Teaching the Faith
to Special Needs Children

by Evelyn Siegmund

Said by an eleven-year-old child with Down Syndrome, visiting a church with the Tabernacle tucked away in a side chapel. This child has just recognized the Treasure we have as Catholics. How did he come to this realization? From God, Himself, whispering His secrets of love to this baptized soul. But God uses parents, priests, and bishops to instruct His "special" children, who can know the Catholic Faith. Parents are the primary educators of their children. They teach the Faith by living that Faith themselves; that is, striving for holiness themselves. Pope John Paul II reminds us that sanctity is for everyone. How vital, then, that parents live the life of the Church. How? Prayer and the Sacraments are the sources of grace for parents, and through them, their children. Parents, then, need Holy Mass Ñ even daily Mass if possible    frequent confession and Communion, prayer Ñ the Stations of the Cross, the Rosary Ñ in short, an orderly regimen of the Catholic life. To be a "good teacher" of the Faith to the children, the first thing necessary is to be good.

Well, then, assuming that the parents are working on "being good," what next? How about the "teacher" part of "good teacher"? What to teach? How to teach? These are questions to take before that Treasure of the Catholic Church, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. How tenderly He loves the disabled child! "Talk things over" with Our Eucharistic Lord, truly Present in the Tabernacle.

Let us consider the content and methods of teaching. Parents know the child best and can take account of the abilities and limitations of the special needs child. Give the child in special education the fullness and wealth of Catholic life. We learn through the senses, so use those channels appropriate for the child. At home, use sacramentals: be sure there is a Crucifix, statue or picture of Our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, Guardian Angel. Do not let them collect dust Ñ look at them, hold them, talk about them. Use holy water to teach the sign of the Cross. Grace does not depend on understanding. There is a variety of materials available at the Catholic bookstore or mail order house: video and audio tapes, simple puzzles, coloring and activity books. Choose stickers with a Bible verse, or try "scribble pictures" books in which the picture shows as the page is penciled in. Build a simple cardboard ark or do dot-to-dot pictures of the Boy Jesus. Nor is it necessary to spend sums of money on materials. Parents can make or improvise for these or other ideas. A parent can custom-design a prayer book appropriate for the child: use holy cards or draw pictures; add simple prayers. Sing a Marian hymn and weave a crown of wildflowers for a May crowning of the Blessed Mother's statue. Think of ways to incorporate Catholicism into daily life.

Give the children heroes Ñ the saints! Illustrated lives of the saints books can put a picture in the mind while the parent puts the love of a particular virtue in the heart. God has given us so many saints; choose soldier saints, schoolboy saints, patrons of travelers, doctors, sailors, musicians. Remember how St. Ignatius of Loyola was inspired by reading the lives of the saints.

Teach the titles of Our Lady, using holy cards, or pictures cut from greeting cards or calendars. Let the child know about Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima. Wear Mary's habit Ñ the Brown Scapular. Give the child a Miraculous Medal and tell about Mary's promise of great graces to those who wear it. Make or purchase a Rosary, and talk about the fifteen mysteries in appropriate terms. Place your child, spiritually, on Mary's lap, next to Jesus. She will help parents to fulfill this duty of communicating the Faith to their children.

What about a more structured approach to instruction in the truths of the Faith? Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has given us the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a compendium of our Faith. Here, then, is a guide as to what to teach the child. With a review of the truths in mind, parents can simplify catechism questions, to an appropriate level. It happens that catechism questions are not often taught, on the assumption that the child cannot learn. But here the theological virtues infused at Baptism can grow through grace. One way to teach simply is to use flash cards or a chart. While a long sentence definition may be out of reach, three or four words may be grasped. For example, the definition of a sacrament is, essentially, (something you can) see (that) Jesus started (instituted), to give grace. So, the flash card could read:

sacrament:
* see
* Jesus
* grace

Is not this what outlining is? It may clarify definitions for the child. Parents can supply sufficient details to make the basic definition understandable. In other areas of the catechism, the Ten Commandments, for example, stories are useful, to illustrate each Commandment expressed in a very few words. Many children can learn, if taught. Remember teaching does not require an immediate response, like testing does. Persevere. Continue instruction by taking the child to church Ñ to Holy Mass, and a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Say the Stations of the Cross. Light a candle. And pray for priests and bishops, that they provide for the reception of the sacraments by disabled children.

By virtue of the Sacrament of Baptism, the child with special needs can grow in the Catholic Faith. In fact, the child may be simpler, smaller Ñ which corresponds to St. Therese's "little way of spiritual childhood." Let us place the disabled child in the Arms of the Father Who created him. May His Arms be the "spiritual elevator" which raises him to Heaven, our eternal home, just as St. Therese taught. Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever Ñ especially by His "special" children.

Evelyn Siegmund is a mother of four in Dallas, Texas and the grandmother of one. She has one son with Down Syndrome.