• ADHD
• Autism spectrum disorders
• Bipolar Disorder
• Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
• Intellectual Disability
• Social Communication Disorder

With the official launch of the DSM-5 today, here are some first impressions of the new manual…

The DSM-5 represents psychiatry’s past and not its’ future. The diagnostic criteria are not (for the most part) based upon any clear understanding of the underlying pathology of the conditions described in the manual. Dr. Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has announced in his blog that the NIMH will be reorienting the research they fund away from DSM criteria. Quoting Dr. Insel…

The weakness is its lack of validity. Unlike our definitions of ischemic heart disease, lymphoma, or AIDS, the DSM diagnoses are based on a consensus about clusters of clinical symptoms, not any objective laboratory measure. In the rest of medicine, this would be equivalent to creating diagnostic systems based on the nature of chest pain or the quality of fever. Indeed, symptom-based diagnosis, once common in other areas of medicine, has been largely replaced in the past half century as we have understood that symptoms alone rarely indicate the best choice of treatment.

We’ll talk more about the implications of the NIMH’s decision to shift away from use of the DSM-5 in a future post.

The new diagnostic criteria still produce unacceptably high levels of disagreement on diagnosis for individual patients. In the DSM-5 field trials, the odds of two different clinicians reaching the same diagnosis with the same patient were only 28% better than chance across all diagnoses, and only 8% better than chance for DMDD. The coefficient of agreement (Kappa statistic, K) for the diagnosis of Major Depression was 0.33. To put it differently, the odds that a parent will get the same diagnosis for their child if they take them to two different mental health professionals is less than 50-50.

In the short run, the new criteria are likely to have little impact upon the quality of care kids and families receive from mental health professionals. Old habits are hard to change. In a reimbursement-driven mental health system, many clinicians don’t take the time to do diagnostic assessments in enough depth to make meaningful use of the criteria. For that matter, the US Government isn’t requiring insurers to use the new diagnostic codes until 2014. It remains to be seen whether clinicians will adopt the rating instruments for assessment/severity of specific disorders included in the DSM-5, especially primary care physicians who provide much of the mental health care for children and teens.

On the whole, the DSM-5 is a diagnostic manual developed by a very, very big committee that considered lots of factors other than the original intent of developing common criteria for accurate and consistent diagnosis and meaningful research.

***********************************************************************************************************

Our Key Ministry website is a resource through which church staff, volunteers, family members and caregivers can register for upcoming training events, request access to our library of downloadable ministry resources, contact our staff with training or consultation requests, access the content of any or all of our three official ministry blogs, or contribute their time, talent and treasure to the expansion of God’s Kingdom through the work of Key Ministry. Check it out today!

Filed under: Controversies, Mental Health Tagged: children, Dr. Thomas Insel, dsm-5, families, first impressions, mental health, NIMH, psychiatry, teens ]]> http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/first-impressions-of-the-dsm-5/feed/ 0 drgrcevich DSM-5 Key Ministry Door http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/review-troubled-minds-a-much-needed-catalyst-for-conversation/ http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/review-troubled-minds-a-much-needed-catalyst-for-conversation/#comments Sun, 19 May 2013 10:58:29 +0000 drgrcevich http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/?p=4491 Continue reading →]]> Troubled Minds: Mental Health and the Church’s Mission. Authored by Amy Simpson. Foreword by Marshall Shelley. Published by InterVarsity Press. Available at Amazon.

Amy Simpson’s new book is a much needed catalyst to a long overdue discussion on the topic of how the church can share the love of Christ with persons with mental illness and their families. Her life experiences with a mother with chronic schizophrenia and a father who served as a pastor uniquely prepared her to speak into the topic.

In the book, Amy does a great job of laying out the case (with data) of why more effective ministry to people with mental health issues should be high on any church’s list of priorities. She provides clergy with language and Scriptural support to respond with sensitivity to members and attendees struggling with mental health disorders. She emphasizes the reality that the first place many people turn to in a mental health crisis is the church. More importantly, she shares dozens of practical suggestions for more effective ministry, including ideas for pastors, professionals, caregivers, and persons with mental illness to implement in churches of all denominations and organizational structures.

Amy writes from the perspective of someone who grew up inside the church from a family that stayed connected with church through her mother’s mental illness. Throughout the book, she emphasizes the need for pastors, church staff and members to do a better job of caring for persons with mental illness and their families. She did make one large assumption in the book with which I’d take issue…even though I don’t have good data to buttress my argument-just experience and observations.

If your church is typical of the US population, on any given Sunday one in four adults and one in five children sitting around you is suffering from a mental illness.

In my mind, an even greater tragedy than the treatment many persons with mental illness  have experienced in the church is the potential for mental illness to represent a significant barrier to church attendance and participation for those afflicted and their families. For example, here’s an interesting study published last year in the American Journal of Epidemiology reporting that women were 1.42 times less likely to attend church if they experienced a first episode of depression prior to the age of 18 compared to women who experienced a first episode as adults or had never been depressed.

From where I sit as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I don’t believe that our churches are typical of the US population on any given Sunday morning in terms of the number of persons in attendance with mental illness. Nowhere close. In addition to doing a better job of caring for “our own” with mental health issues, we need to become very intentional in reaching out to those beyond our walls who desperately need to experience the love of Christ but haven’t been able to overcome the barriers posed by our attitudes or ministry environments.

No church will be able to meet every need of families impacted by mental illness, but every church can do something. Amy Simpson has demonstrated significant courage in using the platform she has earned through years of work at Christianity Today to shine a spotlight on a topic the American church desperately needs to address. Troubled Minds serves as a great conversation starter.

Disclosure: I purchased Troubled Minds with personal funds at Amazon. Key Ministry received a promotional copy of the book for a giveaway through InterVarsity Press. The winner of our promotional copy is Patti Sass from Hastings, NE. 

Amy Simpson is author of Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission (InterVarsity Press). She also serves as editor of Christianity Today’s Gifted for Leadership. You can find her at www.AmySimpsonOnline.com  and on Twitter @aresimpson.

Filed under: Advocacy, Book Reviews, Mental Health Tagged: Amy Simpson, book reviews, church, Disability Ministry, Inclusion, mental illness, mission, Troubled Minds ]]> http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/review-troubled-minds-a-much-needed-catalyst-for-conversation/feed/ 0 drgrcevich Troubled Minds Amy Simpson http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/resources-for-kids-with-disruptive-behavior-carrie-lupoli/ http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/resources-for-kids-with-disruptive-behavior-carrie-lupoli/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 10:58:15 +0000 drgrcevich http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/?p=4487 Continue reading →]]> On Tuesday, we introduced you to international educator, parenting expert and Key Ministry Board member Carrie Lupoli. Today, we’ll conclude our interview with Carrie in which she discussed resources for church staff, volunteers and parents who deal with kids with disruptive behavior, a series of books she’s writing on child development and her future role with Key Ministry.

C4EC: In addition to your role as a special educator, you’re well known across Southeast Asia as a parenting expert. Are there resources you can share with church staff, volunteers and parents struggling to maintain a positive relationship with a child with disruptive behavior?  

CL: Yes, as I write this I am getting ready for an exciting (albeit nerve wracking!) tour around South East Asia in June.  As a spokesperson on the “The Joy of Learning” for Mattel Fisher Price, I will be speaking to parents in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia.  This is my third year speaking and I am humbled and in awe that people want to come and hear what I have to say!  It makes me nervous that people will enjoy the workshops and find it helpful!  One of the BEST resources I almost always recommend to families is called “123 Magic, Effective Discipline for Children Ages 2-12.”  There is a Christian version as well which I love to present to churches.  A practical, simple method for curbing behaviors while developing positive relationship with your children, I have NEVER not seen it work, when parents implement it correctly.  I had been telling parents about the program well before I had children of my own, and of course found success with it when I started with my own girls.  It was only a few years ago that I found the Christian version and I realized why it worked so well.  It is totally biblically based so of course it works!  I have even been personally trained by the author of the program itself and knowing his heart and motivation for developing this makes it even more motivating to share it with other parents.

C4EC: You’ve got a book contract? What will the book be about and when can we expect to see it?  

CL: Someone once said, “I don’t like writing but I like having written.”  Gosh, that is the case for me!  I have found I really have to be in the right mindset to get all the content out!  The books are a series of practical parenting resources that advocate parent’s knowing their children’s milestones from birth through age 5.  I find, when conducting case histories for diagnostic assessments, that parents aren’t often aware of the milestones their children should be achieving up through the 5th year of life.  Many times parents have missed clear signs or indicators and with early intervention, knowing sooner than later is always helpful.  This series of books gives parents the information on what they need to know with ideas of what to do!  I am still in the process of finalizing the content with the hope that we will see it on shelves in early 2014.

C4EC: We’re delighted to have you as part of our team at Key Ministry…the staff has raved about you! Any thoughts as to how God may be nudging you to use your gifts and talents to advance the cause of the ministry…and the Kingdom?  

CL: I find it incredible that God has led me, to all places, Chagrin Falls!  I knew about Key Ministry through my church in Singapore and when I realized it was based in the same town that I would be moving to, I knew that was God’s way of telling me, “I have you right where I want you.”  Our settling in process to this new life here in Ohio has been a bit of a challenge but now that we are settled in and comfortable, I am excited to see what God has in store for me next!  I know that the experiences I have had very closely parallel the mission of Key Ministry so I pray that God will direct me specifically into the areas of which he wants me to serve.  Can’t wait!

***********************************************************************************************************

Key Ministry’s mission is to help churches reach families affected by disability by providing FREE resources to pastors, volunteers, and individuals who wish to create an inclusive ministry environment. We have designed our Key Catalog to create fun opportunities for our ministry supporters to join in our mission through supporting a variety of gift options. Click here to check it out! For a sixty second summary of what Key Ministry does, watch the video below…

Our newest addition to the Key Ministry team came to us in a manner only God could orchestrate.

Carrie Lupoli was working in Connecticut as a special educator when her husband was transferred to Singapore. After her family arrived in Asia, she co-founded Live and Learn in response to the lack of appropriate services for children with learning disabilities and other special education needs in their mainstream classrooms.

In addition to the acclaim she has earned as an international educator, Carrie has been a noted parenting expert and has served as the spokesperson for the “Power of Play” for Mattel Fisher Price. She recently signed on as the official “Chief Mum” for MumCentre.com, a family of parenting websites in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Australia.

Carrie and her family relocated to Chagrin Falls last year when her husband accepted a position with a local company. The children’s pastor from the church she and her family attended in Singapore sent her an e-mail about Inclusion Fusion. She was interested in learning more about the organization in her new hometown putting on the Web Summit. Her family had started attending a local church where Stephen Burks (one of our Board members) serves as Pastor of Worship and Creative Arts. She approached Stephen looking for ideas for where she might “plug in” to use her gifts and talents to serve…and needless to say, she’s the newest member of our team.

Carrie graciously responded to some interview questions we thought would be of interest to our readers. Part Two of the interview will run on Thursday.

C4EC: As a special educator, you have lots of experience in working with kids with “hidden disabilities”…ADHD, anxiety, kids on the high end of the autism spectrum, kids with sensory processing difficulties. What are the challenges you’ve seen when the kids you serve come to church?

CL: It’s amazing that even after living in Asia, Europe and now back to the US, that certain similarities exist regarding the challenges kids have when coming to church.  One of the most challenging issues I see is when parents of typical peers quickly judge those with hidden disabilities negatively.  I have worked with both parents and teachers to try to help them understand that if one sees a child acting “differently” then others, to not automatically assume the child is a byproduct of “bad parenting” or a lack of discipline in the home.  Educating the surrounding community is pivotal because so often I observe parents who finally decide to just not attend church because of the way others make them feel about themselves and their parenting skills.  If families don’t come to church, we can’t work with the child or their teachers to develop successful learning environments.

C4EC: You launched a company while your family was living in Singapore to provide support services to families of children with special education needs. What are some of the unique challenges families face outside of the U.S. when their kids require extra assistance and support?

CL: What an eye opening experience it was for me to witness what was happening to kids with hidden disabilities around the world.  First of all, there are few, if any laws, in Asia regarding the discrimination of children with special needs. Most of the kids we support should be mainstreamed for all or most of their day, with the right support.  Unfortunately many of them weren’t being given the chance to be educated in their least restrictive environment due to willingness, services and/or trained staff.  In addition, American families who move overseas often assume, especially because they may be enrolling their children in an “American School” that services will translate and that they have the same rights that they do in America.  Unfortunately that is very far from the truth and in reality, American Schools often identify themselves as such because of their curriculum or population of student.  It doesn’t necessarily mean they are implementing best practices or laws from America.

C4EC: Are there practical ways for churches to help serve these families?

CL: Because churches often have the same challenges as schools, when it comes to developing and implementing strategies for kids with needs, the two groups can be collaborating more.  With a group like Key Ministry training churches, if a particular church has the knowledge, reaching out to the international or local schools to offer training or support would be welcomed and often needed.

C4EC: What can the church in the U.S. to support families doing mission work overseas with special education needs?  

CL: Missionary families are not any better off when it comes to support services if their children are attending schools overseas.  Some families choose to homeschool their children and with quality, online international homeschool programs like www.k12.com missionary families can obtain support. However, in their brick and mortar schools, funding can be provided for support staff that is often permitted, but rarely funded by schools.  Trained paraprofessionals can offer an incredible amount of assistance to families and schools.  Cost is often a huge factor, however, and it depends on the area where the families are living.  For example, a trained support specialist in a place like Bali, Indonesia runs about $100USD a month.  Compare that to the same kinds of service in Singapore which will cost anywhere between $3000 to $5000 USD a month for full time support.  Funding webinars on inclusive practices for willing staff in a child’s school could also be a fabulous resource for missionary families living overseas.

Next…Carrie’s suggestions for church staff, volunteers and parents for responding to kids with disruptive behavior.

***********************************************************************************************************

Our Key Ministry website is a resource through which church staff, volunteers, family members and caregivers can register for upcoming training events, request access to our library of downloadable ministry resources, contact our staff with training or consultation requests, access the content of any or all of our three official ministry blogs, or contribute their time, talent and treasure to the expansion of God’s Kingdom through the work of Key Ministry. Check it out today!

Last Sunday, we introduced you to Amy Simpson, the well-known Christian leader and communicator who recently published her new book, Troubled Minds: Mental Health and the Church’s Mission. She shared last weekend on the topic Does Your Church Inadvertently Hurt People With Mental Illness? Today, she’ll examine whether the plight of individuals and families impacted by mental illness represents “A Call to the Church.“

Missing Basic Needs

In at least a few documented cases, Nevada’s mental-health care system placed people on buses without adequate provisions or chaperones. Many churches use a similar strategy, without realizing they’re not fulfilling their responsibilities.

• If you’re a church leader who doesn’t happen to be a qualified mental-health professional, do you recognize and acknowledge your limitations? If yes, that’s a good thing.

• Do you refer people to professionals who can help with disorders and provide therapy and medication as necessary? This is also a good thing.

• But do you then walk away and assume your job is done?

• Mental-health care is incomplete without spiritual nurture and loving friendship. Does your church push people toward psychiatric care but leave them without adequate spiritual guidance and a kind friend to walk alongside them?

• Do you provide practical help (hospital visits, meals, rides, financial assistance) to people with other health crises but ignore these basic needs in families affected by mental illness?

Psychiatrists do not provide pastoral care. Therapists don’t make sure the bills are paid and the kids get to school. Medication does not answer questions about why God feels so far away. Just because people receive medical treatment does not mean they don’t need anything more from the church.

Neglecting Support Systems

Nevada claims it is simply busing people back to their home states and first making contact with support systems at those destinations. But investigations reveal those connections are not always made and plans for follow-up care aren’t always in place. Many churches also fail to consider what they can do to strengthen the support system for people with mental illness.

• Are you ignoring the families of people with mental illness? My own survey showed that only 56.8 percent of church leaders have reached out to the family of someone with mental illness within their congregation. Have you asked families what they need? Are you prepared to help as you can?

• Do you consult with mental-health professionals? If people in your congregation are receiving care, you can request that they sign consent forms to allow you to collaborate with professionals and discuss the best ways for your church to support these members’ mental health. If you don’t receive that written consent, you can still discuss the best ways for you to support people with various types of mental illness.

• As in Nevada’s state mental-health care system, in your church are people getting caught within a beauracratic system with no one really aware of or responsible for their needs? Are you relying on “trickle-down ministry,” focusing on your core leaders and expecting them to lead the next tier, and so on? Is anyone in your church likely to feel responsible for a good support system, or does everyone assume someone else will take care of it?

• Are you willing to adapt your schedules, plans, and expectations in order to deal compassionately with people in crisis? Or do you expect everyone to follow the same process and grow within the same system?

• Are you willing to let people with mental illness do ministry in your church? Mental illness is rarely predictable, but it is not a spiritual or relational death sentence. People affected by mental disorders don’t always fit into a tightly scripted service with high production values. It can hard to find their place in a segmented congregation. But with understanding and grace, you can give them opportunities to serve according to the gifts God has given them. Allowing people to engage in ministry when they’re functioning well, and take a break when they’re not, can provide an incredible support system.

A Call to the Church

I wrote my new book, Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission, to help the church better understand the needs of people affected by mental illness. I also wrote it to challenge the church­—that’s everyone who follows Christ—to see this as part of our mission in this life.

As I’ve said in my book, “The church should not lag; it should lead the way. We serve a God who calls us to serve “the least of these” as if we were serving him (Mt 25:40). Jesus said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Mk 2:17). As living temples carrying God’s presence in this world, we must allow his light to shine out from us and infiltrate the darkness that surrounds so many people and drives some of them to despair.”

Let’s embrace our calling and shine the light of Christ in the darkness.

Amy Simpson is author of Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission (InterVarsity Press). She also serves as editor of Christianity Today’s Gifted for Leadership. You can find her at www.AmySimpsonOnline.com  and on Twitter @aresimpson.

***********************************************************************************************************

Mental illness is the sort of thing we don’t like to talk about. It doesn’t reduce nicely to simple solutions and happy outcomes. So instead, too often we reduce people who are mentally ill to caricatures and ghosts, and simply pretend they don’t exist. They do exist, however—statistics suggest that one in four people suffer from some kind of mental illness. And then there’s their friends and family members, who bear their own scars and anxious thoughts, and who see no safe place to talk about the impact of mental illness on their lives and their loved ones. Many of these people are sitting in churches week after week, suffering in stigmatized silence. In Troubled Minds Amy Simpson, whose family knows the trauma and bewilderment of mental illness, reminds us that people with mental illness are our neighbors and our brothers and sisters in Christ, and she shows us the path to loving them well and becoming a church that loves God with whole hearts and whole souls, with the strength we have and with minds that are whole as well as minds that are troubled. Available at Amazon and Christianbook.com.

FREE GIVEAWAY! Every person who becomes a NEW e-mail subscriber to Church4EveryChild between now and May 13th is automatically entered in a drawing for a free copy of Amy’s new book, Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission. Enter your e-mail in the sidebar to your right and you’re automatically registered.

Happy Mother’s Day from the staff and volunteers of Key Ministry!

Psychotropic Medications some pros and cons 

By Janet Ward

Driving our minivan up a scenic mountain road during a summer vacation, listening to my enraged 6-year-old daughter tantrum from the backseat, screaming about wanting to get another fairy doll at the country fair we had just left, my daughter becoming angrier with each passing second.

I concentrated intently on driving, hoping to safely and quickly make it back to the condo where we were staying. Suddenly, something struck me on the back of my head. She had taken off her shoe and had thrown it at me. I yelled at her to stop. She responded by throwing the next easily reachable projectile, which happened to be a book.

Much to my horror, I then heard the click of her seatbelt unbuckling. In the blink of an eye, my daughter charged me from the back of the minivan, pushing and hitting me on my head, right shoulder and arm as I struggled to keep the car under control.

That was it. That incident was the final straw that led to our decision to start my daughter on an antipsychotic medication. I didn’t know it that day, but during the next eight years, we would try 14 different psychotropic medications with her, all in an attempt to manage her wide array of symptoms related to anxiety, mood and attention.

During those years, I learned a lot about this hotly debated topic of medication for kids. I learned there are no easy answers. I learned that those who claim to have all the answers most assuredly do not. And I learned the answer that is right for one child and one family is not necessarily right for another.

In our fast-paced society, people often look for quick, easy fixes. Contrary to what many believe, putting a child on psychotropic medication is neither quick, nor easy, nor a fix. It is a serious decision with potentially serious consequences.

While there are times when medication is inarguably the best course of action, there are other times when arguably it is not. Either way, putting a child on psychotropic medication should be undertaken only after careful thought and with full awareness of the risks and costs of doing so. Here are some points for your consideration:

• Much needed relief: By the time parents consider psychotropic medications, especially the more potent antipsychotics, usually every single member of a family is suffering, not only the child. Medication can ease severe symptoms that hinder a child’s ability to function in his or her world, symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, anxiety, mood issues and more. By reducing, not necessarily eliminating, the intensity of symptoms, medications can stabilize a child, stabilize a family’s home life, and make concurrent therapies and/or interventions more effective. At their best, medications are essential to preventing or minimizing some kind of crisis, as in our case when safety and the ability to function in daily life were so severely compromised. When medication works as intended, the relief it provides both to the child and the entire family can range from immensely helpful to invaluable.

• Trial-and-error: Like much in life, there is no “one-size fits-all” answer to medication. Finding the right medication — or combination of medications — for any given child is a blend between art and science. No two children’s brains are the same; therefore, no two children react exactly the same to the same drug given at the same dosage, at the same time of day. Often, treatments require experimentation with dosage, time of day of administration, even the specific drugs themselves. Additionally, because children’s bodies change and grow, at times rapidly, even stable medication regimens need to be periodically re-evaluated and adjusted.

• Side effects; take ‘em seriously: We’ve all seen the small print at the bottom of magazine ads— usually so tiny it requires a magnifying glass to read. And we all tend to ignore it, thinking that such things only happen to other people. But my experience is that side effects with psychotropic medications are real, are common, and are not to be taken lightly. At various times, with various medications, my daughter experienced weight gain, weight loss, sleeplessness, excessive sleepiness, anxiety and some bizarre behaviors, such as constant coughing or smacking herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand. These side effects were pronounced, problematic enough that they had to be addressed.

Often with side effects, parents find themselves simply trading one set of behaviors to manage such as problems completing homework due to inattention for another such as having to ensure a child with zero appetite eats enough food to sustain him or herself throughout the day.

Side effects are so prevalent, there’s even a phenomenon called “symptom chasing,” in which another medication is added to the child’s regimen in order to address symptoms caused by a previous medication. When my 40-pound daughter gained a staggering 20 pounds after starting an antipsychotic, a stimulant was prescribed to reduce her appetite and help with attention. Her insatiable hunger did ease up, but the stimulant also had the side effect of increasing anxiety, which then led to the possibility of starting her on an anti-anxiety drug. We decided not to do that, but the lesson here is what started out as one psychotropic medication could easily have led to three, the second two being the result of managing side effects of the first.

Sometimes side effects are so troublesome as to warrant discontinuation of a medication, regardless of how well that medication is working. For example, after six years on a certain medication, my daughter developed side effects that threatened the health of her heart. She had to stop taking that drug, and its discontinuation was no easy task.

• Long-term consequences: As advanced as medical science is, long-term consequences of psychotropic medications on a child’s still developing brain are unknown. Medical science does know, however, that the human brain develops well into a person’s 20’s, so this is as much concern for an otherwise fully-grown teenager as it is for a younger child.

What’s the exit strategy?

Politicians talk about having an exit strategy, a plan about how to leave a situation, either once an objective has been achieved or to minimize failure. Similarly, psychotropic medications require an exit strategy. Medication in and of itself is not a permanent solution. Medication simply squelches symptoms; it doesn’t fix anything. Your child will not magically outgrow his or her condition while on medication. Unless your idea is to have your child take medication into ripe old age,which really isn’t feasible, you need a plan. The ultimate goal is to enable your child to navigate the world successfully, on his or her own, without medication. This means that medication should be only one of several tools in your toolbox, a tool to be used in the short-term while you explore other options to effect permanent changes in the long-term.

Postscript: My daughter is now a teenager and has been medication-free for the past 18 months. She is happier and healthier than ever before, both emotionally and physically, thanks to an extreme amount of hard work and specialized treatment. For my family, psychotropic medication provided a critical tool on the road to get her to where she is today, at a time when we desperately needed it, but it was neither a simple nor problem-free tool to use. If you are contemplating psychotropic medication for your child, my advice is to make an informed decision about medication, as well as other alternatives. In this way, you can choose what is best for your child and for your entire family.

What to Do When Your Child Needs Medication

As a loving parent who wants what’s best for your child, you can be your child’s greatest ally. Here are a few tips to help you navigate through your child’s medication journey:

Find a good doctor: Prescribing psychotropic medication — wisely— is a most complicated affair. Work with the best doctor you can find, one who is highly trained in prescribing these medications, experienced with it, and who takes into account your input and concerns when making decisions.

Compliance is critical: Inconsistency in giving your child his or her medication can lead to further issues for both your child and family. Adequate dosage, timing and consistency are key to obtaining optimal results. Make sure your child takes medication exactly how and when it is prescribed. Aim for 100 percent compliance, and if you miss your mark by just a little bit, you’ll still be doing well.

Keep copious notes: One of the things about life that never changes is that life is always changing. Medication dosage, time of administration, the medication itself, even doctors — all change over time. Don’t trust these important details to your memory or to medical staff. Keep an up-to-date notebook containing all this information. Every time medication is started or adjusted, put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and keenly observe your child’s behavior. Record your observations about behavioral changes, both positive and negative, as well as notes about concurrent changes or stressors in your child’s life. Your notebook can become an invaluable tool to you and your doctor for making informed, intelligent decisions.

Be your child’s advocate: You’re an all-important link between the doctor and your child. You are the one providing most of the information that the doctor will use to make decisions. So communicate well. Describe your child’s behaviors, changes in behaviors, medication side effects, and anything else of significance.

Ask questions: If you are concerned you might forget something during an appointment, write down notes in advance. By taking an active, collaborative role during appointments, you can maximize the chance for the best possible decisions to be reached.

Janet B. Ward is the mother of three children, biological twin boys and a daughter adopted from Russia as an infant. A product of trauma while in Russia, her daughter has received 15 mental health diagnoses in 14 years.

As a parent of two teens and a physician specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry, I’m frequently asked my opinion about the explosion of kids in our society who have been identified with mental health disorders…11% of school-age kids in the U.S. and 20% of teen boys have received a diagnosis of ADHD. 8-12% of kids on any given day meet the criteria for one or more anxiety disorders. One in 88 kids born this year will be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. We even have a new diagnosis (Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder) available to us one week from this coming Wednesday that came about largely in response to a 40-fold increase in the frequency with which kids are being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. How does a parent or a ministry leader or anyone else who cares about kids make sense of this epidemic of mental illness?

Ben Conner is a theologian in Virginia who leads a group of teens with developmental disabilities organized through Young Life Capernaum. He wrote a wonderful little book in which he puts forth the hypothesis that it is our culture that “disables.” He asserts we “live in an ‘ableist’ culture that rarely affords them (people with disabilities) the space or opportunity to make their unique contribution to society and does not lift up the value of choosing them as friends.” One of the challenges in understanding the epidemic of mental illness in kids is that conditions such as anxiety disorders, ADHD, may represent disabilities in some environments, but not others. In fact, some mental health conditions that we identify as disabilities may actually provide kids with advantages at performing specific tasks. Here’s an example…

In our practice, the average age of kids we newly diagnose with ADHD is 13, even though people think of ADHD as a problem for younger kids. Those who have what’s referred to as the inattentive subtype of ADHD either outgrew their issues with impulse control and hyperactivity or never had them to begin with. Kids with the inattentive subtype of ADHD have difficulty maintaining their focus and avoiding distraction, especially during uninteresting tasks…they can be riveted to Call of Duty on their X-box yet be unable to stay focused on their Social Studies teacher. They’re often disorganized, misplacing papers and mismanaging time. They underestimate the length of time to write papers or prepare for tests and struggle to meet deadlines, and constant reminders from parents are often unheeded.

For many of our kids with ADHD, their most difficult time in live is typically 7th to 12th grade. Prior to that time, most bright kids can compensate for their organizational difficulties through sheer intelligence. In college, kids get to pick their major, and presumably 80% of their classes are in a subject they’ve professed to have interest in or are related to a future career interest. As an adult, you can pick a job that suits the way your brain is wired. Anecdotally, I meet lots of fathers of my kids with ADHD who are entrepreneurs…they’re good socially, visionary leaders, and big picture thinkers who don’t do well with other people telling them what to do. If they’re smart enough to hire a really good manager who is very compulsive and attend to detail, they’re often very successful. Many find jobs involving travel…they get restless and are bored with seeing the same people in the same office every day. I wouldn’t want to hire one of my former patients with ADHD to do my taxes…they might continue to be “disabled” if having to attend to detail and meet deadlines in an accounting firm. When we see statistics that 20% of high school age boys have been diagnosed with ADHD, we have to ask if the problem is with the kids, or the environments in which we expect them to function.

Let’s think about church for a minute and consider the reality that folks with mental illnesses have disabilities that cause them difficulty in some environments but not others. There are lots of things about the environments in which we “do church” that pose major barriers for a parent or child struggling with common mental health disorders.

What if a family has a child with an anxiety disorder? How might that effect…

• Their willingness (and the family’s ability) to leave the house to come to church?
• Their ability to separate from their parents to participate in age-appropriate ministry activities?
• Their comfort in reading aloud in front of unfamiliar peers, or willingness to participate in church plays and pageants?
• Their ability to participate in overnight events held in unfamiliar places?
• Their ability to transition to large group environments with lots of (older) unfamiliar kids moving from children’s to middle school ministry or middle school to high school ministry?
• Their comfort level with participation in mission trips, especially if a parent is unable to attend?

What if the environments in which we “do church” are distressing to large segments of our population who struggle with common mental illnesses? And what about the family members of a child or adult with a mental illness who miss out on learning about Jesus or growing in faith in Jesus because attending church or belonging to a small group or participating in a service ministry is too overwhelming to their brother or mother? It’s not unreasonable to assume that a significant chunk of people in any given community have some experience of church but don’t regularly attend church because of the subtle, but real ways in which mental illness presents a barrier to the environments in which we do ministry. If the church is to come alongside families of kids with mental illnesses and build relationships with them, we first have to ensure that the environments in which we do church don’t create unintentional but real impediments to the active participation of all family members.

To reach people no one else is reaching, the church will need to try stuff no one else is trying. The more church leaders understand about the experience of kids and adults with mental illness, the better equipped the church will be to create ministry environments where all people can come to investigate the claims of Jesus and grow in faith in Him.

This post was originally shared on May 9, 2013 for Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day at joedmcginnis.com.

Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

***********************************************************************************************************

Key Ministry’s mission is to help churches reach families affected by disability by providing FREE resources to pastors, volunteers, and individuals who wish to create an inclusive ministry environment. We have designed our Key Catalog to create fun opportunities for our ministry supporters to join in our mission through supporting a variety of gift options. Click here to check it out! For a sixty second summary of what Key Ministry does, watch the video below…

Filed under: ADHD, Advocacy, Anxiety Disorders, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Strategies Tagged: ADHD, aggression, anxiety, Asperger's Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, church, Depression, Family Ministry, Inclusion, Joe McGinnis, Key Ministry, mental health, mental illness, ministry environments, Stephen Grcevich MD ]]> http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/a-different-way-of-thinking-about-kids-with-mental-illness/feed/ 1 drgrcevich ID-10072791 Ben_Conner_11 http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/childrens-mental-health-day-2013-a-look-at-the-data/ http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/childrens-mental-health-day-2013-a-look-at-the-data/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 11:28:04 +0000 drgrcevich http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/?p=4465 Continue reading →]]> I’m guest blogging today for family therapy guru and all-around good guy Joe McGinnis on the theme A Different Way of Thinking About Kids and Mental Illness…check out Joe’s blog by clicking here. I thought I’d keep it simple today and share this graphic for you from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry…

Adrian was invited by Patheos to facilitate a broad conversation about mental health to include bloggers from outside the Patheos community. He’s posed a couple of questions for discussion this week I found worth tackling for Mental Health Month…

How has your religious community historically seen mental illness? 

How does your faith, today, shape the way you see mental illness? 

I’ll look at the first question today, and the second question tomorrow.

I think the perception of mental illness varies widely from denomination to denomination, and even more so between churches within a specific denomination. From where I sit, the attitudes of the senior leadership in any given church greatly influences the experience of families impacted by mental illness in that particular church. When the senior pastor “gets” mental illness or a family involved with leadership is impacted by mental illness, the church culture is more likely to be accepting and supportive.

The two churches I’ve attended as an adult (one Presbyterian, one non-denominational) have been very proactive in providing well trained pastors and professionally trained counselors to help support the needs of individuals and families not just in the church, but in the surrounding community as well. Both operate large and vital respite care programs serving families of kids with disabilities, the majority of whom have mental health diagnoses. The efforts of our home church to support families who adopted children from Eastern Europe with severe emotional and developmental disabilities led to the development of Key Ministry. I served on the Catholic Charities Services Board that oversaw delivery of millions of dollars in mental health services to residents of Northeast Ohio, and my first job out of training was as the medical director of the largest adolescent  residential treatment center in the state of Ohio, also operated by Catholic Charities. I’ve seen the church pool resources to meet very significant needs for kids with mental illnesses and their families.

From where I sit as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, there are two areas in which the church has the greatest potential for growth in ministering to families impacted by mental illness…

First, the church has made MUCH more progress in recognizing the signs of mental illness in adults and providing appropriate support than it has for children or teens. Mental illness in kids often manifests with anger, moodiness, irritability, aggression, defiance, and difficulties with self-regulation of emotion and behavior. It’s much more common in my experience for the signs of mental illness to be dismissed as a parenting problem as opposed to a spiritual problem. There was a family who shared their experience in looking for a church home with two young boys with severe ADHD…the mother summarized their experience with this statement…

“People in the church think they can judge when a disability ends and bad parenting begins.”

Lots of churches in our area have the ability to offer free or low-cost counseling to adults struggling with common conditions including anxiety and depression. In my experience, it is extremely rare for churches to offer resources to help children experiencing symptoms of mental illness, with the exception of respite care available for parents of kids with “special needs.”

Second, the church has missed a tremendous opportunity to reach out to and share the Gospel of Jesus with an enormously underserved people group.

While I can’t cite a specific, well-designed study looking at rates of church attendance and participation among families impacted by mental illness, I’d hypothesize (based on 27 years in the field of psychiatry) that kids and adults with mental illness are significantly less likely to attend weekend worship services or to be actively involved in small groups, Bible studies or serving ministries compared to the general population.

People with mental illness don’t fit neatly and cleanly into our ministry “silos.” Most kids or teens with mental illness would never think of themselves as having “special needs” or as being “disabled”, nor would their parents think of a disability/special needs ministry as having something to offer them. Adults who suffer from Bipolar Disorder, recurrent depression and many types of anxiety often experience extended periods of relatively symptom-free functioning, and are less likely to be defined by their mental illness in comparison to adults with outwardly apparent disabilities or those participating in 12-step programs. Adults and kids who suffer from anxiety often avoid services tailored to meet their needs because their condition often leads them to misinterpret the level of risk in new situations and misperceive the way their acceptance of services offered to them is viewed by others in the immediate environment.

The church has had a hard time understanding how persons with mental illness experience conditions that represent disabilities in some environments, but not others. The environments in which we “do ministry” present major impediments to people with common mental illnesses who may function reasonably well in other life activities. Let me cite an example…

Consider the obstacles your ministry environments would pose to a family in which the mother has moderate to severe symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder (according to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorder in the U.S., affecting 18% of the adult population, or 40 million people)…

• She’s less likely to have friends to invite her (and the family) to church.
• The prospect of going somewhere for the first time where most people are strangers (and some will likely approach her to initiate conversation) may feel overwhelming.
• She’s likely to fear how she’ll be perceived if her child becomes distressed.
• If she becomes confused during her early experiences, she’s likely to have difficulty approaching a volunteer to help.
• She may find the invitation to introduce herself to others during the worship service heightens her experience of anxiety.
• She may struggle with making a follow-up call in response to an announcement in the bulletin to register her child for an activity, or to volunteer to serve in the church.
• The prospect of having to self-disclose in a small group study may lead to avoidance of small groups.

I just started reading Andy Stanley’s new book, Deep and Wide, with the subtitle “Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend.” What if the environments in which we “do church” are distressing to large segments of our population who struggle with common mental illnesses? And what about the family members of a child or adult with a mental illness who miss out on learning about Jesus or growing in faith in Jesus because attending church or belonging to a small group or participating in a service ministry is too overwhelming to their brother or mother? It’s not unreasonable to assume that a significant chunk of people in any given community have some experience of church but don’t regularly attend church because of the subtle, but real ways in which mental illness presents a barrier to the environments in which we do ministry.

To reach people no one else is reaching, the church will need to try stuff no one else is trying. The more church leaders understand about the experience of kids and adults with mental illness, the better equipped the church will be to create ministry environments where all people can come to investigate the claims of Jesus and grow in faith in Him.

***********************************************************************************************************

Key Ministry’s mission is to help churches reach families affected by disability by providing FREE resources to pastors, volunteers, and individuals who wish to create an inclusive ministry environment. We have designed our Key Catalog to create fun opportunities for our ministry supporters to join in our mission through supporting a variety of gift options. Click here to check it out! For a sixty second summary of what Key Ministry does, watch the video below…

Filed under: Advocacy, Anxiety Disorders, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Strategies Tagged: Adrian Warnock, Andy Stanley, children, church, Deep and Wide, Disability Ministry, faith, families, mental illness, ministry environments, Patheos, stigma ]]> http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/contributing-to-a-conversation-about-faith-and-mental-illness/feed/ 2 drgrcevich adrianwarnockheadshot iStock_000019287811XSmall ID-10013676 Handicap-Square-Sign-Symbol.GIF http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/does-your-church-inadvertently-hurt-people-with-mental-illness-guest-blogger-amy-simpson/ http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/does-your-church-inadvertently-hurt-people-with-mental-illness-guest-blogger-amy-simpson/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 21:58:24 +0000 drgrcevich http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/?p=4416 Continue reading →]]> Our entire Key Ministry staff and volunteer team is honored to kick off National Mental Health Month by introducing you to our guest blogger, Amy Simpson. 

Amy is a passionate leader and communicator who loves to encourage Christ’s church and its people to discern and fulfill their calling in this life. A former publishing executive, she now spends part of her professional life working at Christianity Today as Editor of GiftedForLeadership.com and marriage & parenting resources for Today’s Christian Woman. She has published articles in Leadership Journal, Christianity Today, Today’s Christian Woman, Relevant, PRISM Magazine, Her.meneutics, ThinkChristian, Christian Singles, Group Magazine, and several others. I have worked for Tyndale House Publishers, Group Publishing, Standard, Gospel Light, Lifeway, Focus on the Family, and Christianity Today.

Her family’s firsthand experience with mental illness provided the inspiration for her new book, Troubled Minds: Mental Health and the Church’s Mission. She’ll be sharing with our readers twice this week. Here’s her guest post to kick off the month, Does Your Church Inadvertently Hurt People With Mental Illness?

In April, news outlets revealed a disturbing practice that’s apparently common in Nevada’s State mental health system, and particularly in its largest psychiatric hospital, Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas.

The hospital, coverage revealed, regularly places people with mental illness on Greyhound buses and sends them to other states. In 2012, Rawson-Neal sent nearly 400 patients to 176 cities and 45 states around the country.

The state claims it’s merely helping people find their way back home, but specific cases show this is not always true. Nevada also claims the state is sending people off with adequate provisions, but again, documented cases call that claim into question.

Is Your Church Like Vegas?

Like Nevada, and all the states those Greyhound busses are bound for, churches are full of people who struggle with mental illness. Each year, 26.2 percent of the American adult population suffers from a diagnosable mental illness. At the same time, an estimated 20 percent of children in the United States are at least mildly impaired by some type of diagnosable mental illness. And about 5 to 9 percent of children ages 9 to 17 have a “serious emotional disturbance.” That translates to millions of individuals and families directly affected by mental illness. Many more are affected by the symptoms of friends, classmates, co-workers, and the people who sit next to them on Sunday morning.

The church is the first place many people go when they’re looking for help of all kinds, including treatment for mental illness. Among people who have sought treatment, 25 percent have gone first to a member of the clergy. This is a higher percentage than those who have gone to psychiatrists, general medical doctors, or anyone else. Unfortunately, many church leaders are ill-equipped to help people get the care they need. And while 25 percent of those who seek help from clergy have the most serious forms of mental illness, studies have shown that clergy refer less than 10 percent of them to mental-health professionals. On top of that, for every person who seeks help, many more stay silent, afraid to admit their illnesses to themselves or to risk the rejection of the people around them.

With so many opportunities to help people in need, how many churches respond as the state of Nevada does?

Some churches actually intentionally reject people with mental illness. In their theological framework, mental illness has no place among God’s people. Those who manifest symptoms are assumed to be demon-possessed, willfully attached to some egregious sin, or lacking the faith they need to claim God’s healing. When they don’t get better by simply praying or exercising more faith, they are considered at fault and not welcome within the fellowship. Such churches misunderstand the true nature of mental illness and need to revisit their theology of illness and suffering of all kinds. Until they do, they are not safe places for people with mental illness or their families and are best avoided.

But most churches do not hold to the kind of theology that overtly blames, rejects, and casts out people whose brains have shown themselves particularly vulnerable to the forces of disease and decay that haunt us all in various ways. Even so, many inadvertently communicate rejection through their policies or culture.

Here are three ways many churches are emulating Nevada, along with some key questions for church leaders.

Uniquely Attractive—and Responsible

As news coverage has pointed out, the city of Las Vegas makes Nevada a unique state: “The city’s entertainment and casino culture draws people from all over the world…including the mentally ill.” The trappings of Vegas may be more likely to attract people with mood disorders, schizophrenia­, and other conditions—and the same may be said for churches. Spiritual experiences, promises of peace and joy, opportunities for community and for communion with God…these elements of church life are understandably attractive to many people with mental illness. Churches have a special responsibility to recognize this and respond intentionally.

-      ­Do you make people with mental disorders feel unwelcome? ignore them and focus on the more attractive new people who walk through your doors, hoping they’ll go away and other churches will meet their needs?

-      In sermons, Bible studies, and classes, do you send the false message that Christians should not expect trouble, pain, or sickness? that happy, comfortable, and “victorious” life is the norm?

-      When was the last time mental illness was mentioned in a sermon, in a way that normalized it?

-      Does your community expect people to have it all together when they walk through the doors?

-      Do you expect people to be “cured” before finding a place to serve?

None of us will ever be whole this side of heaven—and many people with mental illness suffer from chronic and repetitive symptoms that can be managed but not technically cured. These conditions do not cancel God’s purposes for them. They do not disqualify people from a place in the body of Christ. Just as much as other ill or injured people, they deserve loving acceptance, clear and consistent boundaries, and grace.

Next Sunday…Amy will be guest blogging again-her topic: A Call to the Church.

***********************************************************************************************************

Mental illness is the sort of thing we don’t like to talk about. It doesn’t reduce nicely to simple solutions and happy outcomes. So instead, too often we reduce people who are mentally ill to caricatures and ghosts, and simply pretend they don’t exist. They do exist, however—statistics suggest that one in four people suffer from some kind of mental illness. And then there’s their friends and family members, who bear their own scars and anxious thoughts, and who see no safe place to talk about the impact of mental illness on their lives and their loved ones. Many of these people are sitting in churches week after week, suffering in stigmatized silence. In Troubled Minds Amy Simpson, whose family knows the trauma and bewilderment of mental illness, reminds us that people with mental illness are our neighbors and our brothers and sisters in Christ, and she shows us the path to loving them well and becoming a church that loves God with whole hearts and whole souls, with the strength we have and with minds that are whole as well as minds that are troubled. Available at Amazon and Christianbook.com.

FREE GIVEAWAY! Every person who becomes a NEW e-mail subscriber to Church4EveryChild between now and May 13th is automatically entered in a drawing for a free copy of Amy’s new book, Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission. Enter your e-mail in the sidebar to your right and you’re automatically registered.

We’ll be kicking off the month with one of two guest blog posts from Amy Simpson. Amy is an extraordinarily gifted and passionate writer and leader in the church who experienced firsthand the impact of mental illness as the daughter of a mother with schizophrenia. Amy writes for Christianity Today  and is the author of the recently released book, Troubled Minds: Mental Health and the Church’s Mission. Tomorrow, Amy will be guest-blogging on the topic: Does Your Church Inadvertently Hurt People With Mental Illness? On Mothers’ Day, Amy will blog on the topic A Call to the Church.

Check out the video introducing Amy and her family’s story below…you’ll get to meet her and learn more about her new book tomorrow.

I’ll be doing a short series next week in honor of Children’s Mental Health Week examining the obstacles to fixing our country’s broken system of providing care for kids and teens with mental illness and their families and exploring ways in which the church might play a redemptive role in supporting families in need of care. Later in the month (or whenever it becomes available), we’ll be launching a series based upon the publication of the DSM-5, the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. We’ll look at some of the changes in diagnostic criteria likely to impact the care of children and teens, and help parents, church staff and volunteers to become more adept at recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental illness in kids.

Make a point of checking out and sharing Amy’s guest post tomorrow as we kick off our features for Mental Health Month.

***********************************************************************************************************

Our Key Ministry website is a resource through which church staff, volunteers, family members and caregivers can register for upcoming training events, request access to our library of downloadable ministry resources, contact our staff with training or consultation requests, access the content of any or all of our three official ministry blogs, or contribute their time, talent and treasure to the expansion of God’s Kingdom through the work of Key Ministry. Check it out today!

Every once in a while, I get an invitation to teach for a local pastor during Sunday morning services. I’ll be filling in this Sunday at Martindale Christian Fellowship Church in Canton, OH.

I finished the rough draft of the message yesterday afternoon. I’ve probably spent around 25 hours reading, studying, and preparing for Sunday’s teaching. From the guys I know who serve as teaching pastors, I guess that’s pretty typical. I wanted to make sure I got the bulk of the preparation done well in advance of Sunday, because emergencies tend to happen (especially this time of year) in my specialty and I wanted to be prepared. But my pastor friends deal with emergencies at least as much, if not more than I do.

I probably did more public lectures and presentations last decade than any other doc in my specialty. But I’d often give the same (or a very similar presentation) multiple times, and in a year in which I’d give 200 talks, I’d probably cover 10-15 topics. Pastors have to generate original content every week, and may get the opportunity to publicly rehearse their material two or three times tops before they’re on to the next topic. As an experienced speaker, getting up in church to teach on Sunday morning is harder than anything I’ve had to do in the medical field.

That’s why every mature Christian should have to preach at least once. We’d all have a far greater appreciation for the dedication and commitment required of the folks who put their heads and hearts into sharing with us from God’s Word every week. Make a point of telling your pastor how much you appreciate their dedication and commitment. Take them out to breakfast or lunch or get them a gift card to download more books or resources. Commit to praying for them on a regular basis. And don’t forget to acknowledge the children’s pastor or youth pastor who takes the time to teach your kids with less notice or recognition.

In the coming weeks, we’re likely to have more discussion of the “how” of developing synergy between diverse ministry organizations. For now, I’ve been giving some thought to what Key Ministry can do to serve our colleagues in ministry in maintaining the energy resulting from the sense that God’s up to something really big. In the same way that we’ve been guided by a set of “Key Strategies” throughout our ten plus years of ministry, leaders in the disability ministry movement might identify and agree upon some common strategies for advancing larger Kingdom goals beyond the scope of the supports and services provided by our individual ministries. I’ll share some ideas about strategies we can all begin to pursue where we’re positioned right now…this is intended to be a starting point to spark discussion, and I’m posting the link to this post on the Special Needs and Disability Ministry Facebook Forum (“friend” me and send me a message if you’re not part of that group and would like to be invited) to encourage other ministry leaders to add their ideas and feedback.

Strategies for advancing the “Movement” among churches to become more effective at including persons with disabilities and their families…First Draft

Leaders and organizations seeking to honor God through ministry to families impacted by disability seek to…

• Be intentional in identifying and pursuing opportunities to collaborate with other like-minded leaders and organizations. Jesus meant for His followers to work together.

• Model a spirit of generosity in sharing ministry resources with other leaders and organizations. We don’t need to expend precious time, talent and resources reinventing the wheel when excellent ministry resources already exist.

• Welcome and include new leaders and ministries to the movement when there’s evidence the Holy Spirit is present in their work. Everyone gets to play!

• Use the communications tools available to our respective organizations to enhance the visibility of resources developed by other like-minded ministries.

• Commit to an “abundance mentality”…the success of one leader or ministry does not take away from other organizations. To paraphrase my teammate (Harmony Hensley)…We can compete with one another when every person in every family impacted by disability has come to know Jesus and is actively using their gifts and talents in a local church. Until then, there’s plenty of work for everyone to do.

• Agree to be “Kingdom builders”…as opposed to builders of individual kingdoms. It’s nice to be recognized as a leader in the church. Individual and organizational agendas need to work in support of God’s larger agenda.

• Identify and mentor the next generation of disability ministry leaders. The disciples were constantly working alongside and mentoring the leaders who would succeed them.

• Demonstrate a willingness to be accountable to one another and to hold one another accountable in accordance with principles outlined in Scripture.

• Establish the habit of offering prayer and encouragement for our like-minded colleagues in ministry. Disability ministry is hard work. When we serve the Kingdom in meaningful ways, we will invariably face adversity. We need one another.

What strategies should be added to the list? What should we take away? What’s stopping us from doing all of these things now?

I wasn’t familiar with Emily Colson or the story of her son (Max) prior to the Summit outside of an awareness that she had written a very popular book with her father about their family’s experience with autism. Max has a remarkable capacity for bringing joy to the people who surround him, but Emily also has a remarkable capacity to view Max from the perspective of his giftedness and is clearly his biggest fan. Emily has a great passion for young adults with autism and is likely to do marvelous things to ensure that the kids of this generation with autism will be loved, cared for and appropriately supported as adults. Here’s a brief interview introducing Emily and Max…

A couple of years ago, I shared a review of Barb Newman’s book Autism and Your Church, but I’d never actually met Barb or heard her speak until this past weekend. She’s good. Very good. I didn’t fully appreciate the depth of her training and experience, or the extent of her involvement in helping Christian schools successfully integrate kids who would qualify for special education services in the public schools. While beyond the scope of our mission through Key Ministry, I’d want our team to support Barb as she helps tear down the barriers that exist for families of kids with learning differences who long for their children to receive a faith-based education in a Christian school. As someone closer to the end of my career than the beginning, I appreciate the difference that results because Barb brings a lifetime of experience to her work. I invite you to learn more about Barb and her crew at CLC Networks.

Amy Kendall (pictured with Katie Wetherbee) currently serves as Disability Ministry Coordinator at Saddleback Church and is one of the very few people I’ve encountered in this field of ministry with a graduate degree in the mental health field (Marriage, Family and Child Counseling). I’m excited by the potential for Saddleback to do great things in taking the lead on helping the church to more effectively minister to families impacted by mental illness. Amy’s uniquely positioned to be a fabulous resource to Saddleback as they move forward.

Finally, Matt Mooney wasn’t a presenter at this year’s Summit, but I strongly suspect he will be in the future. Matt is the founder of 99 Balloons, a great young organization helping others to engage persons with special needs locally through their rEcess respite care initiative, and globally, through a series of initiatives to improve the lives of kids with disabilities. Matt has a huge vision for how the church can demonstrate the love of Christ through serving persons with special needs, mobilizing the followers of Christ through effective use of storytelling and social media. He has a gift for telling stories. If fact, it’s more likely that you’re familiar with Eliot (Matt’s son) than you are with Matt and his work…

Finally, I have to admit I’m pretty proud of our crew. Most organizations are fortunate to have one communicator who can teach with excellence…everyone on our team has both the presentation skills and the depth of experience to represent us well. They also have lots of fun when they get together with others who share their passion for wanting all kids and families to get to know Jesus. God was honored and a good time was had by all.

Block out April 4-5, 2014 on your schedule…you’ll have a worthwhile experience at the 2014 Accessibility Summit!

***********************************************************************************************************

Our Key Ministry website is a resource through which church staff, volunteers, family members and caregivers can register for upcoming training events, request access to our library of downloadable ministry resources, contact our staff with training or consultation requests, access the content of any or all of our three official ministry blogs, or contribute their time, talent and treasure to the expansion of God’s Kingdom through the work of Key Ministry. Check it out today!

In celebration of Autism Awareness Month, we plan to introduce our readers to several fathers of children with autism who were led to serve families impacted by disabilities because of their experiences. This past Sunday, we introduced you to Joe Butler of Ability Tree. Today, we’re pleased to introduce you to Dave Lynden of Fellowship Bible Church in our hometown of Chagrin Falls, OH.

Dave is a graduate of the University of Akron and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. While serving as an associate pastor at a large church in Dayton, OH, Dave was instrumental in launching a respite care initiative for families of kids with special needs. Dave and his wife (Desiree) experienced the need firsthand… their middle child (Micah) is diagnosed with autism. Shortly after Dave assumed his current role as Senior Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in the Spring of 2009, he launched “Breathe”…the largest, free, church-based respite ministry in Northeast Ohio. Here’s Dave’s guest post… Remembering How the Story Began.

I love going back to the beginning of the story of the Bible.  It is kind of like watching the first part of a movie when all is good; there is peace, wholeness (what the Bible calls “shalom”) before the crisis shatters the characters and the calm into pieces.  Sometimes, I am tempted to watch the movie up to that point and then turn it off and re-write the story in my own imagination so that the shalom remains undisturbed.  I am also tempted to read Genesis 1:1-2:25 and stop there.  Here was a place of extreme beauty, extreme shalom; a time and a place where there was no pain, no troubles, no autism or abuse or depression or loss.  It was a place of joy; of quiet, flawless communion.  I wonder if we might even say that it was a place of play.  I do not think that the word “play” is too strange or crass.  I think that God actually “played” in His own creation.  The language in Job almost pictures a God who not only creates, but engages in and with His creation; plays in it!!  The lightning bolts announce to Him where they are (Job 38:35).  God wades through the oceans (Job 38:16) like a schoolboy might puddle-jump in his rubber boots while the stars sing at the sunrise of a new day (Job 38:7).  We find God almost playfully engaging wild donkeys and oxen and horses (Job 39:5-25), rejoicing in the majestic soaring of a hawk (Job 39:26).  Cornelius Plantinga writes,

“God loves creation.  God celebrates creation. God even plays with His creation.”^[1]

Both Plantinga and Eugene Peterson reference a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins which speaks to the same thought of God playing and resting in His magnificent creation!

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;

As tumbled over rim in roundy wells

Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s

Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:

Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;

Selves- goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,

Crying “What I do is me; for that I came.”

I say more: the just man justices:

Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;

Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is-

Christ- for Christ plays in ten thousand places,

Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his

To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

“Christ plays in ten thousand places”.  That line ended up being the title of Peterson’s book on spirituality and the Bible’s overarching story.  And in this place of play, God designated a sacred space to meet and play with the pinnacle of His creation-humans; a place that was unique and special and filled with shalom; a place where humans had no doubts about God’s intentions and goodness; a place where they could talk with God and He could reply in unmistakable clarity.  There was never a thought that we were talking to ourselves when we prayed, pretending it was God when it was just wishful thinking.  No one needed to make up encounters with God or create clichés or settle for routines of prayer, Bible study and church attendance.

That is where I am tempted to stop the story.  But, the story doesn’t stop there.  There was an act that we cannot get much more than a wisp of understanding…but right to the point, humans rebelled.  We ate from the tree of “I want to be my own boss” (that is the meaning of the Hebrew idiom- “knowing good and evil”) and shalom was shattered.  We lost so much.  We destroyed so much.  Our ignorance concerning the devastation that sin and willfulness created is almost as tragic as the devastation itself.

What did we lose?  I got another glimpse of a world that once was (and what happened) through our autism support group.  Many of the parents we know who have a child with autism can tell you of a time when their child was around 18-24 months old, developing nicely…and then they regressed into this little inner-world that struggles to let anyone in.  The language stops.  The understanding stops.  The eye contact stops.  Listening to these parents, it is like something leaked out of their child never to come back again.  I wonder if that is how God felt that one particular day He came to the garden to play in His creation in that special place with human beings, only to find that something had leaked out of His children.  They don’t want to speak to Him.  They don’t want to make eye contact with Him.  It’s like they lost the ability to play.  Of course, this was not some innocent tragedy.  The original humans had betrayed God and something happened to them that created instant isolation and alienation.  We tend to read the story of what theologians call “the fall” (i.e. “the fall from God’s grace”) as though it were a simple mistake.  It was just fruit, after all.  Why should God be so upset?  The truth is, the fruit represented something.  It represented a loyalty to God; to trust Him to be God and to honor the way in which He ordered His world by obeying Him.  To eat the fruit of “I want to be my own boss” meant that God could not be trusted, that He wasn’t good, that they (we) could run this universe better than Him.  It was a claim to His position as king.  It was a revolt.  It was a denouncement of His friendship.  So they had to leave, we had to leave.  I wonder sometimes how grieved God must have been as He watched these two “playmates” walk silently out of their sacred space, heads hung low in shame and loss.

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there either!!  By the time we get to the end of the story (Revelation 22), the “sacred space”, the garden is restored (and then some)!  I wonder if God imagines how “play-time” in His new creation will be once His old friends have experienced redemption and restoration and returned to Him.  I wonder if He longs for the laughter and the knowing and the eye contact to be back in full, unhindered swing.  But, we are getting ahead of ourselves.  We’re still in the part of the story that precedes all of that.  We are at the beginning, right after the crisis has shattered the characters and the calm.  While we are presently on the other side of the cross of Christ where our rebellion was paid for and the empty tomb where Jesus conquered death; where when God’s people, when worshipfully surrendered to Jesus begin to see “hell break apart under our feet”^[2], as Gary Thomas so strikingly puts it, we are not yet to the place where Jesus has completed the work of making all things new again.  We are still remembering snippets and longing for more of God and more of His world that once was and will be again.  I get a God’s-eye view of all of this as a father to Micah, whose autism seemingly slipped in like a thief in the night and leaked out of him something precious and irreplaceable.  Trying to connect with Micah must be, in some small way, how God is trying to reconnect with us as we avert eye contact and struggle to communicate due to our own “spiritual autism”.

On the Labor Day weekend of 2010, I found myself- yet again- living the story of the Scriptures while on a trampoline with my beautiful little boy who was soaking in the unadulterated one-on-one time he had with his dad.  Indeed, I found myself encountering God; looking through His eyes at His partially restored creation awaiting its full restoration.  Here we were- Micah and me- in our “sacred space”, our “garden”, resting, bouncing, playing.  There is just something about bouncing that helps calibrate his little mind.  He thinks better.  He communes better.  During our “plop-down” times, he will look at me directly in the eyes and smile and tell me he’s “happy” (a pronouncement that I had to call Des about because it is that rare).  He asks for tickles and kisses.  It’s in these small moments, that I wonder if we will get to relive this moment again one day when we have both passed from this world and into God’s new garden.  I wonder if we will bounce and play in our trampoline.  What will Micah express to me in complete sentences with inflection and unhindered mind in our sacred space now renewed?  What will our relationship be like when whatever leaked out is put back in?  It is something I can barely even dream of, though I pray for those dreams to come at night.

This was a window of clarity for me; a moment of revelation in which God gave me a glimpse of a world that once was, a world I could barely imagine.  There were no voices, no visions; just a snapshot of a sacred moment with my son.  But, it was also an unmistakable encounter with God.  It is small moments and little wonders like this where I realize how much we’ve truly lost, how badly we’ve screwed things up in this world, and yet, how much God must truly love us; how much He is looking forward to the time when all things are re-born and His creation is making eye contact again; how much He is truly invested in making all things new, re-forging shalom and…playing again.

Here’s a wonderful interview with Rhonda Martin and Katie Wetherbee conducted for Inclusion Fusion  2011 on the topic of nurturing spiritual growth in kids with anxiety…

***********************************************************************************************************

Our Key Ministry website is a resource through which church staff, volunteers, family members and caregivers can register for upcoming training events, request access to our library of downloadable ministry resources, contact our staff with training or consultation requests, access the content of any or all of our three official ministry blogs, or contribute their time, talent and treasure to the expansion of God’s Kingdom through the work of Key Ministry. Check it out today!

Filed under: Anxiety Disorders, Key Ministry, Training Events Tagged: Accessibility Summit, anxiety, children, Katie Wetherbee, Rhonda Martin, spiritual development, Stephen Grcevich MD, teens ]]> http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/todays-presentation-supporting-kids-and-teens-who-struggle-with-anxiety/feed/ 2 drgrcevich Accessibility Summit 2013 Key Ministry http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/joe-butler-life-with-micah-part-two-ability-tree-becomes-a-reality/ http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/joe-butler-life-with-micah-part-two-ability-tree-becomes-a-reality/#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:58:09 +0000 drgrcevich http://drgrcevich.wordpress.com/?p=4372 Continue reading →]]> This past Sunday, we introduced you to Joe Butler of Ability Tree. Joe is the father of a child with autism who is being used by God to serve other families impacted by disabilities. We’re sharing Part Two of the Butler’s story today.

Joe is an Assemblies of God U.S. missionary to persons with disabilities and their families. Joe and his wife, Jennifer, founded Ability Tree as a religious nonprofit corporation in June of 2010. Joe holds a B.A. in Bible from Valley Forge Christian College and is graduating in May from California Baptist University with an M.A. in Disability Studies, with a concentration in Disability Ministry. Joe and Jen live in Northwest Arkansas with their three children, Hannah, Micah, and Clara. 

Here’s Part Two of the Butler’s story…

Through our ministry experience as interim youth pastors in 1999 to full-time vocational pastors, starting in 2004 and continuing today, my wife Jen and I noticed that families of children with disabilities were a missing piece in the body of Christ in the majority of churches across the country. In order to connect with these families we had to go where they were, in the community, not the church. With the hope of building a support network for these families, which includes connecting them to a local, accessible church.

After much prayer and confirmation, both Jen and I sensed that it was our life mission to reach out to other families like our own.  In August of 2008, we took a step of faith to come alongside these families through mission work in the United States. We started traveling around the country, sharing a message of inclusion with the church, helping churches to become more accessible in their place (facility), people, and programs.

In October of 2009, at a special needs conference in Wisconsin, my wife and I sat next to a pastor and his wife from Northwest Arkansas. We soon found out that we both had children with special needs. After sharing our stories with one another, he invited our family to come to his church to share our mission. We flew out and spoke the weekend before Thanksgiving. That morning, I shared something I had never shared before, a dream of launching a special needs outreach center in Northwest Arkansas that would reach out to families impacted by disability around the country. Shortly after we arrived back home, I shared the idea with my pastor in New Jersey and with some other close friends of mine. The next day, the pastor from Arkansas called, and I shared with him that I think God is directing us to move down to Arkansas. Ironically, he called to tell me the same exact thing! Nine months later, we were living in Northwest Arkansas and the dream of a special needs outreach center was a reality.

In June of 2010 we founded Ability Tree as a religious nonprofit corporation in the state of Arkansas. The mission of Ability Tree is to reach out to families impacted by disability through recreation, education, support, and training (R.E.S.T.), we aim to partner with individuals and organizations to raise awareness and build support networks to strengthen and grow able families. We envision individuals and families, living with special needs, being accepted and supported in their local community, enjoying healthy relationships in their schools, workplaces, and churches.

One of the first individuals we met in Northwest Arkansas, was Josh Allen, of Allens Inc. Less than a year after we moved to NWA, Allens gave us a space, in downtown Siloam Springs, for the first Ability Tree Center which would be a place of R.E.S.T. for families impacted by special needs as well as a place where volunteers could learn how to interact with children with disabilities and their families through a variety of programming. School-aged children with special needs and their siblings can enjoy after school, art, and recreation programs, while parents and can receive support and resources to help strengthen their family. Businesses and organizations, like the church, can also receive special needs consulting and gain access to a library of resources.

In New Jersey, we operate a 5-day, overnight Summer Camp, called the Ability Camp, as well as a 2-week Summer Day Camp, free family-friendly community events, and weekend respite programs for children with special needs and their siblings. Currently we have offices and programming in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and New Jersey with the long term goal of having Ability Tree Centers in Main Street U.S.A. towns across the country.

The vision of Ability Tree is big. It’s my life mission, and will take at least a  lifetime to see fulfilled. We have already seen glimpses of the vision God placed in our hearts. Listen to what one of our volunteer families wrote recently…

Ability Tree is a place where my family and I have felt like we can make a difference for the individuals and families affected by disabilities. It occurred to me one day what a gift and responsibility this is for us all, not just for these specific families. Ability Tree strives to provide and strengthen community for these individuals and families, so Ability Tree is trying to reach us all.

The mom of one of our families of a child with special needs recently shared…

They [Ability Tree] have become very special to our family as we are impacted by special needs! The services, comfort, and happiness they provide to children are beyond words! My child finally has a place to go where he is not the child everyone pics on. He is accepted and that means the world to me. They have introduced us to other parents and provide a MUCH needed support group in our area! The Christian based foundation is truly a gift from GOD along with all of the amazing volunteers that give of their time.

The satisfaction of knowing God is working through Ability Tree is amazing to me!  It wasn’t long ago that I was asking God, “Why did you allow this to happen to my son”? My perspective on life has changed over the past 12 years, I would say I see more clearly what really matters and where real value lies. I thank God for Micah and who He created him to be! Being around other individuals and families living with special needs everyday, reminds me to live in the now, and not get caught up in the worries and cares of this world. I am thankful for that.

This past December, Micah turned 12. He is walking, talking in complete sentences, and becoming more independent each day. He’s also pestering his sisters like any good brother would do. Most importantly, he absolutely loves God, life and people. Micah is the heartbeat of Ability Tree. We are currently in a capital campaign called Project Grow to finish phase two of the Siloam Springs Ability Tree Center, which will turn an old theatre into a Recreation Center complete with indoor basketball court, soccer and whiffle ball fields. Please pray that God will provide the needed funds to carry out this part of the vision. I would love for you to follow our story, and to learn about your story. You can find us on the web at abilitytree.org, and on social media at facebook.com/abilitytreeinc and on Twitter at @abilitytree.

On a mission,

Joe

***********************************************************************************************************

Ability Tree reaches out to families impacted by disability through recreation, education, support and training (R.E.S.T.). We aim to partner with individuals and organizations to raise awareness and build support networks to strengthen and grow able families.

The Ability Camp allows people with intellectual and/or physical disabilities to take part in various camp-style activities that they may not be able to participate in otherwise, and gives caregivers a 5-day respite. Watch this video to see what the Ability Camp is all about.

Joe is an Assemblies of God U.S. missionary to persons with disabilities and their families. Joe and his wife, Jennifer, founded Ability Tree as a religious nonprofit corporation in June of 2010. Joe holds a B.A. in Bible from Valley Forge Christian College and is graduating in May from California Baptist University with an M.A. in Disability Studies, with a concentration in Disability Ministry. Joe and Jen live in Northwest Arkansas with their three children, Hannah, Micah, and Clara. Here’s Part One of his family’s story. We’ll share Part Two this coming Tuesday.

December 29th, 2000, was the day Micah was born, and the day that forever changed the direction of our lives. Two days earlier, we had just sold our house in New Jersey and moved onto a Christian college campus in eastern Pennsylvania to pursue my degree in pastoral ministry. I wasn’t sure what the future held, but I was sure we were heading in the right direction.

I started taking classes full-time and working two part-time jobs during the semester and full-time during the Summer. My wife, Jen, had the full-time job of caring for our two year old daughter Hannah, and a newborn. From day one, Micah had a difficult time eating and sleeping. At his three month old check-up, we were already asking questions about his behavior and development. At nine months old, Micah was diagnosed with developmental delays. Which basically meant that he wasn’t achieving typical developmental milestones for his age.

In the Fall of 2001, Micah started receiving early intervention. Physical, occupational, and speech therapists frequented the college campus three days a week while the other days were filled with trips to Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania for additional therapies and check-ups. We were doing everything we could do for Micah. Oftentimes, as parents, we felt overwhelmed and out of control. During those times we just did what comes naturally as parents, we continued to love and get to know our child.

Wednesday, May 7th, 2003, is a day, as a dad, I’ll never forget. We went to our church’s midweek service that night. After service, Jen picked up Micah from the nursery and brought him to me. I sat him on my lap, facing me, while I was finishing up a conversation. I felt him leaning back and I said, “Micah, sit up.” As I looked at him and said it again, I noticed that his eyes were starting to roll back in his head and he was starting to shake. Within minutes he was convulsing uncontrollably. I remember carrying him to the foyer of the church and calling for help. Two nurses, who attended our church, were there that night and cared for Micah while we waited for the paramedics to arrive. They took Micah by ambulance to the nearest hospital where they sedated him some 45 minutes later to stop the seizure. Once he was sedated they transferred him to a children’s hospital for further tests and scans.

Jen went with Micah in the ambulance on the initial trip as well as during the transfer. I had to follow in our vehicle. The hospital’s policy was that only one parent could stay overnight in the room. Jen stayed and I went back to our college apartment. I still have the picture of my son in my mind from that night right before I left. He was out cold in a hospital crib with tubes and monitors connected all over his little two year old body. If I could have taken his place, I would have.

Our oldest daughter Hannah, who was five at the time, and witnessed Micah’s seizure, spent the night at a friend’s house that night to keep her mind off of the situation. I went back to our college apartment and fell onto our bed. I remember crying out, “Why is this happening?” That night as I stared up at the ceiling, God reminded me that children are a gift from Him, and that He knew Micah before He formed him in Jen’s womb. He assured me in my spirit that He had a plan for Micah’s life and that He was in control.

I think God was preparing me for the report I was about to hear from the doctors. The neurologists said there were “abnormalities” in Micah’s brain, “that his white and grey matter were thinning.” Bottom line, they weren’t sure if Micah would walk, talk in complete sentences, or be independent someday. Don’t get me wrong, I was thankful for the diligence and care that the doctors gave Micah, but there just wasn’t much hope in their message. He was diagnosed with having cerebral palsy (and later with autism), a result, most likely, of a lack of oxygen during the first trimester of Jen’s pregnancy. Reality began to set in. This was more than a developmental delay.

On Tuesday, July 1, 2003, our third child Clara was born, six weeks early. Jen had a gallbladder attack, the previous Sunday morning and was rushed to the hospital. Clara spent nine days in the neonatology intensive care unit (NICU) before coming home. Micah loved his new little sister and she became a motivator for him. He didn’t want her to surpass him in any milestones. Micah continued to work hard, through a variety of therapies, to accomplish what most children learn naturally, like walking, talking, and fine motor skills.

I graduated in May of 2004, and took a full-time associate pastor position in southern New Jersey. It was there that Micah learned to walk independently at the age of four. The size of the church was fairly large and there were several other families with children with special needs. Because of my role as associate pastor and because my wife and I were the parents of a child with special needs, other families looked to us for counsel and direction.

We pastored at two churches over the next four years. During that time we connected with more families of children with special needs and helped include them into the life of the church. The more we learned about special needs ministry, the more we learned that the majority of churches weren’t equipped to include families with special needs. Both Jen and I sensed that it was our life mission to reach out to other families like our own.

Fast forward to the present day. Hannah is 14, Micah is 12, and Clara is 9. Life with Micah has taught our family very valuable lessons-to enjoy the everyday moments and happenings in life. Don’t take anything for granted. Notice the delivery trucks on your way to work and say hello to the greeter at Walmart. Get excited when you see a dog or cat and even more excited when you see a family member. Say, “I love you” several times a day. Don’t be afraid to cry, or make a mistake, or say, “you’re sorry.” Live life to the fullest.

To be continued… On Tuesday, Joe will share the the story of what his family is doing through a nonprofit organization they founded several years ago. 

***********************************************************************************************************

Ability Tree reaches out to families impacted by disability through recreation, education, support and training (R.E.S.T.). We aim to partner with individuals and organizations to raise awareness and build support networks to strengthen and grow able families.

The Ability Camp allows people with intellectual and/or physical disabilities to take part in various camp-style activities that they may not be able to participate in otherwise, and gives caregivers a 5-day respite. Watch this video to see what the Ability Camp is all about.

Your child is not defined by their diagnosis. They’re the same kid they were when they got up this morning, with the same strengths, weaknesses, gifts and talents. As Christians, we’re defined by who we are in Christ. Your child’s diagnosis is not their identity.

As a clinician, a diagnosis is a mental model we use as a framework for organizing our observations about a child we’re treating…a tool to help us consider what we might be able to do to help. Sometimes the label helps us to qualify a child for educational or rehabilitative services, or predict responses to specific treatment options. One of the comments I share with residents and fellows who come through our practice pertaining to diagnosis is…“I don’t care what you call it as long as you know what to do about it.” What matters is that the people caring for your child understand them and meet their needs.

You also need to keep in mind that psychiatric diagnoses are very subjective and open to interpretation…I was at a remarkable lecture last night with a clinician who will be training psychiatrists, psychologists and counselors to use the DSM-5 when it comes out in a couple of months. Statistically speaking, two psychiatrists evaluating the same patient are FAR more likely to disagree than agree on the patient’s diagnosis. Your child’s diagnosis is not necessarily carved in stone.

I understand that it can be very hard as a parent to have a concrete reminder on a piece of paper that your child is “different.” I get that the mention of Asperger’s churns up all the fears you experienced when your child was 2 1/2 and you first suspected that their social development wasn’t progressing as expected. But the help recommended for your child certainly seems appropriate…they could certainly benefit from developing a more positive (and realistic) self-image and from learning tools and skills to help them to manage their emotions more effectively.

Most importantly, there are no accidents. God had a plan for your child’s life this morning, and I don’t think God’s plans for your child are contingent upon whether or not the psychologist thinks they meet the criteria for Asperger’s. God probably has a plan to use you and your experiences to help other parents and families going through similar experiences. For as much as we love our kids, God loves them infinitely more. God has a plan for them…and His plan isn’t going to be thwarted by a diagnosis.

***********************************************************************************************************

Our Key Ministry website is a resource through which church staff, volunteers, family members and caregivers can register for upcoming training events, request access to our library of downloadable ministry resources, contact our staff with training or consultation requests, access the content of any or all of our three official ministry blogs, or contribute their time, talent and treasure to the expansion of God’s Kingdom through the work of Key Ministry. Check it out today!