New curriculum helps disabled students learn faith

Developed by the Pittsburgh Diocese's Department for Persons with Disabilities, the curriculum is available to parishes that have religious ed students from ages five through 18 with special needs.

It is broken into four levels: "foundational," in which students learn the basics of faith; "relational," focusing on a personal relationship with Jesus; "discipleship," fostering love of Jesus and a desire to follow Him; and "mission," emphasizing living a Christian life.

Available

While the Diocese has "a lot of resources" available for parishes to catechize students with disabilities, Mr. Amico said, the Kennedy curriculum is particularly recommended because it is both comprehensive and can be used for students who have a wide range of developmental disabilities, from learning disabilities to autism.

The program can also be used in a variety of ways, he said. Catechists can use the entire curriculum, pull out sections of it to support a student with disabilities in an ordinary classroom, use only the parts that relate to sacramental preparation or even use a lesson's suggested activities with the whole class.

Advance

"At one time in history, this was a non-question. You baptized them, and that was it," he said. "There was not a recognition they could grow in any way."

The Kennedy curriculum, in contrast, states that "no one is ever less a person because of a disability. Persons with mental retardation have the same needs and hopes as any other person. They have the same rights within the Catholic Church as any other baptized Catholic....They learn more slowly than others, but with the help of a loving, dedicated catechist, they can learn."

Sign of times

The new program is a sign of the times that ministry for those with disabilities is coming into its own, Mr. Amico said. He cited the blossoming of two national offices that deal with such issues: the National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities and the National Catholic Apostolate for Inclusion Ministry.

"They both represent the fact that this is an issue that's becoming more and more relevant," Mr. Amico stated. "For a lot of years, the spiritual needs [of persons with developmental disabilities] were taken care of in institutions. With most of the big institutions closing down, you have many more community residences, and it's falling back on parishes to provide for faith formation."

He noted that today, there is also "greater awareness of the abilities and gifts persons with disabilities bring to the community."

(For more information on the Kennedy curriculum, contact David Amico at the ORE, 453-6630.)

(09-24-98) [[In-content Ad]]