Wonderfully Made Moms

This is the name of a new small bible study group that we are starting come April for mothers of children with special needs. Mrs. Cindy Evans, a godly, kind woman from my church is the one who spearheaded this new much-needed group for the moms who can get stressed while caring for a special needs child (let's be honest...any other children, too!). Mrs. Evans and her husband have also had a successful ministry called Wonderfully Made that reaches out to and ministers specifically to special needs adults in our area through fellowship and biblical teaching.

Mrs. Evans is a mother of a Trent, her grown son with Down Syndrome. He is a kind, intelligent, hardworking young man who helps out in our church by taking care of the sound ministry and taking offerings. He also greets everyone with a smile! Mrs. Evans has her own blog if you would like to visit it sometime!

A few months ago Mrs. Evans approached me about helping her out with this, and I was so elated! This kind of ministry has been something I have wanted to do for some time now, but I wasn't really sure how to go about it. No doubt it is the Lord providentially bringing us together to work together in this ministry.

Recently I have been writing questions that I have been asking God through my journey of raising a child diagnosed with autism. I remember when Kaylee was first diagnosed I was looking everywhere for a book that would help me along this road...but every book I found (yes even Christian ones!) were only about "curing" my child and not how I was to live in it! I had so many questions and I felt so alone. I wished I had an experienced friend to help encourage me along.

That is what I hope this group will bring to other mothers in a similar situation. My prayer is that we can help each other along and bring hope to others. To be a friend and lift one another up in Jesus Christ.


Here are some of the questions we hope to answer and address:

• Supermom or not???


• How should I discipline my special needs child?


• What does God expect of me?


• How do I cope with my fears and worries associated with raising a special child?


• Should I homeschool my child? How do I go about doing this?


• and more...

Are you a mom struggling in raising your special needs child? Are you someone who has some suggestions for what we can discuss or how we can help others?

I would love to hear from you! Please email me at jlhank80@yahoo.com or leave me a comment. And if you know a mom in the Chicago area who is interested in this small group, please send them my way!

Happy Birthday to Joey!

Mr. Joey is 2 years old today!

For his birthday, he wanted his daddy to lay in his teeny tiny bed with him...

Happy Birthday, Joey...March 23, 2007 was one of the best days of my life!

What I have learned about IEP's

For any of the other mom's out there who might benefit from this information about IEP meetings:

1. No matter what you say or request, the "professionals" have made their decision about what your child needs and they will not change it until they deem so...

2. If you have an extra request that costs them extra $$ you better have another "professional" opinion to back you up (such as a doctor, therapist) and even then you should still have a lawyer.

With all of that being said, I am still very thankful that Kaylee has a chance to be with teachers who care about her and understand her disability. I am grateful for a school system that even cares at all about my child with special needs and continues to accomodate her...

I have an aunt who is mentally disabled and years ago they just stopped her schooling because they deemed her incompetent. She didn't even get past eighth grade.

In another country my child would be forgotten and I am grateful for the resources God has provided for her, even if I feel they are not enough.

Dan and I decided that we are not going to "fight the system", but work as hard as we can with her at home and we hope that her getting better physically will be the biggest most worthwhile action we take on Kaylee's road to recovery.

Kaylee's teachers told Dan and I at the meeting that they were impressed with how well Kaylee is improving, and so quickly. As I mentioned before, once we started the NIDS Protocol, Kaylee flew through her IEP goals and objectives in just over 2 months. That was after having them for 6 months prior. Things seem to be clicking for her now.

So for now, I am thankful and not at all angry about not getting what I wanted for her. I believe that God knows exactly what Kaylee needs.