EMBRACING THE CHALLENGES, CONTENDING FOR THEIR DESTINYThe stats are changing. It’s no longer just the rare family who has a child with autism, ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, or other brain chemistry concerns. As parents raising children with these or other hidden disabilities, we need compassionate voices who can listen and help us with the practical issues: fighting despair, judgment, and educational hurdles; deciding about medications; handling the labeling; and negotiating the responses of schools and the church. Perhaps most importantly, we need assurances that our children will be okay and that we will survive and even thrive spiritually as we grapple with the daily challenges. We are contending for their destiny as well as ours.Melanie Boudreau is a graduate of the University of Texas, School of Allied Health, with a degree in Medical Technology. The mother of one child who is neurotypical and two with neuropsychiatric disorders, Melanie uses her education to interact with specialists and research interventions for her children. She works as Team Director for Apostolic Intercessors Network, a Christian business that links professional level intercessors and spiritual warfare strategists with individuals, families, and workplace leaders around the globe. This book is both practical and spiritual. It covers topics such as laws impacting education and access to justice and seeking help from professionals when hidden disabilities are suspected. It also discusses suffering, intercession, and hope because our lives are integrated, not segregated, into the practical and the spiritual. What we deal with practically in our everyday lives impacts us spiritually.   My suggestion is that you read each chapter like you would a devotional, stopping to focus on the prayer at the end of each chapter. Seek God for His confirmation and your response to what you have read to define needed shifts in thinking or action items. Journaling as you read is a good way to capture your fresh insights and ensure follow-through.  Feel free to share your constructive thoughts with me and the community of parents who follow my blog at MelanieBoudreau.com. What Others Are Saying Truth spoken in love sets you free to grow and mature in the fruit of the Spirit. In Toppling the Idol of Ideal , Melanie Boudreau has led us unabashedly over the physical hills and through the emotional valleys of raising children with hidden disabilities, and the truth she shares brings us into the broad plain of hope that we have in the future God desires for us as His children. Melanie's life lessons and research add to that hope for parents raising children with hidden disabilities by providing links, references, and resources to assist in our journey. Even more, Toppling the Idol of Ideal is a clarion call to the body of Christ to rise once again to the higher standard of Christ, as seen through the parable of the Good Samaritan, in our daily interactions with those around us--especially in the places we gather for worship. That call, along with the resounding message of the author, is best summarized by the apostle Paul near the end of his first letter to the Corinthians: "Let all that you do be done in love." Albert E. Hauck, PhD Co-founder and President, Friend of God Ministries President, Apostolic Intercessors Network I want to read this book as fast as I can, and then I think, 'Wait, I really need to take it all in slowly and ponder it.' We parents need each other to bind up our wounds and to unbind the chains of the lies or despair the enemy of our soul puts in and on us. This book is fresh air to me. I am so encouraged! Vanessa Parent of a child with a hidden disability Augusta, Georgia I am extremely honored to have walked this journey with Melanie, sharing the experiences she and her family have encountered while raising two children with neuropsychiatric disorders. Her stories bring out the many challenges; the heartbreak of churches and communities of faith turning their backs; and the disappointments, discouragements, achievements, and accomplishments. Most of all, this book shows the joy and fulfillment of mothering children with hidden disabilities and watching them grow into healthy young adults despite the obstacles. Though I am a mental health professional, Melanie is one I would consult with any day on issues of Tourette's syndrome and other hidden disabilities. Her love for her children far surpasses any clinical or professional expertise and education. She has lived through it all. I hope in reading this book, churches and communities of faith will glean wisdom from the information. I hope readers try to understand what many people have had to face "alone" because others have put their heads in the sand, ignoring these issues based on ignorance, lack of empathy, and compassion. This book should be in every church library, psychological office, and academic institution. Gayle Rogers, Ph