Is this a good way to handle mentally disabled people receiving Communion?

[jackdack]

My little brother has both Down Syndrome and a form of autism. Several years ago, our church created a First Communion course for mentally disabled/special education students, which my brother took. He now receives Communion regularly. However, whenever he receives the host, he only takes a small bite (we’ve tried to get him to eat the entire thing, but he won’t, probably for reasons having to do with his disabilities that we can’t really understand). He doesn’t drop it or otherwise disrespect it, though. My mother quickly takes it from him and eats it herself. My brother’s autism makes him fixate on routines – on things being done a certain way – so it would be extremely hard to get him to change the way we do this or to prevent him from taking Communion. Is this an appropriate way to deal with our problem, and if it’s not, what recommendations can I make to my parents?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Rather than wait for your brother to establish a routine that will now be extremely difficult for him to break, those responsible for preparing him for Communion should have determined the best way to give him Communion in a way in which he could receive the entire piece of the host offered. For example, if he could only handle a small piece of the host, the routine should have been established to break off a small piece for him and either place it on his tongue or give it to him to place on his own tongue (if he could handle the host well). All of this should have been practiced in the prepatory course he took, using unconsecrated hosts. Your parents certainly should inform the pastor of their parish that this program needs some fine-tuning.

As it stands now, your brother’s habit is not his fault – rather it is the fault of those who did not prepare him properly – but it does expose the host to the possibility of crumbling and the possibility of particles of the host being scattered. I can only recommend that your parents either take the time and effort to retrain your brother (using unconsecrated hosts during the practice sessions), or become EMHCs themselves. If they are themselves EMHCs, they can bring Communion to your brother outside of Mass, when they are able to carefully supervise his reception of the host. During Mass, they can then establish a new routine of taking turns sitting with him in the pew while the other goes to receive Communion.