded by so many knowledgeable and talented ministry leaders and volunteers.

It has been a real encouragement for me. I have had the chance to catch up with people I have not seen in years and meet some amazing people. God has opened some interesting doors today to help refine the vision and mission He has called us to in Colorado Springs.

My conference trip started a day earlier than it did for most of the attendees. I flew into Cleveland on Wednesday night. I have been in contact with a church in Canton, Ohio over the last few months for a project I am helping our church with. They were kind enough to give me a tour of the day program they run for adults with disabilities during the week. It was such an amazing thing to see how this church is making such a huge difference in the lives of not only the participants, but also the workers.

For those of you who work in the special needs ministry world, I encourage you to attend one of the conferences around the country. The next big one I know about it the Wonderfully Made Conference in Kansas City in October. Proverbs 27:17 tells us, “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.” There are few ways that are better to be sharpened than to surround ourselves with experts!

Oral stemming and dental hygiene

by James, posted in Tips and Tricks, Victories

I took three of the four boys to the dentist a couple weeks ago. Trips to the dentist can be a challenge for any of the kids. We never know what to expect with Daniel.

I am usually prepared for the worst. Most of the time that comes from Josh and Aaron. They are both at the age where brushing teeth is not something they remember and when they do, the efforts are minimal. To make matters worse, Josh has braces. Our last orthodontist trip ended with me having a visit with the hygienist because he was not brushing well. The dentist visit ended with a similar scolding.

Super D is the wild card. So far he has done very well, aside from trying to bite fingers when she was attempting to get the x-rays. We managed to get pictures of the front teeth, but the backs were not happening. I don’t blame him, having that sensor shoved into the back of your throat is not fun for anyone.

Well, I take that back. I ran into a friend there with her two girls. The youngest was so excited to tell me how she was going to get x-rays!

Dental hygiene is another challenging area for Daniel. I’ll admit, he often only gets his teeth brushed once a week. We ended up buying him some DenTrust three sided toothbrushes. These are wonderful things for children with oral sensory issues. Daniel will still bite down on them, but we can usually get all the teeth brushed. The three sided design means one pass covers every surface.

He does better each time we go. This visit, he allowed them to brush his teeth and floss them. Letting the dentist examine his teeth was not as popular. The best part, listening to him giggle as the toothbrush tickled his gums.

The dentist asked if he had oral sensory issues. I expected her to tell me he had broken or chipped a tooth. Fortunately, this was not the case. She told me the oral sensory seeking actually helps keep his teeth healthy. The constant chewing and saliva clean plaque off the teeth and wash it away. Hopefully he continues to be blessed with good teeth.

The next checkup, Baby B gets his teeth check too. He loves to imitate Super D. Hopefully he will follow in Daniel’s footsteps when it comes to dental visits.

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. – Psalm 8:2

Tips and Tricks: Limiting the Wandering – Part Two

by James, posted in Tips and Tricks

The garage is a big temptation for Super D. I guess I should refine that statement. The tractor in the garage is a big temptation for Super D. He loves tractors. If the garage door is open, he is likely to be sitting on it. It was a great blessing to see him get excited over something until the day he discovered he could open the door to the garage and have access to the tractor anytime he wanted.

His new found “freedom” created new challenges for us. For a while a security chain worked. It was not long before he was tall enough to reach it. The big problem we have is, if I raise the chain up to where he can not reach it, my 10 year old will not be able to reach it either. Super D is almost as tall as he is.

The solution hit me one night when the janitorial closet door closed behind me at work. A storage room autolock knob would allow us to have access to the garage from inside the house while keeping Daniel out. The new knob replaced the existing knob without any modification to the door. We keep the key hanging on a cup hook across from the door. It is within Super D’s reach, but he does not show any interest in it at this point. Even if he did, he does not have the fine motor skills to get the key into the lock.

I also installed one on our downstairs bathroom to keep him from playing in there. The best part, each lock has a number on the package. If you buy locks with the same number, they will be keyed the same. In our case, the bathroom is across from the garage door. One key opens either door. The next door to get one will be the door to the basement.

One caveat, I would not use this method if your garage is one of the main emergency exits in your house. We have two other exits, so there is little concern about lost keys in an emergency situation.

What methods do you use to limit access to areas of your home which could be dangerous to a child with special needs?

The Power of Respite

by James, posted in Victories

When Super D graduated from the Britain Center, I made a promise to the ladies there. I promised them I would take advantage of the various respite nights around the city. I’ll admit, I did not want to follow through. I was not comfortable leaving him with a bunch of strangers. I figured I would take him once and then I had kept my promise.

I knew we needed some time away. Just a few weeks before, Darlene and I admitted to each other we were falling apart. It was not a go our separate ways falling apart. We just fought as much as we talked. I was stressed and very irritable. For some reason she does not like me that way. Go figure.

To make this easier, we chose the church where his former teacher attends. She said she would be his buddy for the night. Even knowing she was watching him did not ease my nerves.

Once I got over my nervousness, I was able to realize why the ladies at the Britain Center had been so insistent we take advantage of some respite. We left the baby with some friends and took the older boys out. We were able to relax and focus on Josh and Aaron. That is something which does not happen as often as it should.

It was great for Super D also. He was able to run and play in a setting tailored to children with special needs. He even made a friend he played with throughout the three hours he was there. That in itself is worth a fortune, as he normally does not play with others.

If you have the chance to take advantage of a local respite night, I would encourage you to do so. If your church is looking for a way to reach the world around you, a respite night could be the answer.

Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ – Galatians 6:2

Tips and Tricks: Limiting the Wandering – Part One

by James, posted in Tips and Tricks

One of the biggest safety concerns we face with Super D is his wandering. This is a concern with a lot of special needs children, especially those on the spectrum. Controlling the wandering while still providing a safe and pleasant environment is crucial. Yet this is often easier said than done.

Sometimes it takes a little creativity and, in my case, a little redneck ingenuity.

Our first wandering issue we had to handle was at bedtime. All kids like to fight sleep. However, with Super D, fighting sleep means running out of his room. He also wakes up in the night. It is vary rare for him to stay in bed all night long. If he wakes up in the night, he will run the house and possibly the neighborhood. We took a trip to Branson, Missouri, after the baby was born. At one point Super D woke up in the night, went to the kitchen in the condo, got some chips and then turned the tv on.

There are special beds out there which are basically large cribs, but for a 5-year-old who is the size of a 8-year-old and loves to climb, this would not have worked. I thought about turning the door knob around and locking it from the hall. However, I could not stand the idea of the closed room where he couldn’t see us and we couldn’t see him.

20160814_130324My solution, a modified dutch door. For those who may not be familiar with a dutch door, it is two half doors instead of one full door. In our case, I built one which is a little bigger than half out of four 2×4’s, a 2×6 and a piece of drywall left over from a renovation project. I built it large enough to use the existing bottom and middle hinge. That way the original door can be quickly reinstalled. A simple eye bolt holds it closed. Super D can’t climb it, he can see out and we can see him. While it isn’t the best looking door ever, it serves the purpose. In the event he would kick it or throw something at it, the drywall can easily be replaced. If he should fall against it, the drywall will give way and without seriously injuring him. If he was prone to fits or was violent at times, I would replace the drywall with a sheet of plywood.

How do you keep you roaming child in bed at night?

Tips and Tricks

by James, posted in Tips and Tricks

Navigating life with a child with special needs can be a real challenge. There are so many ways to make life easier. Finding those ways can sometimes be difficult. The internet is full of ideas, half of which are sketchy at best.

In an effort to make deciphering the mess of information a little easier, the tips and tricks posts will share things we have tried that worked and some that didn’t. Some of these we have come up with on our own. A large number will have come from our time at the Lee Ann Britain Infant Development Center. I hope it will benefit my readers and make life a little easier.