April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
RESOURCES
Support group helps catechists work with children with disabilities
The support group will restart next month after a summer hiatus. Members discuss topics like learning styles, how to include all children in religious education and what resources are available for students with special needs.
"The group has been good for each other because they realize they're not alone," said Rosemarie Tobin, catechetical consultant for people with disabilities in the diocesan Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Family Life. "Sometimes, the catechists feel like they work in isolation. They will be able to gain more resources and be more comfortable to call each other" for advice.
There are a half-dozen catechists in the group, with 15 on the email list. Last year, they spent a few meetings discussing a book about how to figure out students' individual strengths in order to bring them closer to God. Other times, they talked about the behaviors of people with disabilities - "not so much around how to control the behaviors, but how to have the parish be more accepting" through education and awareness, Ms. Tobin said.
They also talk about how to best accommodate students with special needs - and what the term "special needs" even means. Ms. Tobin mused that we're all "temporarily able-bodied.
"'Special needs' is potentially a broader category than we think," she said; it can encompass children dealing with difficult circumstances at home or exhibiting behavioral problems: "It's anybody that needs individualization, which comes out to be almost everybody at some point."
Catechists must be tactful in situations where parents don't want their child singled out, but do want the child to receive extra attention. In addition to the support group, Ms. Tobin does individual consultations with catechists, parish leaders and parents.
One resource Ms. Tobin loans out to catechists is the University of Dayton's "Sacraments: Gifts for All," which focuses on the Eucharist. She also offers adaptive sacramental preparation kits from Loyola Press.
The first real guides for working with people with disabilities in the Church came out in the late 1990s and are now outdated, she said, but materials have been exploding in recent years - likely due to the rise in diagnosis of conditions like autism.
As resources and awareness grow in prevalence, so do efforts to include people with disabilities in the life of the Church. "In the past," Ms. Tobin said, "people either kept them home, or they felt that they couldn't participate."
Susan Sweeney, faith formation director for elementary school grades at St. Vincent de Paul parish in Albany, has been going to the disabilities catechist support group since its inception. She and her staff had been working on revising registration forms for faith formation that identify students' needs.
"We came up with wording that was not prying" about school and medical accommodations, she said. Initially, "we went about it on our own, but it was nice to have a support group [of people who have] an appreciation for the knowledge and patience it requires."
There are students who require special attention registered every year at St. Vincent's. Parents or aides often accompany children. Mrs. Sweeney said it's important to bounce ideas off other catechists.
"Sometimes I think that's what we need: to know what we're doing is OK," she said.[[In-content Ad]]
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