The 5 Love Languages for Parents Raising Children with Special Needs – Dr. Gary Chapman

“The demands of caring for children who have medical conditions, developmental or cognitive delays, disabilities, behavior issues, are on the autism spectrum, or have other special needs can stress marriages to their breaking point. That’s the bad news. The good news is that care giving parents who know about and implement the love languages say they are a simple and effective way of filling a spouse’s love tank and reinforcing the glue that bonds them together.”

• Dr. Gary Chapman

Raising kids is daunting but raising children with special needs often brings a new set of challenges. With days regularly filled with doctor’s appointments, meetings with teachers, handling outside caregivers and therapists, and caring for other children, parents can quickly find themselves depleted and their marriages strained.

But there is hope! Today on the podcast, Crystal is welcoming Dr. Gary Chapman, best-selling author and counselor who developed the 5 Love Languages. Dr. Chapman has counseled numerous parents of children with disabilities, and is sharing how the 5 love languages can help strengthen your family life, whatever your needs. Listen to his warm advice for protecting your marriage, discovering the love language of each of your children, and showing love to every member of your family even when time, money, and energy is limited. Don’t miss this insightful conversation!

Read more from Dr. Gary Chapman in his new book, Sharing Love Abundantly in Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, co-authored with Jolene Philo. Download a free chapter of the book at www.joniandfriends.org/podcast.

*Joni and Friends was founded in 1979 by Joni Eareckson Tada who in a diving accident was left a quadriplegic at 17 years old. Ministry began as Tada, joined by friends around her kitchen table, responded to letters she received from people with disabilities in search of support. Over the past 40 years, the ministry has grown to serve thousands of people impacted by disability worldwide: Joni and Friends has delivered more than 150,000 wheelchairs and Bibles through Wheels for the World and provided Christian care to 63,000 special needs family members through Family Retreats. The organization also equips individuals and churches with disability ministry training and provides higher education courses through the Christian Institute on Disability. For more encouragement, download the Joni and Friends radio podcast in English or Spanish, and view inspirational videos on the Joni and Friends website.

www.joniandfriends.org*

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Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.