“Do you have a child or family member with special needs and find it difficult to attend Mass or receive instruction prior to receiving a sacrament?”
Holy Family’s Special Needs Committee is for those in our Parish who have special needs (and their families) who may need additional support and/or inspiration to participate at Mass and in other Holy Family Parish activities.
The motto of Holy Family is “All Are Welcome” and we want to make sure we live up to this motto in all aspects of Parish life. We also hope to identify those in our Parish who have experience or expertise in working with special needs children or adults.
If you would like to volunteer to be part of Holy Family’s Special Needs Inclusion Efforts, please email Deacon Jay Krueger at this email address: Deaconjay@holyfamily.org
Rooted in Gospel values that affirm the dignity of every person, Holy Family’s Special Needs Committee wants to ensure meaningful participation for people with differing abilities in all aspects of parish life at Holy Family Church.
Dick Hoyt, who pushed son in multiple Boston Marathons, dies
CHURCH RELATED ARTICLES & RESOURCES
- USCCB Pastoral Statement on Persons with Disabilities
- USCCB Pastoral Statement of U S Catholic Bishops on Persons with Disabilities
- Catechesis must encounter the disabled with love, archbishop says
- Church can’t be blind, deaf to people with special needs, pope says
- Signs of the Spirit: App teaches blessings, how to pray in ASL
- Excluding people with disabilities makes Church ‘incomplete‘
- Celebrating 50 years, Special Olympics athletes meet with Pope Francis
- Special Catechesis: Passing on the Faith to Those With Disabilities
- Out of the Shadows: Disabilities and the Church [What Pope Francis has to say]
- Making room in your parish for people with disabilities– America magazine
- Religious Sisters with Down syndrome: the joy of shared contemplative life
- Pope Francis allows girl with autism to run around stage undisturbed at weekly audience
- ‘Heart of hospitality’ best way for Catholic parishes to serve the disabled
- Pope calls autistic teen who ‘corrected’ him on Sign of Peace
- ‘A really joyful journey’: Preparing people with intellectual disabilities to receive the sacraments
- Pope says disabled persons have a ‘right’ to the sacraments
- Remembering Karen, Catholic Advocate for Those With Disabilities
AUTISM
- Autism and theory of mind
- My autistic sons aren’t a version of the cross. They’re an invitation to love and serve.
- How one 4th grader explained his autism to classmates (VIDEO)
- How the world is changing for travelers with autism
- 14 tips to plan a vacation with a child with autism, special needs
- 49 Photos That Show What Autism Looks Like
- What I really want for my daughter with autism
- Learning, as an Adult Woman, You Have Autism
- 5 Ways to be a light to a family living with autism
- Why Julia, the new Muppet with autism on ‘Sesame Street,’ is so important
- A life of service is never easy. Having autism can make it even harder.
- 3 Saints who may have had autism spectrum disorder
- Children’s Hospital of Orange County to open one-of-a-kind Thompson Autism Center
- When I Thought of Autism, I Never Thought of Someone Like Me
- Autism and ill health: how to spot the subtle signs that something is wrong
- How Interior Design Can Be A Tool In Managing Life With Autism
- Celebrating the Life of Down Syndrome Advocate Birthe Lejeune
- When I Was a Nonverbal Child With Autism
- Why It Was Difficult to Watch ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’ as an Autistic Woman
- Why I Created a Children’s Book Series About Autism
- 11 Things Autistic People Say Can Trigger a Meltdown
DOWN SYNDROME
- Missouri Model Is the First American With Down Syndrome to Represent a Skincare Brand
- Eliminating People With Down Syndrome Deprives Our Society Of Love And Joy
- 20 Women With Down Syndrome You Should Know About
- Golfer Makes History as First Person With Down Syndrome to Enter NJCAA National Championship
- Groom surprises bride during their wedding ceremony with the most thoughtful gesture
- Utah House approves bill banning abortions solely for Down syndrome diagnosis
- Meet the man with Down syndrome who retired after a 32-year career
- Special Olympics golfer goes viral after making par on one of golf’s most famous holes
- People With Down Syndrome Are Applying To Be On The Endangered List
- National Geographic’s new photo campaign highlights people with Down Syndrome
- 12 Businesses Owned by People With Down Syndrome You Can Support
- Utah, Pennsylvania consider banning Down syndrome abortions
- Meet Lucas, The First Gerber Baby Contest Winner With Down Syndrome
- Ohio Legislature votes to ban aborting Down syndrome babies
- Patricia Heaton: ‘Iceland isn’t eliminating Down syndrome—they are just killing everyone who has it.’
- Making Waves: Karen Gaffney is a champion for those with Down syndrome
- Overcoming our fear of ‘otherness’
- A Brave, New, Down Syndrome Free World
- Samantha sealed my bond with God’: speaking to parents of children with Down’s syndrome
- No one would hire girl with Down syndrome. So she started her own business
- These friends with Down syndrome are thriving in the Argentina pizza market
- Spanish video seeks to erase the stigma of Down syndrome
- Why We Need ‘Useless’ People
- This surfing school in Chile was created for kids with Down syndrome
- The aging of the population with Down syndrome is a positive sign
- My son’s Down’s syndrome does not define him
- “See Christmas as never before, as told by Children with Down Syndrome”
- How having a baby with Down syndrome changed this rock star’s music
- My son was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth. Not knowing earlier was a blessing.
- Champion gymnast and model with Down syndrome blazes a new trail
- Florida man is 1st person with Down syndrome to finish Ironman triathlon
- The Last Children of Down Syndrome
- Sensational pro-life video: ‘I have loved you for a thousand years…’
GOOD NEWS
- First Communion recipient overcomes obstacle, gives hope to others
- Arkansas teen saves money for years to buy friend a wheelchair
- Big sister’s online plea makes Christmas wish come true for disabled brother
- Dad writes super-hero comic book inspired by son who has Down syndrome
- Parents of kids with special needs urge others: Teach your child compassion
- Cerebral palsy hasn’t stopped this guy from his dream job at a baseball stadium
- I volunteered at a summer camp for kids with disabilities—here’s what I learned about real freedom
- What disabled children bring to the world of fashion and sports
- This musician’s disability helped her create a soundall her own (VIDEO)
- Watch this: video captures the world through the eyes of children with special needs
- ‘Beautiful moment’: Mom moved to tears seeing 2-year-old in awe of inclusive Target advertisement
- Halloween 2020: 6-year-old boy shows off custom-made In-N-Out costume that fits over wheelchair
- Dad creates children’s book to increase representation of kids with disabilities in media
HEARING LOSS
- Blind Hacienda Heights 4-year-old is youngest accepted to Academy of Music for the Blind
- What an entire neighborhood did to communicate with a 2-year-old girl
- Blessed McGivney: Model parish priest with ‘zeal’ for Gospel, for serving faithful
RESOURCES
- Deaf Mom Makes Face Masks With Clear Plastic Window for Lip Reading, Flooded With Orders
- Special Saints for Special People – Stories of Saints with Disabilities (Book)
- 16 Interactive Toys for Nonverbal Kids— on The Mighty
- 17 Educational Gifts for Kids With Disabilities— on The Mighty
- 15 Books, Games and Toys for Kids That Feature People With Disabilities— on The Mighty
- 31 Awesome Gifts for Kids With Sensory Issues— on The Mighty
- 13 Awesome Gifts for Autistic Adults— on The Mighty
- 7 Gifts for Moms of Kids With Disabilities— on The Mighty
Blessings,
Deacon Jay Krueger, Committee Chair
“When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”Luke 14:13-14