Our guests this week are Angela Ray Rodgers. the author of Grace Anna Sings, and her seven-year old daughter Grace Anna!
Grace Anna Sings, is an incredible true story of hope from a little girl whose song inspires the world. Grace Anna has Conradi-Hunermann Syndrome. She has had multiple surgeries. Through it all she has been an inspiration to those who know her. She started singing when before she could talk. What a lovely voice of hope and grace.
We welcome Luis Viera, Tampa City Councilman and Susan Morgan, the Project Manager for Gracepoint’s new special needs affordable housing.
Topics include:
We were also delighted to welcome News Channel 8 WFLA Morning News Anchor,
Gayle Guyardo, who joined us for the interview – more on that to come!
Julie Ames, Gayle Guyardo, and Luis Viera
The Graham has 80 residents. Gracepoint privately funded the project, the first affordable housing units Gracepoint built from the ground-up using low income housing tax credits and a loan from the state of Florida.
Tampa City Council
Luis Viera
District 7
Emily Colson author of Dancing with Max and Sally DePalma, The One Roof Initiative Executive Director discuss the upcoming September 30th, “Disability and Your Church Symposium”
Emily speaks in churches and organizations nationwide, and has appeared on numerous media outlets including Focus on the Family. In her book Dancing with Max, Emily and her father, Chuck Colson, shared the struggle and beauty of life with Max, Emily’s 23 year-old son with autism. The book has been awarded “Book of the Year” by the Autism Society.
As the “Disability and Your Church” Keynote Speaker, Emily will capture your heart with tenderness and encouragement gained through her own experience raising a son with autism and struggling to find their place within the church.
Pictured: Emily Colson and Max, Sally DePalma, The One Roof Initiative and Julie Ames, SNFH
Disability and Your Church – A Training and Equipping Event!
Date: Saturday, September 30, 2017
Time: 8:30 am to 3:00 pm
Location: Idlewild Baptist Church, 18333 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., Lutz, FL 33548
Cost: $30 (lunch is included). Register at: www.idlewild.org/disability
Press Release
Our guest this week is Tahni Cullen. She is the author along with Cheryl Ricker of the book Josiah’s Fire. Josiah’s Fire was recently a #1 Bestseller for Special Needs Parenting on Amazon. They along with Josiah Cullen have a new devotional The Good Gift Giver – 21 Days of Unexpected Blessings.
Tahni and her husband Joe were thrust into a nightmare when their two-year-old-son, Josiah, a typical toddler, suddenly lost his ability to speak, play, and socialize. The diagnosis was Autism Spectrum Disorder. Five years later, Josiah, who had not been formally taught to read or write, suddenly began to type on his iPad profound sentences about God, science, history, business, music, strangers, and his heavenly encounters.
Tahni Cullen
Milton Moss, Area Supervisor for Hillsborough, Hernando, and Pasco Counties for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation – FL Dept. of Education, and Kate Saksefski a Supervisor for Adult and Student Customers explain what Vocational Rehabilitation is; and the new STAR Program for students 15 to 21 years old that helps students train for a job, continue their education and / or work after leaving high school.
Pictured: Milton Moss, Area Supervisor for Hillsborough, Hernando, and Pasco Counties for the
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation – FL Dept. of Education, Kate Saksefski a Supervisor for Adult
and Student Customers, Julie Ames, SNFH,
This week’s show features Sally DePalma, The One Roof Initiative and Deana Troyer, Idlewild Church Special Needs Ministry .
Sally and Deana discuss the September 30, 2017 “Disability and Your Church Symposium“ A Training and Equipping Event! Idlewild Church, Special Needs Ministry & The One Roof Initiative are bringing together speakers, trainers and ministry leaders to equip church staff and volunteers to reach, teach and serve individuals with disabilities and developmental delays.
Experts and those on front-line adaptive ministry share wisdom, insights and practical knowledge on a host of topics via a broad itinerary of workshops. This year will feature Pastor Track Workshops that speak directly to Senior and Associate Pastors about the need and value of having disability ministries in our congregations, without ignoring considerations of risk management. There will be various Breakout Topics for churches wanting to start or grow special needs ministries and for those well-established.
Pictured: Sally DePalma, The One Roof Initiative & Deana Troyer, Idlewild Church and Julie Ames, SNFH
Keynote Speaker Emily Colson will capture your heart with tenderness and encouragement gained through her own experience raising a son with autism and struggling to find their place within the church.
Time: 8:30 am to 3:00 pm
Location: Idlewild Baptist Church, 18333 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., Lutz, FL 33548
**Cost: $30 (lunch is included)
**Early bird registration of $20 is available until June 15.** Register at: www.idlewild.org/disability
Today we have Phyllis Guthman of Disability Resource Hub and Rori Becker of the Bright Feats Directory. We will be discussing women of influence, also known by those who love them as “Mother” and a new resource available in our community, the Disability Resource Hub Directory.
Rori, after her first child was born premature, managed her complex medical and educational care while learning about the services available throughout the local special needs community. Co-founding the Bright Feats Directory, she looks forward to expanding the scope of Bright Feats with Employment and Internship Opportunities, for our talented young adults with disabilities, to share in the mission to serve local families.
Phyllis has provided disability information, resources and communications for Special Needs Ministries, Special Needs Sports, Therapy, Recreation and Art Organizations, as well as Statewide and Local Disability Agencies for 18 years. She launched Disability Resource Hub as a vehicle to disseminate resources. Disability Resource Hub and Bright Feats are collaborating to produce a resource directory for the Tampa Bay Area!
Pictured: Rori Becker, Bright Feats & Phyllis Guthman, Disability Resource Hub and Julie Ames, SNFH
This Sunday is Mother’s Day and we have a lot to celebrate. First and foremost we want to celebrate all the moms, dads, teachers, and caregivers who day in and day out support kids with special needs. Raising children with special needs is rewarding but also comes with its own unique challenges. Taking a day to recognize the sacrifice and commitment that goes into taking care of these very special people is important. So if you are supporting a special needs family give yourself a pat on the back, you are doing a great job. If you know someone who is a caregiver for someone with special needs please encourage them and remind them that what they are doing makes a difference.
Julie Ames is proud to be recognized for Excellence in Media at the Mayor’s Alliance Awards Luncheon for People with Disabilities
This Sunday also marks the 2 year anniversary of Special Needs Family Hour Radio Show. Our first show aired on May 10th, Mother’s Day of 2015. It is a weekly show heard every Sunday afternoon 1-2 pm and Saturday 4-5 pm on AM 860 “The Answer”. Our station reaches seven counties with a potential listening audience of 3.2 million people. Our goal is to help and inspire those parents and caregivers who are caring for special people. On the show we cover all things related to special needs to include medical, educational and legal issues. Through these 2 years we have created fifty unique shows featuring advocates, authors, officers, Miss America, Ms. Wheel Chair America, and even a therapy dog. Julie Ames was recognized for Excellence in Media at the Mayor’s Alliance Awards Luncheon for People with Disabilities and officially achieved 501c3 status. We are proud to have achieved these milestones and excited to continue to serve the special needs community by providing the resources and answers that they need to be successful.
If this is your first time visiting this site we are glad you are here! Check out some of our amazing programs listed below. If you are a long time listener thanks for your support and feel free to use this list to listen to your favorites again.
Join us this Sunday afternoon on the Special Needs Family Hour at 1:00 pm!
This week’s show will feature Rotary Camp Florida, a camping facility for
children and adults with disabilities!
Rotary’s Camp Florida, Inc. is unique by offering special needs user groups the ability to rent our entire 21-acre facility, allowing them to tailor each of their camps to suit the specific needs of the children and adults they serve. Camp fees for special needs children and adults are sponsored by their groups and the Camp’s Memory Maker Scholarship Fund.
Each camping group is required to provide its own camp counselors, doctors, nurses, lifeguards, and cooks. Each group is responsible for supplying meals and has the use of our fully equipped commercial kitchen and state-of-the-art gas barbecue grill.
This show features Loretta Gallo-Lopez, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. We discuss Healthy Sexuality for Adolescents and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities.
Loretta has over 25 years of experience working with adolescents and their parents. She is a Registered Drama Therapist, Registered Play Therapist, and she is the Clinical Director & a Founding Board Member of the Focus Academy in Temple Terrace, FL.
Loretta began her professional career as an ESE teacher and has been in private practice in Tampa for over 20 years. Loretta is a nationally recognized speaker, a published author of both books and articles about her work and is co-director of the ACT Project – a drama therapy and performance based social skills program.
Click Here for resources mentioned on the Special Needs Family Hour Show!