Often one of the first forms of mainstream entertainment that children get to experience is the wide range of Disney Pixar movies. These much loved and well know films are popular viewing for children of all ages and many of us enjoy them into adulthood and look forward to watching them with our own children and grandchildren. But do these movies help our children to develop a balanced and inclusive view of disability, or can they instead teach children that there is something ‘wrong’ with disabled people, including their disabled peers. While there are many great positive and affirming exampl ..read more

I thought it might be helpful to provide a ‘kit list’ of items that can be helpful in supporting children and young people with a range of additional needs. If you are looking for something specific, and can’t find it, email me at markjarnold@gmail.com and I’ll see what I can do! Mark’s Additional Needs Kit List: Start by asking… While the items in my kit list will be generally helpful in supporting children and young people with a range of additional needs, and indeed sometimes in children’s and youth work generally, we must always remember the importance of asking children and young p ..read more

An Accessible Journey With Jesus To Easter Episode 3 – Easter Sunday! Outline: An accessible video and text bible study series journeying with Jesus on the road to Easter. Travelling together we will stop from time to time to explore key moments and understand what they are saying to us. This series will be accessible for everyone, including people of all ages with additional needs. Watch: Find a comfortable spot to watch the video. The video for this third episode is here (it’s part eight of a separate Lent series): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjNFbIVlrWU Prayer: Lord Jesus, as we thin ..read more

An Accessible Journey With Jesus To Easter Episode 2 – Good Friday! Outline: An accessible video and text bible study series journeying with Jesus on the road to Easter. Travelling together we will stop from time to time to explore key moments and understand what they are saying to us. This series will be accessible for everyone, including people of all ages with additional needs. Watch: Find a comfortable spot to watch the video. The video for this first episode is here (it’s part seven of a separate Lent series): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dsyHMXljhY Prayer: Lord Jesus, as we think ..read more

An Accessible Journey With Jesus To Easter Episode 1 – Palms! (Palm Sunday) Outline: An accessible video and text bible study series journeying with Jesus on the road to Easter. Travelling together we will stop from time to time to explore key moments and understand what they are saying to us. This series will be accessible for everyone, including people of all ages with additional needs. Watch: Find a comfortable spot to watch the video. The video for this first episode is here (it’s part six of a separate Lent series): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHRth7c0UQc Prayer: Lord Jesus, as we ..read more

An Accessible Journey With Jesus In The Wilderness Episode 2 – Angels! (The second temptation of Jesus) Outline: An accessible video and text bible study series journeying with Jesus through the three times he was tempted by the devil. Travelling together we will stop from time to time to explore key moments and understand what they are saying to us. This series will be accessible for everyone, including people of all ages with additional needs. Watch: Find a comfortable spot to watch the video. The video for this second episode is here (it’s part four of a separate Lent series): https://www ..read more

An Accessible Journey With Jesus In The Wilderness Episode 1 – Bread! (The first temptation of Jesus) Outline: An accessible video and text bible study series journeying with Jesus through the three times he was tempted by the devil. Travelling together we will stop from time to time to explore key moments and understand what they are saying to us. This series will be accessible for everyone, including people of all ages with additional needs. Watch: Find a comfortable spot to watch the video. The video for this first episode is here (it’s part three of a separate Lent series): https://www.y ..read more

I heard a new word the other day, a word that I had never heard before, but that describes a way of life that I have found myself living for several years. The word is ‘Ikigai’ and it is a Japanese concept that means your ‘reason for being’. ‘Iki’ in Japanese means ‘life’, and ‘gai’ describes ‘value’ or ‘worth’. Your ikigai is your life purpose or your bliss. It’s what brings you joy and inspires you to get out of bed every day. The French use phrases like ‘raison d’être’ or ‘joie de vivre’ to help describe this. There are even suggestions that ‘ikigai’ might be good for our hearts! Ikigai is ..read more

Sometimes what we think we see is a child displaying challenging behaviour, however if we take a moment to understand what is really going on we might find that it is something very different indeed; it might be that we are seeing a child who is overwhelmed with sensory processing difficulties and is unable to cope any more. A child with sensory processing difficulties can react in ways that, at first glance, can be difficult to understand and explain. Their body is automatically reacting to their environment, their sensory input, and if they become overwhelmed this can create a ‘fight’, ‘flig ..read more

Most of the time a change of plan can be inconsequential; it may be hard in that moment, but overall the effect of that change of plan can be minimal. Occasionally, though, a change of plan can be transforming; it can have an unexpected and lasting impact that can alter everything. This is the story of one such event… James is 20 now, but a little over five years ago epilepsy arrived, adding to a list of diversities and additional needs that included Autism and Learning Difficulties. For James, this was a more profound event that we could have imagined at the time, as the onset of epilepsy spa ..read more