Finding an inclusive faith community that is supportive of childhood disabilities and welcoming to families of children who have special needs should not be a rare event. However, some families feel that they no longer fit in their congregations, and others may even have been encouraged to leave.

Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic anomaly that is more common in families with certain ethnic backgrounds. Research, information and support for children and families affected by Sickle Cell has never been greater than it is today, but more needs to be done to understand and treat this disease.

Children with Down syndrome have a higher incidence of thyroid problems that can have adverse effects on their health, development and emotional wellness.

A question was posed recently on the DownSyndromePregnancy website - what would you tell yourself if you could travel back in time to the day of your child's diagnosis? It might be something different every time we think about our lives since; and so many new things might be added as time goes by.

Twins bring many unique and wonderful experiences to their families as well as greater responsibilities for care as newborns and in early childhood. Some face greater challenges due to genetic anomalies like Down syndrome, or prematurity, traumatic birth, or other issues related to multiple births.

Encouraging friendships between classmates who represent the true diversity of our communities helps build relationship skills among children with developmental disabilities as well as their mainstream peers.

Children with developmental delays, physical disabilities, chronic health conditions or other special needs may find peace, delight and motivation in gardening where they are not being measured, evaluated or trained to do better but still take responsibility for perfectly wonderful accomplishments.

Women who are pregnant and new mothers of babies may experience anxiety, depression or even post traumatic stress symptoms with a difficult birth, due to prenatal diagnosis of medical challenges, or while adjusting to news of a birth injury, childhood disability, or developmental delay.

Women whose babies experience a traumatic birth can be challenged by symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder for months and even years later. Although up to ten thousand women a year are seriously affected, most are unaware of resources, information and support available for them to manage it.

There are many reasons children benefit from speech therapy during childhood and even infancy. Playing games and practicing therapy strategies at home can help encourage late-talkers and those with unclear speech or confused word order as well as being fun for their siblings and mainstream peers.