The Enable Ministry for Special Needs Kids and Their Families

My life objective is to help others. My rewards are the smiles I see in kids. I do as much as possible, anonymously. But when it comes to my time and my energy, I want everyone to see how dedicated I am to this life objective, so that some of my energy will spark a desire for others to get involved.

I've seen the devastation in the lives of families that are unable to cope with children with special needs. Sure, some families do just fine. But other families are so overwhelmed by the circumstances or the financial drain or the physical drain or the mental drain, that they are so empty, it is as if they have no spirit, and at times, no will to live. For these families, we want to reach them, before the slip away from their community.

So for those parents in our community, I have been working to put together a group that will provide these families with fellowship, volunteers to help them, and a safe place to find respit for their children and themselves. There are many disabilities that children face in our community that put pressure on basic family life that we take for granted. Autism is just one. And that is our initial focus, but by no means our only focus. We will be there for all families.

I invite you to call me if you are interested in helping or if you have a child with special needs in our area, and you would like us to include you in our programs. You can reach me, Mike Morgan at 772-260-5448 or via email Mike@FloridaHomes.pro

What is the ENABLE Ministry?
http://www.enableministry.org/

Following are a few words from Pastor Paul Thompson, Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of Jensen Beach . . . and the home of the ENABLE Ministry.

The mission of ENABLE is to share God’s love by providing opportunities of worship, fellowship, respite, and personal growth to people with developmental disabilities and their families.

As a parent of an autistic child, I know the unique stresses and demands placed on families dealing with developmental disabilities. I also know how difficult it can be introduce your child into new environments and expose them to new situations and experiences. I know how discouraging it can be at times to participate in “typical” family activities like church, day camps, and simple fun outings. I also know how disenfranchised families can become from the community and church. I know the feeling of simply wanting my son to be treated as “Mark” and not “Mark who has autism”. I know that people often just don’t “get it” when it comes to these special kids. Fortunately, I have been blessed to have a loving, caring church family that has always accepted and supported my family. My son Mark has always enjoyed the benefits of an understanding church community, and like any other child, has been included. I want that same experience for every family who experiences the challenge of developmental disabilities.

To that end, it is our desire is to develop a comprehensive program that …

1 - Educates the Church and Community about developmental disabilities and their impact on families and how the church can be a part of each families system of care and support

2 - Creates an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion within the congregation for families in the community affected by developmental disabilities so that all feel welcome and included in our activities and events

3 - Trains and equips volunteers to adequately care for and assist individuals with developmental disabilities so that we can:

a) provide one-to-one care for children who require it in a positive and appropriate setting designed to meet their unique needs.

b) provide “shadows” to work with children in the context of a “typical” classroom setting or group activity or experience.

c) provide basic training to all children and youth leaders so that children who do not require one-to-one care or the assistance of a one-to-one shadow may be “mainstreamed” into the activities of our children and youth program.

4 - Provides a bi-monthly evening respite for families in the community who have children/teenagers with developmental disabilities (i.e. a Friday night 3 ½ hour program of games, activities, music, etc. so that families may take a break, go out to dinner, catch up on errands, go to the grocery store, etc.)

This is the vision we are currently working towards. With your participation, support, and prayers, our dream will soon become a reality.

If you would like to know more, volunteer to help, contribute financially, or participate in ENABLE please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Paul Thompson, Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church of Jensen Beach
1400 NE Jensen Beach Blvd.
Jensen Beach, FL 34957
(772) 334-2202
Paul@FBJB.com

http://www.fbjb.com/


RESOURCES - Here are some resources to begin with for families with children with special needs. If you have other resources, please email them to me. These are just a few I pulled from the Marcus Autism Center website, but I am sure there are many others. As I noted above, we are just getting this started, so it will take time to develop an independent website with resources.

Marcus Autism Center - http://www.marcus.org/ - Founded by Bernie Marcus, one of the most delightful and giving persons in the world.

http://www.autismspot.com/ - Connecting and empowering the autism community

http://www.reachingforthestars.org/
Reaching for the Stars: A Foundation Of Hope For Children With Cerebral Palsy

http://www.autismspeaks.org/ - The goal at Autism Speaks is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders

http://www.hopecenterforautism.org/ - The Hope Center for Autism opens doors for people affected by autism. We accomplish this through providing the supports and services necessary for people with autism to reach their full potential.

http://www.aspergers.org/ - The Maryland Asperger Advocacy & Support Group also serves individuals who have normal to high intelligence and experience social-communication difficulties and sensory integration problems.

http://www.autism-society.org/ - ASA is a membership organization dedicated to increasing public awareness about autism and the day-to-day issues faced by individuals with autism, their families and the professionals with whom they interact through education, awareness, and advocacy on critical issues.

http://www.aspergersyndrome.org/ - Provides links for information, support, and education for parents, teachers, professionals, and individuals with AS.

www.maapservices.org/index.html - A joint project of Cambridge and Stanford Universities. MAAP services is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information and advice to families of more advanced individuals with Autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder PDD. Provides links for services, resources, and information about legal rights.

http://www.chadd.org/ - Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder CHADD is a national non-profit membership organization. This website provides links on education, advocacy and support for individuals with AD/HD.

http://www.cec.sped.org/ - The Council for Exceptional Children is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted.

http://www.nami.org/ - NAMI the National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families.

http://www.nichcy.org/ - National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities provides information on disabilities in infants, toddlers, children, and youth, IDEA, No Child Left Behind as it relates to children with disabilities, and research-based information on effective educational practices.

www.copaa.net/contact/index.html - The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. COPAA is an independent, nonprofit, organization of attorneys, advocates and parents that help secure high quality educational services for children with disabilities.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ - National Institute of Mental Health NIMH provides information on and about mental illness and behavioral disorders through research on the mind, brain, and behavior.

http://www.nih.gov/ - National Institute of Health provides extensive information on the breadth of diagnoses and research.

http://www.add.org/ - Attention Deficit Disorder Association provides information, resources and networking to adults with AD/HD and to the professionals who work with them.

http://www.peppinc.org/ - Parents Educating Parents and Professionals provides education and advocacy on behalf of children with special needs.

http://www.interdys.org/ - The International Dyslexia Association website providing many resources and much information on dyslexia.

http://www.umdf.org/ - The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation provides information and networking for those concerned about mitochondrial disorders.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ - The National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine has extensive information on medical disorders, research and grants.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/ - Wrightslaw.com has everything you need to know about special education law, advocacy and resources.

www.fodac.org/fodac/index.php - Friends Of Disabled Adults And Children provides free durable medical equipment wheelchairs, hospital beds etc. to those in need.

www.come-over.to/fasstar/faspix - This is a website shares photographs and stories for others to see what life with FAS/E is like. It has pictures and stories of children, adolescents, and adults w/FAS/E.

http://www.nofas.org/ - This is the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome website. Many different links for support groups and more general information about FAS.

http://www.fasstar.com/ - This is a website for support, training, advocacy, and resources for fetal alcohol syndrome.

http://www.fascets.org/ - This website is for FAS consultation, education, and training services and Interactive Autism Network.