1. When the Box Doesn’t Fit: Assisting the Missionary Family That Has Children With Special Needs Midwest Conference on Mission ary Care February 21, 2015 Heather Davediuk Gingrich, Ph.D. Denver Seminary

2. What do We Mean by Special Needs?

3. Our Family Situation u Both of our sons are adopted and mixed race (Canadian black Jamaican and Caucasian) u One son diagnosed with ADHD while on the field and also required speech therapy u Other son was sexually abused (but we didn’t find out until many years later) u Suspected missed ADHD diagnosis of 2 nd son

4. Impact of mixed race adoption u Adoption in the Philippines happens almost exclusively within extended families u Lighter skin tone valued and darker skin tone devalued

5. Prejudice u Definite negative bias from Filipinos on both counts “ Are they yours?” “I admire what you’ve done so much” “Oh, they got so black at the beach! Why did you let them get so black? Touching curly hair u Even greater prejudice would have been noticeable if our sons had been physically or mentally handicapped

6. Q. How will Nationals React to the Child with Special Needs?

7. ADHD Diagnosis

8. Good News! u Visiting modular professor, a clinical psychologist was able to assess Brandon and make the ADHD diagnosis u Faith Academy had special education through Middle School u A pediatrician friend filled prescriptions for ADHD medication and modular professors carried it in their luggage u Supportive mission friends on field

9. Bad News! u Parenting was extremely stressful for many years u Mission did not follow up on the high scores for parenting distress indicated on the Marital Satisfaction Inventory u No special education after Middle School u TERRIBLE experience with visiting psychologist

10. Q. How will medical needs be met? u Availability of Specialists? u Medication? u Quality of hospitals? u What about an emergencies?

11. Speech Therapy u No American or Canadian speech therapists in metro Manila u A Filipino English accent wouldn’t have worked u Solution: Speech therapy on two consecutive home assignments (3 months each, 2 years apart) with me working daily with Brandon on the field

12. Q. How will the child with special needs be educated?

13. Educational Considerations u A Filipino school would not have been an option because of behavioral expectations (in addition to very different curriculum) u Homeschooling was tried on mini-home assignments and would have been disastrous! i.e., homeschooling is not always the answer u Faith Academy would no longer have been a viable option once our ADHD son reached high school. Impacting timeline for leaving the field

14. Situations We COULD have Faced While on the Field u Migraine headaches Son was nonfunctional for two years We exhausted almost all medical options (neurologists, spinal specialists, chiropractors, naturopaths, acupuncturists) What would we have done on the field? u Discovery of sexual abuse

15. Other Experiences?

16. How Can the Missionary Care Provider Assist? u Deployment considerations Which field/which assignment is appropriate? Timing of deployment u Assistance on the field Listen carefully – What does the family need? What kind of parenting stress is the couple under? What kind of emotional support do parents have? In what ways are siblings impacted?

17. Assistance (Cont’d) u Determine which resources are available on the field Informal vs formal Within the mission vs outside the mission Local vs regional u What is available from home Flying an expert in from home country Sending family home for intenstive treatment Using home assignments Leaving field prematurely

18. u Hogstrom, K. E., & Gingrich, H. D. (2014). Experiences and utilization of member care in an international missionary sample. Journal of Psychology & Christianity, 33, 240-253.