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Tag Archives: Key Ministry
Ten priorities for the disability ministry movement…
Here are some thoughts about how, with God’s help, God’s people might overcome the “giants” standing in the way of families impacted by disabilities who face barriers to connecting with their larger family in Christ through involvement in the local church. Continue reading
Posted in Inclusion, Key Ministry, Leadership, Mental Health, Strategies
Tagged Collaboration, Disability Ministry, Key Ministry, Special Needs Ministry, Training
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Church transitions and kids with disabilities
Transition times all too often result in kids and families falling away from church programming. With a little understanding of how transitions may impact kids with specific disabilities and some advance planning, church staff, volunteers and parents can help most have positive experiences as they progress into their age-appropriate ministry environments at the start of the new program year. Continue reading
If this were your kid…
I’ll try to share some general answers to the “If this were your kid” question pertaining to medication on the basis of diagnosis and clinical presentation. Continue reading
Posted in ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Controversies, Depression, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Mental Health
Tagged ADHD, aggression, anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, child psychiatry, church, cognitive-behavioral therapy, Depression, if this were your kid, Inclusion, Key Ministry, medication, tic disorders
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When should we question if our child is getting the right treatment?
There’s an opportunity cost to ineffective treatment. If treatment is not helping, it’s probably hurting…if it’s preventing your child from having access to a more effective treatment.
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Posted in Advocacy, Families, Key Ministry, Mental Health
Tagged ineffective treatment, Key Ministry, kids, medication, mental illness, teens, therapy
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How long will my child need medication?
We’d like to think that medication can be a temporary tool to help kids through a rough patch of development. Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes it’s not. Continue reading
Posted in ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Families, Mental Health
Tagged ADHD, anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Disability Ministry, Inclusion, Key Ministry, kids, medication, teens
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How well should medication work for my child’s condition?
Medication typically isn’t a panacea for kids and teens experiencing mental illness, and in general, the more serious the symptoms of mental illness experienced by children and teens, the lower the likelihood is that medication will lead to an ongoing remission of the child’s symptoms. Continue reading
Harmony Hensley representing Key Ministry at the 2013 North American Christian Convention
Harmony will be speaking on the topic So, there’s this kid… She’ll be teaching on common disabilities, common misperceptions about those disabilities and provide practical tips for engaging kids with disabilities in your church. Continue reading
Is Oppositional Defiant Disorder a description or a diagnosis?
My problem with the diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is that establishing the diagnosis doesn’t tell you anything about what to do to treat it. Consider it a “lite” version of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder without the severe, protracted tantrums or meltdowns.
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DSM-5: Recognizing the signs of trauma in kids
Most importantly for the sake of our discussion, the symptom thresholds for establishing a diagnosis in children and teens have been changed to take into account differences in the ways that trauma is manifested in kids, and a unique set of diagnostic criteria have been established for identification of PTSD in kids ages six and under.
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Posted in Controversies, Mental Health, Resources
Tagged AACAP, Adoption, children, children's ministry, diagnostic criteria, dsm-5, Foster Care, Inclusion, Key Ministry, mental health, PTSD
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Why the decision to eliminate Asperger’s Disorder was absurd…
From a clinician’s standpoint, kids with Asperger’s are VERY different from kids with “classic” autism. Kids with Asperger’s have the intelligence and language skills to very effectively communicate their thoughts and perceptions. They also have a far greater capacity for self-awareness of their social deficits…and are far more amenable to treatment interventions to ameliorate their weaknesses in social situations. They’re so different that the vast preponderance of kids with traditional autism in our community receiving medical intervention are seen by developmental pediatricians and pediatric neurologists, not child psychiatrists. Continue reading
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