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Noted Christian blogger and writer Terrie McKee is preparing now for a summer homeschooling event.

As McKee, also a Gaston County-based homeschooler and widely known homeschooling advocate, told The Herald this week, the Homeschooling Special Needs Expo will be held June 28 and 29 at the LeGrand Center in Shelby. Renowned animal behaviorist and autism advocate Dr. Temple Grandin will be the keynote speaker.

McKee informed that this in-person exposition is the only homeschooling conference of its type in the nation. It’s for parents homeschooling their special-needs children, and it will feature 50 educational sessions, more than 25 exhibitors, a sensory room and more. The event is being co-ordinated by Gastonia-based conference-planning IAJ (“It’s all Jesus!”) Ministries, LLC. McKee is the president of IAJ Ministries.

“The expo will also feature a church track,” she said, “where church leaders and volunteers can be trained on disability ministry and how to minister to families who are affected by special needs of all types.”

McKee started planning the expo as a way to help families who are affected by special needs. She is herself the mother of four special-needs children. And her husband, Greg McKee, was paralyzed in an attempted armed robbery that gained national attention in 2015.

“My family and I have experienced life with special needs, from autism and ADHD (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder) to dyslexia and diabetes and a traumatic spinal-cord injury that left my husband in a wheelchair,” Mrs. McKee revealed. “I just want to help other families by planning this conference and encouraging them in whatever needs they have.”

She continued that the cost of the event is $79 per attendee. But with the “March flash” coupon code, attendees can save $30 each until March 31.

To learn more, see the Website at www.iajministries.org/homeschooling-special-needs-expo.html.

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