Parish Disability Resources

  Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Doors

Sometimes, the disability isn’t obvious, as in the case of some intellectual/developmental disabilities or mental illnesses. If you observe behavior that you don’t understand, it is good to remain aware for possible need of assistance and be nonjudgmental.

 Accessibility   

Accessibility through Creativity Sometimes accessibility is a new way of thinking and sometimes involve little or no cost. (from NCPD)

Assess physical accessibility in your church building, including possible solutions.

  Creating Inclusion Accessible documents review and training is available for free from Easter Seals Iowa Assistive Technology staff at, 401 NE 66th Ave. in Des Moines, Iowa 50313.  Please call 1-866-866-8782 or 515-289-4069 (TTY) or email atinfo@eastersealsia.org

Assistive Listening Devices            

Here are some resources discussing various types of Assistive Listening Devices that work with hearing aid types.  Hopefully this will assist in evaluating needs and what should be considered when choosing a type of Assistive Listening Device for your parish.

• Infrared, Frequency/Digital Modulation, and Induction Hearing Loops: A Comparison of Assistive Listening Technologies, 2014
• Hearing Loops vs. Bluetooth by Linda S. Remensnyder, Au.D.; President: Hearing Associates, P.C.
• Get in the Hearing Loop from Hearing Loss Association of America
• Hearing Loops and Telecoils:  When will they become obsolete? from International Hearing Access Committee
• Hearing Loss and Assistive Listening devices from NCPD

Awareness and Welcoming

• A Good Host is a Good Planner, a checklist to insure all feel welcome and can participate at gatherings (from NCPD)
• Checklist for Special Needs and Inclusion Ministry from Key Ministries whose mission is to promote meaningful connection between churches and families of kids with disabilities for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ.
• Church Guide for Parents/Social Story, a social story for parents to utilize with their children to teach them about going to church and attending mass.
• Disabilities in Parishes Across the United States:  How Parishes in the United States Accommodate and Serve People with Disabilities. Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) was commissioned by Potomac Community Resources Inc. (PCR), National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD), the Department of Special Needs of the Arch-diocese of Washington, and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington to conduct the first-ever nationwide survey of how Catholic parishes, dioceses, and Catholic Charities are incorporating
  individuals with disabilities and their families into the single flock of the Church.
• Disability Etiquette and Hospitality (from NCDP)

• Inclusion Tip/Fact Sheets on disabilities and related issues for inclusive parish life.
  Child of God

Autism at Mass-Mass Without Tears

  Compound Caregivers

  Feeling Comfortable with People with Disabilities

  Inclusion: Happy Kids for Christmas

  Mental Illness Stigma--What Would I do?

  Ministering to Difficult People

Pastoral Visits with Someone with Dementia

  Postpartum Depression

  Prenatal Diagnoses and Pro-Life Choices

  Siblings of Children with Disabilities

  Suicide Prevention Inclusion Tip Sheet/The Key to Suicide Prevention: Knowledge

  Supporting Parishioners with Mental Illness

  The Blessings of Autism

• Inclusive Participation Assessment Tool:  LAMB (from NCDP) or purchase the LAMB paperback or Spanish version)
• How to Talk to Children about People with Disabilities, by Charleen Katra, Executive Director, also available on Amazon and other resources.
• Language: A powerful tool for parish hospitality (from NCPD) include pdf of Language Do's and Don'ts in English and Spanish.
• Open Heart Hospitality resource utilizing above NCPD document as resource.
• Parish Advocate Guide and Parish Access Contact Guide The Parish Guides are a parishioner, approved by the pastor who serves as a resource to support the inclusion and meaningful belonging of individuals with disabilities and their families in the life of the parish. This individual works in consultation with the pastor, staff, and parish volunteers.  Parish Access Contacts should also connect with diocesan and national ministry leaders.

• Pastor Tip Sheet (original document from National Apostolate for Inclusion Ministry – NAfIM)
• Pew Card for Disabilities and Pew Card for Mental Illness (Prior to printing add your parish name, choose two-sided print and flip on short edge) to raise awareness of welcoming persons with disabilities and mental illness in your parish. 
• Sensory Friendly Mass resource of ideas of how to encourages parishes to consider adaptations to a current mass already scheduled to embrace and welcome members of our church with Autism, Down Syndrome, Developmental/Intellectual and other disabilities.
  • Additional resources on Sensory Friendly Mass can be found at NCPD.
  • Additional resources on Sensory Friendly Mass from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
  • Inclusive Family Masses Introduction and Structure and iCare of Northeast Kansas has done a video that captures the spirit of their mission of providing meaningful participation in the Mass, religious education, sacramental prep and Socials for persons with developmental disabilities and their families.
  • Diocese of Cincinnati has a sensory friendly mass resource page with ideas for homilies, sensory manipulatives,  bulletin and pulpit announcements, etc.
• Speaking of Disability: Pastoral Guidelines on Language (English) and Speaking of Disability: Pastoral Guidelines on Language (Spanish) (from NCPD, currently being update and will be reposted once it is made available to us)
• Tips for Welcoming People with Disabilities at Mass (from NCPD)

Caregiver Resources

Catholic Caregivers is a program of the Friends of St. John the Caregiver. We provide information and material to help those who support and work with caregivers.  All the material and resources we offer are free.  We do ask that you keep the Friends of St. John the Caregiver copyright on any material that's distributed.

Nourish for Caregivers is is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Created to improve the health and spiritual well-being of family caregivers...we provide faith-based programs and resources to churches and organizations to support caregivers.   Our mission is to equip churches to create a spiritual home that ministers to the practical, emotional and spiritual needs of caregivers, giving them the tools and resources to help caregivers connect with their faith and encounter Christ, so that they can see the grace and blessings in their caregiver journey.

• The Caregiver Role and Decisions You Face
• Managing Family Dynamics
• Coping with Stress
• The Spirituality of Asking For Help
• End-of-Life Issues

We have three models available flexible to the specific needs of your organization: Traditional Model, Virtual/Hybrid Model and Healthcare Model. Read more about each program on their website.

COVID19 Resources

• Returning to Mass Social Story from NCPD
•  Returning to Mass Picture Communication Tool
• COVID-19 Resources from NCPD related to rights of persons with disabilities to medical treatment, online faith formation and additional COVID-19 resources.

Disability Book Resources 

List of Books available to check out from the diocese pastoral center, contact Patty Origer, 515-237-5073 or email poriger@dmdiocese.org

Grief Support Resources

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience loss and grieve for lost loved ones, just like everyone does.  When that person has a hard time communicating how they feel or processing complicated emotions, it makes it more difficult.  I Love You-When Someone you Love Dies and Healing the Hurt is a resource to assist these individuals in their grief

Mental Health Resources

• FREE Prayer Cards of Patron Saints of Mental Illness through NCPD and the Katie Foundation
• Mental Illness and Faith Community Support for Recovery booklet by Deacon Tom Lambert, Archdiocese of Chicago, Commission on Mental Illness and Faith and Fellowship for People with mental illness  
• National Association of Mental Illness, NAMI Faith Net is an interfaith resource network of NAMI members, friends, clergy and congregations of all faith traditions who wish to encourage faith communities who are welcoming and supportive of persons and families living with mental illness.
• NAMI provides a brochure available for printing Being a Stigma Free Faith Community or a variety of pre-printed items for purchase on this topic at their store.

• NAMI  Compassion in Action: A Guide for Faith Communities Serving People Experiencing Mental Illness and Their Caregivers. 

• NCPD Mental Illness resources includes a resource entitled A Pastoral Response to Mental Illness in collaboration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In addition to this resource, the council also recently revised their Mental Illness Theological Framework. Resources include supporting people with mental illness in your parish, prayers of the faithful for mental illness awareness and more.
• Welcome and Valued:  Supporting People with Mental Illness in Parish Life (DVD)This DVD from NCPD features in-depth looks at people with mental illness and how they participate in parish life. It examines the four aspects of recovery: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. Parish considerations include setting boundaries, acute behavior, confidentiality, and suicide. 

Picture Missals and Manipulatives

Listed below are several examples of Picture Missals that could be utilized as an example and adapted with pictures for your own parish.

My Mass Book A Picture Missal Print from Archdiocese of Newark

Picture Missal from St. Francis of Assisi Parish in West Des Moines, IA

Returning to Mass Safely picture communication tool

We go to Mass Picture Schedule from Archdiocese of Newark

Consider making manipulatives available for those attending Mass who need some tools:

  Sensory Friendly Fidgets and tool resource list of possible ideas. to consider

  Rosary made of silicone