For a limited time! Unexpected Journey for $14.99 ($5 off). Order here
Newly updated organizational planner: GET IT TOGETHER
CMF Organizational Workbook
Organize your life in a 3-ring, 81/2 by 11 inch notebook! This step-by-step workbook helps you "get it together!" Develop daily, weekly, monthly, and long-term plans specifically for your life. Learn how to work with your energy level. Prepare for Christmas, hospitality, your finances, and more! Lists, charts, and information is all included!
A book by a husband and wife whose course in life changed from the birth of their first child. Yet, it did not stop there. Unexpected Journey shares the life of a family where daily challenges became a way of life - caring for a child with special needs and parents in their declining years.. Select the link above to read and listen to more about this compelling story. Release date February 2009.
*New* 'By the Beach', 'Idyllic Italy' and 'Cleveland' card sets with envelopes suitable for mailing. These are watercolor renditions of 6 different Florida beach/Italy scenes painted by Cindi Ferrini. A great gift or when you want to send a quick 'snail mail' note to someone! Click here to see the details!
Join us on Facebook!
Unexpected Journey ... Special Needs Resources
This section contains resources, links, etc. submitted by us and you to address some of the issues mentioned in our book. If you have anything you would like to contribute, please email us. Thank you!
A note from Joe and Cindi:
We know that it is rare for any family with special needs to find comprehensive services in just one source. We have an initial compilation of resources for our readers and web visitors and we hope to add to them as you find resources you think we should know about.
While we have read most of the books on our RESOURCE LIST, we’ve not read all of them. While we’ve done business with or had conversations with some of the organizations, there were some that have been mentioned to us or suggested to us by others, but we have only done a web search on them, perhaps as you have. We can not personally endorse all of these resources, but we encourage you to make the evaluation for yourself to decide if these are relevant, good, appropriate, or useful for your own UNEXPECTED JOURNEY after investigating fully on your own.
Some resources can be found in your family Christian bookstore or other bookstores, and some are through the author only. Doing a search on your own will help you not only to research the specific resource you are looking up, but will familiarize yourself with the author and other things they have written or done that might be of interest to you. By doing searches, we’ve often stumbled upon other resources that have been most helpful.
If in your life and in your research you find something that is particularly of interest to this part of our website (for the use of many others who are searching), we’d enjoy hearing from you. You can email us from our website. We may not be able to answer every contact, but we appreciate hearing from you and will do our best to respond as we are able. We may respond by putting your comment (story) on our COMMENT page or may add the resource you are recommending – on our website.
Visit our blog for other stories, and share comments with us. We look forward to meeting you via our website!
Unexpected Journey RESOURCE List
Joe and Cindi reference this Focus on the Family resource in their book Unexpected Journey. It includes the following terms/topics - to name a few - but this is not an all inclusive list. Fetal Development Abortion Adoption Aging Parents End of Life Aborting the Elderly A Patients Guide : Discussing your medical wishes Terms (acute care, terminal, do not resuscitate, living will, power of attorney, hospice, etc.) http://www.focusonthefamily.com/downloads/heartlink/pdf/2009_sohl_guide.pdf PLEASE check out this resource to answer many of your questions for any stage or situation of "life" and it's "care".
This article was sent to me via facebook by a physician friend. It does touch on epilepsy and other conditions....so I thought some of you might benefit by reading this.
BOOKS
Marriage Husband’s Who Won’t Lead and Wives Who Won’t Follow (James Walker) Peacemaking for Families (Ken Sunde and Tom Raabe) (Conflict resolution) Different Children Different Needs (Dr. Charles Boyd) (The key to effective parenting/knowing what motivates your child) Fight Fair(Tim and Joy Downs) (Work through conflict practically) The Seven Conflicts(Tim and Joy Downs) (7 Conflicts and the root problems to each) Sexual Intimacy in Marriage(Cutrer and Glahn) (Practical, helpful, and a great guide) Intended for Pleasure (Ed Wheat, MD) (Specific helps for intimacy in marriage) Sacred Marriage(Gary L. Thomas) (Answers: Is marriage to make us happy or holy?) Before the Last Resort(George Kenworthy) (For those on the brink of quitting) Intimate Issues(Linda Dillow and Laura Pintus) (Answers questions woman most ask) Moments Together (Dennis and Barbara Rainey) (Devotional)
Fasten YOur Seatblet: A crash Course on Down Syndrome for Brothers and Sisters, 2009 by Dr. Brian Skotko
Common Threads: Celebrating Life with Down Syndrome, 2001 Brian Skotko www.brianskotko.com - research, resources, books, on Down Syndrome
Money Money Mapby Howard Dayton (Powerful, practical helps in handling money) Financial Peace University Crown Financial www.northpoint.orgLO$T (Andy Stanley)
Life/Life Changes In the Womb ((Peter Tallack of National Geographic – ’06) When Life Changes Forever(Rick Taylor) (The loss of a child to death) Tyranny of the Urgent (Charles Hummel) (How to keep from wasting the time we are given) Balancing the Active Life(Cindi Ferrini) (Bible study to balance various aspects of life) Get It Active(Cindi Ferrini) (Organizational planner for women) ‘Tis the Season(Cindi Ferrini) (CHRISTmas organizational planner)
Personal Spiritual Growth Seeking the Face of God(Gary L. Thomas) (Life changing &challenging our walk w/God) Character Makeover (Katie Brazelton and Shelley Leith) (Woman’s study/guide to character growth) Choosing Forgiveness (Nancy Leigh DeMoss) (A topic not to read but to be called to action) Lies Woman Believe (Nancey Leigh DeMoss) (Setting us straight on our misconceptions) The 36-Hour Day (Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Rabins) (guide to caring for those with memory loss) Discover the Real Jesus (Dr. Bill Bright) (Understanding who Jesus is) The Prayer That Changes Everything (Stormie Omartian) (Prayer and its power) Purpose Driven Life (Rick Warren) (Why we are here and discovering our call/niche in this life) Life Focus (Jerry Foster) (Fine tuning what God wants our life to be for His glory)
Books About the Special Needs of Children and/or Adults
The Crippled Lamb (Max Lucado) (The story of a special lamb present at the birth of Jesus) What God Has Always Wanted (Dr. Charles Boyd) (Excellent telling of the gospel for children)
Encouragement via videos, music, inspiration, etc.
The Zentner's story-special and dear friends of the Ferrini's:
He’s My Son (Mark Schultz) (music) Terry Schiavo Messages (Dr. Michael Easley and David Gibbs) via Moody Bible Institute in Chicago Jason McElwain – autistic basketball player – sweet story! www.TeamHoyt.com www.Wheelchair-getaways.com
Katelyn Wilbanks - University of Oklahoma – Christmas in July (‘08) Today Show NBC – spina bifida www.patrickhenryhughes.com
Organizations and Websites www.ablenetinc.com AbelNet, Inc. 1-800-322-0956 Communication Devices (The Littlemack™ is the communication device that Joe and Cindi mention in their book that Joey uses at work.) This communicator is a one touch, single message playback device of one recorded message. It runs @ $120.00 but there are many other models to suit many needs. www.alz.org Alzheimer’s website www.angelflightse.org – Angel Flight™ Southeast, Inc. is a non-profit volunteer pilot organization involved in "public benefit flying." We provide a variety of services to the community, but mostly we arrange free air transportation by private aircraft to distant medical facilities when commercial service is not available, impractical or simply not affordable, serving the state of Florida. We are a member of Air Charity Network™, an association of charitable aviation organizations comprised of more than 7,000 pilots who flew more than 22,000 missions for 35,000 passengers nationwide in 2006. For contact information and resources outside of Florida, please contact Air Charity Network™. www.achievementcenters.org Since our founding in 1940, we've earned a reputation for excellence in helping children with a wide range of disabilities lead productive lives through customized therapies, education and childcare programs, camping and recreation opportunities, nationally-recognized autism programs and family support services. (Cuyahoga County, Ohio) www.autism.org www.autismspeaks.org www.thebikerack.com scroll to CREATIVE MOBILITY – adaptive bikes and parts
We believe in creating a circle of care that encompasses the entire family, because, by helping the whole family, a child with special needs has the greatest opportunity to achieve. www.caregivershome.com www.caregiving.org www.carepages.com (to set up information you can share with others)
www.ccbmrdd.org Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (Cleveland, OH) “As an integral member of the community, our mission is to assist individuals with MR and DD in choosing and achieving a life of increasing capability such that they can live, learn, work, and play in the community and to assist and support their families in achieving this objective.”
www.cdc.gov/cfs Chronic Fatigue Syndrome www.comfortkeepers.com . Comfort Keepers® is dedicated to providing personal InHome Care to seniors and others who need help with activities of daily living. We provide customized care that helps them maintain the highest possible level of independent living whether in the comfort of their own home, facility, rehab, hospital, or hospice. Assistance with meals, medication reminders, bathing, laundry, homemaking and companionship are available up to 24 hours per day 7 days per week. Every Comfort Keeper is carefully selected, screened, and trained to provide capable and compassionate care. We strive to offer the very best possible Comfort Keeper for any specific individual or situation. www.cornerstoneofhope.org (Independence, OH – counseling/support groups) 1-216-524-3787
www.dailybh.com Daily Behavioral Health - a Christian behavioral health practice committed to caring for the mental, physical, social, behavioral, and spiritual health of children, teenagers, and their families
www.echoinghillsvillage.org - Echoing Hills Village has supported thousands of families, friends and neighbors through our outreach to people with disabilities for over 40 years. We believe in creating opportunities for individuals with disabilities and assisting them in reaching their fullest potential. From a humble beginning and two rustic cabins in rural Ohio, we now serve special needs persons all over the state of Ohio and internationally with camping, travel, residential and healthcare services. Our services all support our beliefs that all individuals can live purposeful lives with dignity and respect.
www.familycaregiving101.org www.thefamilycaregiver.org www.fcbtf.com We’re pleased that you’ve discovered our website. We trust that over time, this website will reflect our mission to become the model child and adolescent behavioral health practice in the US, and we hope you'll find the resources here both practical and helpful. www.friendship.org - our mission is To share God’s love with people who have cognitive impairments and to enable them to become an active part of God’s family. www.griefshare.org
www.joniandfriends.org Welcome to Joni and Friends a ministry outreach to people with disabilities and their families across the US and around the world. We invite you to browse our website to discover more ways you can be involved with our global outreach to the disability community!
www.ihmretreat.org IHM Child Center is a faith-based organization that provides specialized services for families, schools, churches, hospitals, and communities. Our main program, Building Behaviors, offers services to families of children with pervasive developmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, and disruptive behavior disorders. All of our programs focus on treating the mental, physical, social, behavioral, and spiritual health of the child and family. Children and families have the opportunity to experience Christ’s love through researched-based treatment programs, art activities, music, sports, health education, relationship building, and more.
www.keyministry.org At Key Ministry we believe that every child is a unique creation of God! We also believe that children should belong to a church family. Sometimes disabilities can hinder this experience. This is especially true when a child has a hidden disability, that is, an emotional, behavioral, or developmental condition that has no outwardly apparent symptoms. Key Ministry's mission is to equip churches to welcome and include children and families affected by hidden disabilities in all aspects of the life of the church. Koinonia Homes – Independence, OH, 1-216-588-8777 www.Flatrockhome.org - Lutheran home for special needs care in Seneca County, OH www.lifeslittleadventurefarm.comWe minister to children and their families who are in crisis (chronic illness, special needs, in the foster care system, having been recently adopted, emotionally or mentally ill, or victims of domestic violence and sexual assault). They repeatedly come to the farm and interact with the animals helping break down some of their emotional walls as well as heal some of their heartaches. We help the entire family to feel welcome, loved, accepted and to learn to communicate in new, positive ways. (Ohio) www.nationalfamilycaregiversassociation.org (Alzheimer’s) www.ncch.org - North Coast Community Homes (NCCH) was established in 1984 in response to a mandate from the State of Ohio to all counties requiring a needs assessment to determine the housing requirements for individuals with mental retardation, mental illness and developmental disabilities. http://www.needproject.org/
NEED PROJECT, Inc. - VALUABLE web resources, excellent articles, newsletter, and much more!
P.O. Box 88406
Colorado Springs, CO 80908
1-866-611-7141 www.NICA.com The Florida Birth –Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association www.specialneedsalliance.com www.specialneeds.net
www.specialolympics.org Special Olympics is a global nonprofit organization serving the nearly 200 million people with intellectual disabilities, with a presence in nearly 200 countries worldwide. With seven regional offices, we are constantly expanding to add new Programs in every part of the world – which is why we can say with all truth that “the sun never sets on the Special Olympics movement.”
www.specialkranch.comSpecial K Ranch provides family oriented Christian homes for adults who have developmental disabilities, on a working ranch. Although unaffiliated, the program has a strong Christian emphasis in philosophy and practice. (Montana)
www.shepherdsministries.org Shepherds Ministries, a nationally recognized organization founded on Jeremiah 23:4, provides compassionate Christian care, vocational education and job opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities, helping them attain Appropriate Independence with fulfilling jobs and lives, while also providing for their spiritual development. For adults with developmental disabilities and their families, Shepherds' case managers, living skills instructors, nurse, consultants, teachers, work supervisors and administrative staff provide a future and a hope. (Wisconsin)
www.startyourfamily.com - encourage couples to be intentional about their timeline in the early years of marriage and to trust God to ...
www.toolsfortoday.org The mission of the Tools for Today and Tomorrow program is to improve life's journey for children with chronic illnesses or disabilities by providing information and support to the people who care for them. www.vnacareplus.org (visiting nurse association – home health care)
