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Category Archives: Hidden Disabilities
What Can the Church Do to Help Families of Kids With Mental Illnesses?
What would you like to see the church do to better serve families of kids with mental illnesses? Aware of any innovative strategies employed by churches or small group within churches that have helped to demonstrate the love of Christ while meeting immediate needs? Please post comments and links below. Continue reading
Be Not Anxious…How Common are Anxiety Disorders in Kids?
Kids with anxiety disorders are different from their peers in that they misperceive the level of threat or danger in their environment. Fear and worry become a cause for concern when they significantly interfere with a child’s ability to function in an age-appropriate way in school, with friends, as a member of their family or in extracurricular activities, including church.
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Posted in Anxiety Disorders, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry
Tagged anxiety, Key Ministry, Stephen Grcevich MD
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Be Not Anxious…Helping Kids With Anxiety Grow Spiritually
More so than any other disability, anxiety is seen as a condition that’s indicative of a lack of faith. That awareness, in and of itself, can produce more anxiety in a child or a parent seeking to follow Christ or grow in faith. Continue reading
How Can I Get Involved and Help?
I started kicking around the question of how I hope people will respond when they’re exposed to our people, training and ministry resources. Ultimately, I would hope folks would respond by looking for where God might be at work in the unique intersection of their experiences, talents, giftedness and circumstances in providing opportunities to build His Kingdom. Continue reading
Posted in Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Key Ministry
Tagged Inclusion, Key Ministry, Shannon Dingle, Stephen Grcevich MD
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CDC: One in Six U.S. Children Have Developmental Disabilities
If this is true of society at large, how much more true should it be of the church? While churches don’t necessarily need to create “programs” to address the spiritual growth of kids with developmental disabilities, the church certainly needs to devote time and energy to acquiring the resources to lend support to parents of kids with developmental disabilities as they function in their role as primary faith trainers of their children. Continue reading
Are Parents of Kids With ADHD Stigmatized at Church?
Earlier this week, Shannon Dingle had a wonderful post on her blog The Works of God Displayed (I’d highly encourage readers of this blog to subscribe to Shannon’s blog) on perceptions of folks in the church about the diagnosis of ADHD. I’d encourage you to read her post, because I’m challenged to express my opinions as eloquently as she did on her blog. I very much appreciate as well the comments on her blog from a pastor (Perry) who was willing to give voice to some of the thoughts and feelings Shannon was seeking to describe in her post.
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Posted in ADHD, Controversies, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Key Ministry
Tagged ADHD, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Parents, Shannon Dingle, Stephen Grcevich MD, stigma, The Works of God Displayed
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Depression and Comorbidity in Children and Adolescents
Children and youth who meet criteria for a full-fledged episode of Major Depression are especially prone to comorbid mental health disorders. The slide below illustrates some of the most common comorbidities associated with depression in children and teens. Depending upon the practice setting, as many as 90% of kids with depression have at least one comorbid condition, while 50% experience two or more conditions. Continue reading
Posted in ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Resources
Tagged AACAP, ADHD, anxiety, comorbidity, Depression, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, mental health
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“Comorbidity”…When Kids Have More Than One Disorder
The concept of comorbidity is important to understand because it helps to explain why kids who carry the same diagnosis may react very differently to environments or experiences at church, why we very much try to avoid the use of diagnostic labels when working with churches and why it is so important for ministry leaders and parents to view each child as a unique individual.
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Posted in ADHD, Controversies, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Resources
Tagged church, Church4EveryChild, comorbidity, Inclusion, Key Ministry, mental health, Stephen Grcevich MD
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The Challenges Families Face in Finding the Right Help
Parents of kids with significant mental health disorders frequently experience great frustration in negotiating the confusing maze that constitutes our system of mental health care in many communities across the U.S., along with the yet more confusing (intentionally?) system of paying for needed care. Quite frequently, pastors and ministry leaders are trusted resources to parents of children or teens in crisis, and my own professional society encourages parents who are looking for help for their kids to seek recommendations from their spiritual leaders. In honor of National Children’s Mental Health Day, I wanted to help ministry leaders better appreciate several challenges families face in finding the proper help for their kids, and offer some resources to share with parents looking to churches for help.
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Posted in Families, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Parents, Resources
Tagged children's ministry, Church4EveryChild, Key Ministry, Resources, Stephen Grcevich MD
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The Pros and Cons of Medication for Kids
Bottom line…Medication in the hands of an appropriately trained physician can be one instrument God uses in responding to prayers for a child with a serious emotional or behavioral disorder. In the same way, God may use a physician who’s not necessarily a Christian to bring about healing Continue reading
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