Ep. 147 || How Can I Help?: Loving the Friend Who Has a Child With Special Needs

InterviewsDisabilityMentor Mom WisdomChristian Growth

Dec 4

Have you ever frozen as your child loudly asks why another child is in a wheelchair? Wondered how to check in with your friend after her child receives a difficult diagnosis? Felt unsure of how to encourage a mom who feels their child’s needs might be “too much” for the church to handle? In this special round table, Emily and Laura are joined by Abigail Dodds and Katie Blackburn to discuss what it’s like to raise a child with special needs and how others can show support. Whether you’re impacted directly or indirectly by the joys and challenges of this reality, we hope this show encourages and equips you to love moms who have children with special needs.

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If you’re reading Risen Motherhood while listening to the show this week, check out chapter 16: The Gospel and Our Children with Differences.

Abigail Dodds is a wife, mother of five, and a graduate student at Bethlehem College & Seminary. She's a regular contributor at Desiring God and the author of (A)Typical Woman: Free, Whole, and Called in Christ (2019). You can find her on social media and her blog.

Katie Blackburn is a mom of five who teaches and writes about the gospel, special needs, foster care, and whatever else the Lord is teaching her about his goodness. She’s been featured on many sites, but her home base is just justenoughbrave.com. You can also find her on Instagram.

Mentioned on the Show:

God’s Very Good Idea, Trillia Newbell
Picture Exchange Communication System (mentioned by Katie)

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R|M Apply Questions:

It can be difficult to know how to best help or check-in with a friend whose child has special needs. Do you ever hesitate to say something?Why is it important to “press in” and “love your neighbor?”
The roundtable offered a lot of practical ways to come alongside a family with special needs. If you regularly interact with or know a family who has a child with special needs, what is one thing you can do this week to encourage them?
The reality is we may misspeak or misstep when trying to love families with special needs. How does humility free us to try again?
How can you proactively teach your children about different disabilities and types of adaptive equipment? What age-appropriate ways can they begin serving their peers with special needs?
Think about imago Dei; that we’re all made in the image of God. How can you explain that to your kiddos? And how does it shape the way your family sees, interacts with, and loves those with special needs?

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