Autism, Special Needs- Does your parish have a program?

[Hopeful]

My nephew has Austism. I was disappointed to find out that my local parishes have no programs in place to help his parents. They also do not offer any religion training for him, nor do they reach out to the parents to assist him in receiving the Eucharist. Is this the norm? Are there any parishes, or dioceses that reach out to families with disabled children? I’d sure like to know about them.

And if your a parent of a special needs child, could you relate some of your experiences at mass with your child. I think it would be enlighterning for those who have never experienced your circumstances. I know my eyes were opened with my nephew. Austic children have a hidden disability. They look ‘normal’ but they are ‘different’. I think it is especially hard for parents of Austic children. Strangers make comments about their behavior because they can’t tell there is anything wrong. It’s a hard cross to bear and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of help for the parents.

 

[Cathy_McClarey]

Many smaller parishes don’t have anything in place specifically for autistic children, or even just for special needs children in general; however, there is usually some guidance at the diocesan level for parishes of any size on how special needs parishoners are to be treated/accomodated. Your nephew’s parents will want to have a good chat with the DRE (and perhaps with the parish priest also) to explain what your nephew’s special needs are, and what kind of help the parents would like in accomodating them. In general, if one of the parents can volunteer as a 1-on-1 aide with your nephew (or if his special ed teacher or aide is a member of the parish and willing to be the 1-on-1 aide in CCD also), the DRE will be relieved not to have to scramble to find a 1-on-1 aide herself. At the youngest grades, your nephew won’t seem developmentally quite as “different” from the other children, and the CCD activities will be easier to adapt for him. As he gets older, adapting activities may become more difficult (depending on his reading ability, fine-motor skills, communication skills, etc.), but it can still be done. My own autistic son is entering 7th grade this fall, reads near grade level (slowly), can write short phrases/sentences (more or less legibly), and has great memorization skills, but gets “squirrelly” when bored, so needs to be kept busy throughout CCD class. Unfortunately, our parish’s DRE has not been as sympathetic or special-needs friendly as one would hope for (see the thread I started on “Special Needs Child ‘Pushed Out’ from CCD”), but we are working on that (and appealing to the bishop). Good luck to your nephew’s parents as they try to work out suitable accomodations for him in CCD!

 

[Faithful_2_Rome]

Check by asking Parishes if they have a “SPRED” Program.This is the name of the program in which Churches offer special instruction for special children.

 

[darcee]

another good program is L’arche

Check out your diocese. Our’s has a ministry for people with disabilities which publishes a newsletter and they have special masses and will assist in many ways.

Hopefully it will still be opperating this fall.

-D

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Autism and autistic behavior covers a very wide spectrum. Some children with autism (such as Asberger’s syndrome) are actually very verbal (some call them “Little professors”); some children are not verbal at all. Some have behavioral issues ranging from restlessness to physical aggression. Interventions, strategies, or programs which might work well with one child may not work with another, even if the other has similar symptoms and/ or diagnoses.

I like the recommendations of the poster who spoke of a Special Needs Program. Of course, you’ll probably need to start it yourself, or at least serve on it for some time. But think of the rewards of helping children to love God.

 

[IMAbeliever]

Our diocese has a special needs religious education program- actually it was parent founded, but is now supported financially by the student and their home parish. It has been around for over 20 years. It is a wonderful program. I was the director for three years before my kids were born. The program is a self-contained program but many high school kids volunteer for service hours, so there is contact with non-disabled kids. It serves children from 1st grade into adulthood. It has a teaching component as well as celebration of Mass. Also a lot of social/pot luck types of event - a real network for parents.
In addition, our diocese does have a staff person who will help adapt a regular CCD program for a child wiht special needs. I do not know a lot about this, but I know some support is there if the family wants to keep with their own parish CCD program.

Either way, in this day, you should be able to get some decent support on this issue. There also are special ed curriculum materials out there- sorry it has been too long I can’t recall the name.

God bless you on your journey!

 

[Hopeful]

Thanks for all the replies. I’ll check into your suggestions. I’ve never heard of SPREAD. I hope someday the Catholic church will be the leader in helping those with Special Needs. Being Pro-life sort of demands it.

God Bless You All,
Hopeful

 

[BOBKAT]

Yes, Here in Philadelphia we have a choice of schools for children with special needs. We have Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Confidence, St Katherines Day school and a few more. MY daughter has Down Syndrome and she is very much in the catholic school system I feel so blessed. Maybe your diocese can contact our diocese and see what they need to do.

 

[Marie]

Hopeful:

Thanks for all the replies. I’ll check into your suggestions. I’ve never heard of SPREAD. I hope someday the Catholic church will be the leader in helping those with Special Needs. Being Pro-life sort of demands it.

God Bless You All,
Hopeful

We have “Spred” in our parish. Here is some background on it.
And yes, we are not mis-spelling. It is called “SPRED” -no A.

Spred

Chicago SPRED communities also prepare and support SPRED communities of faith in :

Arlington, VA
Armagh, N. Ireland
Belfast, N. Ireland
Derry, N. Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Edinburgh, Scotland
Galloway, Scotland
Glasgow, Scotland
Indianapolis, IN
Johannesberg, S. Africa
Kansas City, MO
Limerick, Ireland
Mexico City, Mexico
Motherwell, Scotland
Oakland, CA
Paisley, Scotland
Perth, Australia
Portland, ME
Providence, RI
Saginaw, MI
Toowomba, Australia