Building community for those with special needs

By Susan Bailey| CFP Correspondent

WESTBOROUGH – Aaron Linn loves going to Mass; the fact that he is autistic has not gotten in the way. He greets other parishioners during the Sign of Peace with a broad smile and receives the Eucharist with his mother, Ellen. At age 32, he is an engaged member of the community of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish.
Mrs. Linn, director of music at St. Luke’s, is thankful to the SPRED program for helping her son to know the love of Jesus and to share it within the parish community.
“Everyone needs a religious identity,” she said. “It’s a basic thing everyone needs to have a feeling of belonging somewhere.”
The Special Religious Education Development (SPRED) program has been a vital part of faith formation in the Diocese of Worcester since 2006. An international movement, SPRED originated in France in the 1950s to meet the needs of the developmentally challenged, including those with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, seizure disorders and the like.
Father James McCarthy (assisted by Sister Mary Therese Harrington) brought the program to the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1960 as a response to the requests of parents who wished for their children to receive the sacraments. The Worcester Diocese, through a dedicated team of volunteers led by Carolyn Oberhelman, offers SPRED in three parishes: St. Andrew the Apostle Mission in Worcester (which Mrs. Oberhelman attends), Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Webster, and St. Luke the Evangelist.
St. Luke’s serves families from Westborough, Bellingham, Hopedale, Shrewsbury and Hopkinton. Dianne Patrick, director of religious education at St. Luke’s and chairperson for SPRED, implemented the program. Her background in special education fueled her desire to serve those with special needs, helping them to be a part of the parish community.
“It has impacted many families,” said Mrs. Patrick. “We have seen over 20 first Communions and a dozen confirmations over the last 13 years. There are three students preparing for confirmation in 2020 and one for first Communion.”
One of those impacted was Aaron Linn. Coming to St. Luke’s in 2001, Mrs. Linn converted to Catholicism and wished for her son to do the same. SPRED made that possible.
“It was from Dianne that I heard about SPRED,” said Mrs, Linn. “It’s such a beautiful program and she did a wonderful job of explaining how it worked.”
Mrs. Linn pointed out a key goal of SPRED: “It gets them to a place where they can do first Communion and then do confirmation. What happens here is they really establish a relationship with Jesus and they start to feel that love and the belief.”
Aaron was received into the Catholic Church at the beginning of 2009 and received his first Communion in June of that year. He was confirmed by Bishop McManus along with the class of candidates in April of 2012.
SPRED not only benefits its students, but family members as well. “One of the beauties of SPRED is you are meeting with not only the kids but the parents of these kids,” said Mrs. Linn. “And so you forge these wonderful friendships with these other families. You can support each other. SPRED pulls our families together.”
In serving the special needs community, SPRED takes a different approach in teaching the faith. Based upon the symbolic method known as Vivre developed by French priest Father Jean Mesny, SPRED uses an intuitive method of instruction, linking a spiritual truth to a familiar symbol in life. Careful attention is given with regards to the environment of the classroom and the sense of sacredness in the community. Dianne Patrick recounted a story of a certain cross and the meaning it held for a student:
“Philip was one of our first friends in SPRED back in 2006. We would meet in a gathering room in the parish center where a San Damiano crucifix hung on the wall. That cross became the symbol of what Philip called “church school” and it also became the central figure when we planned our SPRED Center. It graces the wall as you enter the center.”
SPRED is offered to young children, teens and adults. Carolyn Oberhelman’s 33-year-old autistic daughter participates in the classes at St. Andrew the Apostle Mission. She explained how a typical SPRED session takes place:
“When people arrive, they choose a quiet activity to work with. We have things like play dough, puzzles, coloring pages, books, magnetic squares that they can, to build things with. We spend 45 minutes with quiet activities. Each person with special needs sits with a helper; the helper helps them to get started with something. The helper also does a quiet activity so that everybody at the table is quietly doing something. The purpose of that is to help them become settled in the space, to become calm and also to have a chance to greet one another.”
Before proceeding to the “celebration room” where the religious instruction is given, students and helpers move into another area where they socialize with one another. Mrs. Oberhelman describes what happens when they proceed to the celebration room:
“They are invited by name to go into the celebration room. That’s where they learn about God. The person that leads that transition will invite each helper and the person with special needs to go into the celebration room. The celebration room has a quality of holiness about it: a drapery hanging on the wall, a table …  there’s always fresh flowers at each meeting, the Bible is displayed and some other religious things like a cross. Also, there is an easel with pictures that relate to the lesson – the pictures are sometimes something from nature. We begin with something that is familiar to them. I first develop the thing in nature or an experience that they’ve had, and then make a link to something about God.”
In a lesson about Jesus as the Good Shepherd, Mrs. Oberhelman provided toy sheep and fake grass to illustrate how Jesus takes care of and watches over his sheep. She read a short, simplified passage from the Bible, repeating it three times. To emphasize the sacred nature of the Bible, she lifted up the book and referred to it as God’s Word.
The lesson concluded with a song employing hand motions.
The final part of the session is a time of fellowship; the students and their helpers set the table and share food and conversation.
Building a sense of belonging based upon the love of God for those with special needs is the essence of SPRED.
“It is true that my background as a special educator in the public schools prompted my interest in bringing the program to St. Luke’s,” said Mrs. Patrick, “but it was working with children who needed to find a special connection with God that keeps me committed.”
Mrs. Linn is grateful that Aaron can participate fully in the life of the Church. “It really grows out of prayer,” she said. “We teach them how to pray.”

– SPRED is looking for dedicated volunteers. Visit their page on the Diocese of Worcester website at https://worcesterdiocese.org/spred for more information on how you can help.

A source for this article was a piece by Marty Denzer of The Catholic Key titled “Joyful Laughter Lights Gathering Of Adults With Developmental Difficulties.”