We have something called Arise in our area. Several churches sponser it. Adam is in it. He gets taught one on one and makes his sacrements with the rest of the kids from his class. The only exception was First Reconciliation, that he did one on one. First Communion went great. He is going into 7th grade. So, we have a while before confirmation. I am not sure if they will try and have him do service projects like the other kids or what requirements he will have, but so far it has been really good. In fact one of the teachers in our parish taught the autistic boy who wrote the book about Sundays.
Hi All..I hope this posts finds all of u and ur children well!
Question: We are Roman Catholic and receiving sacraments are very important to us. My nephew is not of age yet..but I was just wondering for head start reasons...does anyone know how this will work? Will he be able to receive communion etc...? Does the church let it go? or?...Anyone.............
I don't know the answer to this, but I thought you might find inspiration in this article by autism mom Susan Senator. Her teenage son has fairly severe autism, yet they successfully arranged a bar mitzvah for him -- partly with hard work on his/their part, and partly with the religious leader lowering the demands for him.
http://susansenator.com/natsblessing.html
Good luck!
I would contact your diocese, and ask. This cannot be the first time they have crossed this bridge.very nice article and thanks for ur input!...On a related note, here's an article I ran across today about Vacation Bible School for special needs kids, organized by an autism mom. I like her attitude:
"For parents of children with autism, simple activities, such as a trip to Whataburger, can lead to a fiasco with an audience. [...] Christine D'Elicio, attorney and mother of a 7-year-old son with autism, helped organize the event. "It'll be nice to have a place to go where you don't feel judged," D'Elicio said. "We welcome everyone -- headbangers, screamers and total meltdowns. We will not stare."
http://www.caller.com/news/2007/jul/13/women-organize-vbs-fo r-children-with-autism/