Monthly Archives: January 2012

No Labels…Tying it All Together

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Dr. G

Bottom line…We can minister effectively to kids with disabilities and their families without requiring knowledge of diagnoses that may or may not be accurate or by defining children and their adults by their disability as opposed to by who they are in God’s Kingdom. Continue reading →

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Ritalin Gone Wrong? What’s a Parent to Believe?

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Dr. G

Kids with ADHD continue to struggle relative to their peers without ADHD over time. They need lots of ongoing help and support. They need access to cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy from competent and effective clinicians. They need schools with the flexibility to provide accommodations to help all kids maximize their potential. They need stable environments and supportive families. They don’t need stories in the news media unnecessarily fueling the fears of parents about the safety or effectiveness of medication they give to their kids struggling with a significant disability. You can’t use a study that wasn’t designed to demonstrate the long-term effectiveness of stimulant medication to claim that such medication is ineffective.
Continue reading →

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Communication Breakdown…Doing Ministry Together Without Diagnostic Labels

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Dr. G

If we decide not to use a medical-based model as a common language around which to serve kids and families in churches, we need a common language for communication with one another that can be readily understood by every staff person and every volunteer at church. I’ll argue that it’s best to to use everyday language while guided by a set of communication principles. Continue reading →

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Do We Put People in Boxes?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Dr. G

Most people “get” what autism is about because of some fabulous public education initiatives. But way too many people think that ADHD is caused by poor discipline at home, anxiety is produced by a lack of faith and that depression persists because the person afflicted doesn’t pray enough. If we get hung up on diagnoses, the value judgments of too many people in our churches becomes an impediment to creating welcoming ministry environments for all kids and families.
Continue reading →

Posted in Controversies, Inclusion | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Purpose of Diagnostic Criteria

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Dr. G

Think about this…Diagnosis is ultimately used as a tool to facilitate the treatment of patients/clients with identifiable medical/psychiatric disorders.

Does the church treat kids with disabilities? Or do we disciple them? Continue reading →

Posted in Autism, Controversies, Key Ministry | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mini-Series: No Labels…Should Diagnosis Matter at Church?

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Dr. G

This coming week, we’ll take a closer look at the topic No Labels…Should Diagnosis Matter at Church? Here’s a preview: Continue reading →

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Klout…What’s a Good Christian to Do?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Dr. G

So here’s the dilemma…We have a fabulous team of speakers and trainers at Key Ministry and friends and colleagues in other ministries with wonderful ideas and strategies and resources that I want to get in front of as many pastors, church staff and volunteers as possible so that they can help connect families of kids with disabilities to churches. There are certain rules in place that guide who gets access to platforms of influence. I think we’re doing this for the right reason if we use resources like Klout, but…

I come back to the Scripture verses above, and many others like them. How do we serve the purposes of God without reflecting the character traits of God? The temptation for self-promotion through social media seems great. And we’re supposed to flee from temptation, right?

What’s a good Christian to do?
Continue reading →

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Some weekend reading…and a request for input

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Dr. G

We’ve put together a summary page with links to all of our blog posts from our most popular series… The Impact of ADHD on Spiritual Development. We now have a summary page with links to every post from our most popular series of 2011… Thinking “Orange”…Family Ministry Strategies When Families Have Special Needs. Continue reading →

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New Tool: ADHD Resource Page

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Dr. G

We found that our most-viewed teaching series of 2011 was our series from 2010 on ADHD and Spiritual Development.

In order to make it easy for new friends to find what appears to have been a useful resource for blog readers, we’ve created a page containing links to the entire blog series along with two very useful resources for ministry leaders and parents. Continue reading →

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Kids With Aggressive Behavior…Is it Ever OK for a Church to Say No?

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Dr. G

So when should kids at risk for severe aggression be asked to stay home? Schools have guidelines for parents about when they should keep children home to prevent other kids from getting sick. When are other kids, church staff and volunteers at risk of being harmed by kids prone to aggression?

If the parent(s) can’t manage the child’s behavior safely at home
When a foreseeable event has transpired at home (changes/lapses in medication used to control aggressive behavior, marked escalation of behavior while transitioning/preparing to leave for church) or at church (changes from the norm in environment/availability of appropriately trained staff or volunteers familiar to the child) increasing the child’s risk of aggressive behavior.
Continue reading →

Posted in Controversies, Spiritual Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments