St. Mary's - June 2006 Newsletter

Parish to Begin Special Needs Religious Ed

By Mary Donovan

St. Mary’s wants to hear from parents of children with special needs

Religious education is branching out in a new direction. St. Mary’s will offer programs tailored to the requirements of children with special needs. Children with autism, ADD-ADGD, speech impairment, hearing impairment – any child with a health problem that makes it difficult to prosper in a regular classroom and who can accommodate stairs is eligible.

In the next few years the parish hopes to be able to accommodate children with mobility problems who now find the stairs a barrier. Plans for elevator access to the church and school are included in the modified expansion program (see expansion plan story, page 5).

There is already a group of parents of children with special needs who meet once a month at the Pastoral Center. These parents discuss problems and needs and share ideas, experiences and suggestions. Are there more parents out there who would enjoy a group such as this?

There is already a respite program in which volunteers spend time with children who need a lot of care and attention to give the parent time to attend to other necessary activities – from spending free time with their other children, to shopping, to just plain enjoying time off from a very demanding job. Are there any more parents out there who could make use of this service?

This new religious education offering will be a professionally developed program. Wendy O’Neil, a member of the Shrewsbury public schools special needs program and a parishioner will advise Religious Education Director, Sue Landry and Fr. Mike as these classes are set up.

This is a new venture for the parish, Sue said. ``We need parents to respond to help it reach its full potential,’’ she said. Fr. Mike echoed that statement. ``What we’re looking to do with this group is to identify the needs of children with health care problems so that the parish religious ed programs can be made more accessible to them,’’ Fr. Mike said.

The first goal is to attempt to provide inclusion in religious education and sacramental preparation programs, he said. Some children may be able to attend regular classes, some may require smaller classes, and some may need teaching at home.

Another goal is to recruit volunteers who will offer families assistance, not only with the special needs child, but also with other siblings. It is important for families who can benefit from these programs to contact the religious education office.

``We want to include them in our planning as we look toward parish expansion to make the school and the parish hall fully accessible,’’ he said.