“I chose you to be her mom.”When faced with a diagnosis that says your child will never be “normal” or that he or she will always have “special needs,” you don’t feel chosen. You feel fearful, angry … confused. Questions race through your mind:Why did this happen?What am I supposed to feel?How do I raise this child?What do I do now?When doctors told Jen Fo...

If you feel weary or overwhelmed with life as the parent or caregiver of a special-needs child, there is hope.Doctors' appointments, parent-teacher meetings, stressful moments at home and in social settings, along with countless other challenges, are part of life when you love a special-needs child. Each year, your child's needs grow and change, as does your need for strength, wisdom, and support. Some days, you may doubt that you have what it takes to ful...

Often described as "social phobia's cousin" and misdiagnosed as autism, selective mutism is a debilitating fear of speaking in some situations experienced by some children. The disorder usually presents in children before the age of five, but it may not be recognized until the child starts school. When requested to speak, children with selective mutism often look down, blush, or otherwise express anxiety that disrupts their engagement with people and activities. Selective mutism is related...

Judith Newman's To Siri with Love is a collection of touching, hilarious, and illuminating stories about life with her autistic thirteen-year-old son.A New York Times Notable BookWhen Judith Newman shared the story of how Apple's electronic personal assistant, Siri, helped her autistic son Gus, through her viral New York Times op-ed column, she received widespread media attention and an outpouring of affection from ...

Playing off the themes in the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book Where the Wild Things Are, this informative, practical, and encouraging guide will help parents guide boys down the path to healthy and authentic manhood. Wild Things addresses the physical, emotional, and spiritual parts of a boy, written by two therapists who are currently engaged in clinical work with boys and their parents and who are also fathers raising five sons. Contains chapters such as “Sit St...

It seems that nearly everyone knows a family with an autism spectrum child. Most recent figures suggest that the prevalence of all autism spectrum disorders in the United States is an astonishing 1% of the population in the United States, translating to twelve million parents and grandparents that are seeking answers.There are many books available on how to cure an autistic preschooler, but none on how to raise one to adulthood. These promised cures raise parents' hopes, but most p...

Don't Let Autism Have the Last Word in Your Child's Life.Perhaps one of the most devastating things you can learn as a parent is that your child has been diagnosed with autism. A multifaceted disorder, autism has long baffled parents and professionals alike. At one time, doctors gave parents virtually no hope for combating the disorder. But in recent years, new treatments and therapies have demonstrated that improvement is possible. With intensive, early intervention, some children...

Your soul is a war zone: know your enemy, learn to fight.The Christian life is not a playground, but a battleground. One of the fiercest foes in this battle dwells within our own hearts: the enemy of indwelling sin. The Scriptures command us to “put sin to death.” This is what pastors and theologians of another generation called the “mortification” of sin.But how do we mortify sin? And what role does the gospel play in this effort to apply lethal f...

Do you want your church to be a place of belonging? Do you want your church to be Irresistible? An Irresistible Church is an authentic community built on the hope of Christ that compels people affected by disability to fully belong. Your ministry's impact depends on the volunteers you recruit—the people who serve as the hands and feet of Jesus. If you are a ministry leader, this resource will train you in the key aspects of working with volunteers: identifying and recruiting the right peop...

An indispensable step-by-step guide for socializing any child on the autism spectrum.Parents of children with autism often end up skipping family functions, playdates, and social outings for fear that their children will be unsafe, behave inappropriately, or feel overwhelmed. Now, no matter a child?s language skills or behaviors, he or she can start participating socially with LeComer?s clear action steps.The Socially Included Child introduces a ne...

Includes tips for home schoolers.What do you do when your child hates school?When little Sarah cries herself to sleep at night, when Johnny has tummy aches in the morning, something is clearly wrong. An occasional problem at school is one thing. But what do you do when school is the problem? When your child hates school because school doesn’t like your child, you’ve got to act. Don’t let a one-size-fits-all educational system steal the joys and riches of learning from your son or daughter....

Teach your children the basics of the spiritual disciplines. Broken down into bite-sized, age-specific exercises, the foundations of the Christian life will become lifetime habits. Practice the spiritual disciplines as a family by:Serving others in a practical waySimplifying schedules and possessionsDeveloping new habits of worshipMeditating on specific Bible passages