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| Special Needs | |
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| Topic Started: Thursday, 12. February 2009, 21:18 (270 Views) | |
| Deleted User | Thursday, 12. February 2009, 21:18 Post #1 |
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This came into my inbox today sent by a member of a credit union I am involved with. A bit saccharine perhaps but it did make me think. Apologies for the length of it but you are spared the huge red font it came to me in.
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| Rose of York | Thursday, 12. February 2009, 21:24 Post #2 |
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John, thanks for that, it is beautiful. The moral of the story is: There are times when we adults can learn from the youngsters. |
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| Rose of York | Saturday, 21. February 2009, 12:29 Post #3 |
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I have taken John's posting out of Miscellaneous Catholic Chat, because I feel the matter of how we treat adults and children with special needs (physical, mental or emotional), is worth exploring. Do we aim to give them the help they know is best for them? (they are individuals) Are we on the alert, recognising they have something to offer? Do we take the attitude the adults and children who have problems are a nuisance and should not be allowed to disrupt OUR prayers? In the story of Shay, the boy who appeared to have little to offer, children silently "ganged up", giving him his pride and a sense of achievement. Who gained the most, Shay or the other boys (or Shay's Dad)?
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| Clare | Saturday, 21. February 2009, 14:59 Post #4 |
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Putting the "Fun Dame" into Fundamentalist
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Lovely. John.
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S.A.G. Motes 'n' Beams blog Join in the Fun Trivia Quiz! | |
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| JRJ | Saturday, 21. February 2009, 15:19 Post #5 |
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I received this email, too. In the US - it has really made the rounds. The 11 February episode of EWTN Live focused on special needs ranging from deafness to veterans of combat and all sorts of challenges in between. There are groups that volunteer the necessary medical and practical support needed to help persons with special needs make a pilgrimage to Lourdes. |
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Jennifer hubby's dinosaur blog | |
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| Mairtin | Saturday, 21. February 2009, 16:11 Post #6 |
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It would be a nice story if it were actually true, which seems unlikely. http://www.snopes.com/glurge/chush.asp A good rule of thumb is that if an email asks you to forward it to other people then it's almost certainly some kind of hoax - virus "warnings" are notorious for this. Getting back to the story, I agree with Barbara Mikkelson on the snopes site - who seems to know first hand what she is talking about - when she says:
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| Deleted User | Saturday, 21. February 2009, 16:41 Post #7 |
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Whether that particular story is true I know not, but I can vouch for this one. Many years ago, when my sons were in primary school,there was a very popular little girl affected by Down's Syndrome. At the school sports day prior to her leaving for secondary school, every one of the children, from nursery to J4 (as it was then) cheered and chanted her name as she ran in the final obstacle race. All the runners found something to "slow them down" and she won. The playground erupted with cheers. There had been no suggestion that this should happen, no parent or teacher had made any comment, the entire episode was the spontaneous idea of her classmates KatyA |
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| Rose of York | Saturday, 21. February 2009, 16:55 Post #8 |
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Keep the Faith! | |
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| Clare | Saturday, 21. February 2009, 16:56 Post #9 |
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Putting the "Fun Dame" into Fundamentalist
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Come on Mairtin! It's a nice story regardless of whether or not it's true!
Edited by Clare, Saturday, 21. February 2009, 16:56.
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S.A.G. Motes 'n' Beams blog Join in the Fun Trivia Quiz! | |
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| Rose of York | Saturday, 21. February 2009, 17:03 Post #10 |
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The father said "Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do." Shay thought he had played well. Shay came out of it happy and proud. His parents were happy for him. It would be different if a child with a physical disability was presumed not to be as intelligent as his peers. I do not see this as a story of pity-driven home runs or killing with kindness. The other boys did not tell Shay they would go easy on him. They showed a deep understanding of the need to belong and to achieve. |
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| Rose of York | Saturday, 21. February 2009, 17:42 Post #11 |
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Food for thought
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/chaplain.html |
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| Rose of York | Wednesday, 24. June 2009, 14:49 Post #12 |
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I am going to be controversial now. Whenever there are threads on people with special needs of any sort, there are few responses. Why? The general attitude is "Communion at home" whether or not the person is able to get to Mass and take part in parish activities. Children with syndromes that make them over excitabe, attract complaints from people who do not want them in the church, that excludes the child and the parents. A person who asked for a minor adjustment (a soft chair) posted on this forum, he was reduced to taking court action. The cry had been "do something for you, other people will make demands". I am in a mood, experience has taught me that we marginalise our parishioners who have special needs, emotional, mental or physical. Parishes get the ramp, the loop system and the large print books, they think that is all that is required of them. We could do with a good debate on here. Anybody care to respond to my rant? |
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| JRJ | Wednesday, 24. June 2009, 19:27 Post #13 |
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Our Parish (US) has a large number of persons with special needs. Our "other" Parish - we visit about every 6 weeks - has a large number of elderly and military, who can be seen as having special needs, too. The special needs present in our Parish: many deaf or hard of hearing, mostly children (we are close to a school for the deaf), a few confined to wheelchairs with various diseases/congenital conditions that limit the ability to communicate to some extent, and various other special circumstances. For example, we sat behind a father with a young son who was experiencing something like Tourette Syndrome (uncontrollable tics/vocalizations). The father was so patient and kind - we were impressed - and handled the situation by himself, coaching/correcting his boy as necessary, firmly and with clear purpose to help him grow to his potential. The Parish seems naturally to incorporate assistance for these faithful. There are ramps for wheelchairs and signers for the deaf (usually from among the families of the hard of hearing). Parishioners look out for those in need of a door held open, a push up the wheelchair ramp, patience with babies and other noisy family members, etc. This among a VERY mixed group including most races, at least four languages and lots of immigrants. Maybe that is part of why the "different" aren't seen or treated as a "problem" in the Parish? We also have a large contingent of Permanent Deacons (five) and two of the men speak languages of the main non-Anglo ethnic groups - this must help Father with communication, problem-solving and generally being helpful to the people. Also, in the US, what we used to call handicapped children are frequently incorporated into mainstream classrooms in school, so it is unusual for citizens not to have at least some experience of those with physical or other challenges. What is the status of the treatment of people with special needs/requests for some accommodation in UK society in general? |
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Jennifer hubby's dinosaur blog | |
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| pete | Wednesday, 24. June 2009, 21:23 Post #14 |
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I thought it was a lovely story John and so was KatyA’s . You all know that I am a proud dad of a Downs son, and he just loves serving on the Alter with his friend another Downs-syndrome young man. Whilst my son needs prompting, his friend is on the ball, he knows exactly what to do and when to do it. Thanks to his knowledge and serious commitment as a server, he has helped Keith my son so much and constantly keeps him under his watchful eye. When Keith does something wrong, seeing his friend shaking his head in disapproval brings smiles to all our faces. For instance three weeks ago as the priest was giving the congregation his final blessing, Keith decided to copy the priest and bless the congregation as well; it’s just as well we have a priest with a good sense of humour who saw the funny side of it, as did the congregation. |
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| Rose of York | Wednesday, 24. June 2009, 21:51 Post #15 |
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Premises that are open to the public (that includes places of worship) must comply with an Act of Parliament. The premises must be as accessible as is reasonable. The test of reasonableness could be used by a tiny little independent country chapel that has, say, twenty attendees, little money and no "umbrella organisation" such as a diocese, that could help out with funds. Such a chapel would not be expected to provide the same high standard as a large church, mosque, synagogue or Cathedral. The Service Providers Guide to the Disability Discrimination Act gives excellent advice about attitudes towards persons with special needs. The little shop in our village has steps, no ramp, no reasonable person would expect them to spend so much it would put them out of business. Flouting of the Act is widespread in churches and in the secular field, but is not a criminal offence, so it is up to the person suffering discrimination, to take civil action,which few would want to do, it would be expensive and stressful. In Catholic premises some parish priests have made a tremendous effort and achieved much, some have done little or nothing. Few people know that initially the responsibility lies with the parish priest, and ultimately it lies with the diocese because it owns the buildings. My own experience, as the wife of a person with physical problems, is that the young people are more empathatic than the older ones! Some large parishes have arrangements for catechesis for what we call "special needs children" (eg those with syndromes that lead to disruptive behaviour. Some have signers for deaf people, some do not. Judging by your posting, Jennifer, your parish has high standards, but judging by the large number of clergy you have a large congregation therefore, I should think, higher income than a typical British parish. Money helps, but where funds are low, it is still nice to find a healthy attitude. |
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John.
9:16 AM Jul 11