Caregiving, Challenges, Living Life Daily, Love, Special Needs Parenting
Cindi Ferrini
Counting the Cost

How many of us counted the cost (both emotionally and financially) of what it would take to raise a child and/or care for an aging parent? Many are doing both…Because we love our child, we don’t often consider the cost because we simply do what is needed and want the best for them.

Counting the Cost
Caregiving, Challenges, Down Syndrome, Special Needs Parenting
Evana Sandusky
For When You Don’t Feel Thankful

My daughter arrived in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the middle of the night on the eve of Thanksgiving. A tough respiratory virus attacked her lungs, and she needed a substantial amount of oxygen support. And now, this unexpected illness meant Thanksgiving was going to be completely different than we had all planned.

For When You Don’t Feel Thankful
Challenges, Hope, Scripture, Special Needs Parenting
Kara Dedert
When Thankfulness Seems Impossible

Are you scrounging for thankfulness this holiday season? Holidays can be a challenge for those walking through hard days. Perhaps you feel like you've been handed the short-end of the stick; your child is struggling, you’re exhausted and it seems like everybody else has life with a bit more gravy. It’s easy to focus on our circumstances, take stock of what we have and where we are and end up feeling completely void of thankfulness. Is there a cure for this? 

When Thankfulness Seems Impossible
Autism, Caregiving, Challenges, Hope, Special Needs Parenting, Spiritual Growth
Sunita Theiss
Discovering What God Already Knew About Me, ...

I first suspected I had ADHD as a teenager, but finding the right professional to take me seriously was much harder than I expected. Previous attempts only ended in frustration and tears.

Discovering What God Already Knew About Me, Through My Children’s Diagnosis
Caregiving, Challenges, Living Life Daily
Jolene Philo
Enjoying the Holidays with a Food Allergy

Enjoying the holidays with a food allergy sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? After all, eating together is an integral component of the holiday season. I looked forward to making our traditional holiday foods until I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy in 2012. What was to enjoy about the holidays when the foods associated with it were off limits to me?

Enjoying the Holidays with a Food Allergy

Living Life Daily

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Things I Want My Child’s Therapists to Know About Families Raising Kids with Disabilities

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Things I Want My Child’s Therapists to Know About Families Raising Kids with Disabilities

In a recent viral social media post, Rachel Olstad expressed what she and many other families with children with disabilities would like to express to those who help care for their children.

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Caregivers Can Do Hard Things

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Caregivers Can Do Hard Things

In the nearly sixty-seven years my mother and I shared on this earth, she taught me many lessons. The one I leaned on the most as our time to say good-bye drew near was this one: caregivers can do hard things.

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The Gift of Damon the Service Dog

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The Gift of Damon the Service Dog

In today’s post, John Felageller shares the story of his son’s service dog Damon, and how what John initially viewed extra work for him and his family turned out to be a true gift for belonging and support.

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What makes me cry as a caregiver?

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What makes me cry as a caregiver?

What makes me cry as a caregiver is a list that keeps getting longer. Think of it as a reverse bucket list. But really, what makes me cry as a caregiver can be boiled down to two interconnected truths.

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4 Ways to Calm Your Mind When You Know Too Much

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4 Ways to Calm Your Mind When You Know Too Much

God has used what I have learned about and experienced with special needs and disabilities to great good. He's empowered me to write books to encourage and equip parents, provide special needs ministry training, facilitate support groups, and more. But sometimes that same knowledge and experience results in thought patterns that lead to excessive and obsessive worry that steals my joy.