Partner Blogs

This question was recently asked by an eight-year-old autistic boy to his parents; it’s a hard question to answer and the response that follows may not fit well with everyone, but then we are a diverse people so that is to be expected; so, here we go! Made in God’s ... read more

There are 37 miracles of Jesus mentioned in the Gospels, and two-thirds of these involved him healing someone.  John’s Gospel tells us that what is written only represents a fraction of what Jesus did during his three-year ministry, so in reality there are likely to have been many, many more ... read more

I wasn't looking forward to today. For lots of reasons, including the fact I have been unable to have children of my own, I have always found the day difficult. But, I'm always happy to celebrate with other mums and grandparents. It's not their fault I find the day hard, ... read more

I don’t know about you, but I passionately believe in free speech.  I strongly feel that it is one of our most important rights, and it is one that I would willingly go to the barricades to defend, but when does discussion, debate, and even downright argument spill over into ... read more

What defines us?  Where is our identity to be found?  Big questions, and for each person the answer is likely to be different.  What about our children, what defines them and is the key identifier in their life?  As parents we might have different ideas about this too, especially if ... read more

Miriam’s son is very much a younger version of my son, James. When I read what Miriam has written here, she speaks for my son too. I stand with her in defending the rights of our children, and many more like them. People are often very quick to stand up ... read more

Around 20% of children and young people have long-term additional needs or disabilities of some kind. That’s about 2.5 million in the UK alone. Many of them, and their families, feel excluded from a wide range of social activities, so how can we reach out to, and meet, the needs ... read more

I’m not giving up anything for lent….Well – not anything edible anyway!I’ll happily do the whole pancake thing because I love them (lemon and sugar please), but I’d rather pick up a new good habit than arbitrarily give something up.I tend to choose something to do or learn. Not because ... read more

To the mother of our special needs child, my wife… It’s not your fault…  It’s not your fault that our child is Autistic.  It’s not your fault that he has Learning Difficulties and struggles to communicate effectively.  It’s not your fault that James has Epilepsy.  None of these things are ... read more

I am writing a post about including autistic adults in church but had to put it aside as I prepare for a talk I am doing with one of ... read more

1. Get to know them. Every autistic child is different.  It’s really important that you spend time with the family and the child ... read more

Hidden:  (adjective) kept out of sight; concealed.  (verb) past of ‘hide’ We frequently encounter the term ‘hidden disabilities’; it is in widespread use across the media, throughout society, within many of the various disability communities.  In general, most people have a view on what they think it means; they will refer to ... read more

Parents of children with special needs experience many highs and lows along their parenting journey, but what are the secrets?  What never gets mentioned, what never gets talked about, what always gets hidden; what are the confessions of a special needs parent?  Well, it’s time for that to change, time ... read more

What do you see when you first meet a child with additional needs or a disability?  That may, of course, depend on whether their additional needs or disabilities are visible; they may be ‘hidden’ as so many conditions are.  But even then, we would be missing the point; what we should ... read more

I meet a lot of parents of children with special/additional needs in my work and connect with many more through websites and online forums.  One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that the parents I meet are almost always Mum’s, not Dad’s.  There are exceptions, of course, but it’s ... read more