Adaptive Materials
The Disabilities Ministry has resources and information about adaptive materials that serve to meet the specific needs of individuals in a catechetical program.
Below are some materials and programs that are available. Please contact the Disabilities Ministry Coordinator for help in discerning what materials would be the best fit for your catechists’ needs.
Special Religious Development (SPRED) is now SPREAD Special Religious And Discipleship
History of SPRED at the Archdiocese of Indianapolis:
SPRED was a special religious development program sponsored by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. It began 25 years ago and the program was adopted from the SPRED program in Chicago that is still available to our parishes. It was specifically developed at the Archdiocese of Chicago and still provides training and materials to meet the spiritual needs of persons with developmental disabilities and offers materials for both school age children and adults.
In recent years, some of the Indianapolis SPRED groups started using new materials and have added a focus on discipleship to their groups. Some of the members are very active in their parish and serve as Altar Servers and Greeters at their parish. The Disabilities Ministry wanted to encourage parish groups to choose catechist materials that best meet the needs of their individual members and to also provide service opportunities and parish involvement. The SPRED groups are no longer exclusively following the SPRED Chicago program so the name change best represents the added focus of the groups which is now SPREAD, Special Religious Education And Discipleship.
To learn more about SPREAD in our Archdiocese, click HERE
Adaptive Sacramental Preparation Kits for Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Confirmation
Loyola Press: Click HERE to visit the website
Designed primarily for individuals with autism, but useful for learners with other special needs as well. For those who need strong visual support, these kits include many tools, such as flip books, picture cards and stories, and puzzles to communicate concepts and help meet the particular requirements for receiving the sacrament, also to familiarize the student with what will happen in the rite itself, to help relieve anxiety.
Finding God Adaptive Curriculum for Grades 1-8
Also from Loyola Press. You will find that this program is flexible enough to be used at home, one on one, and in group settings. It is able to function on two different instruction levels: hands on, and adapted grade level (as well as a combination of the two), which means that especially if you happen to already be using Loyola's Finding God series, this integrates very well! Included are lesson cards which provide options and modifications so you can find what is best for the child. It also comes with some wonderful learning tools that even your typically developing students will love using.
Click HERE to visit the website
Accepting the Gift Curriculum
Features a guidebook with ten months of lessons, plus a workbook filled with hands-on activities. Your child, regardless of their abilities, can prepare for the sacraments and learn about their faith. Click here for more information: https://acceptingthegift.org/product/accepting-the-gift-religious-education-curriculum-pdf/
SPRED Chicago
SPRED Chicago: click HERE to visit website (Materials for parish groups are ordered each year through the Archdiocese of Indianapolis)
Circle of Grace Adaptations
Available for grades K-6, this guideline provides suggestions for adapting the Circle of Grace lessons for learners with special needs.
Click HERE to view and download the adaptation guide!
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Program to Improve Catholic Religious Education for Children and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
RCL Benziger: Click HERE to view website
Versatile and comprehensive curriculum for catechesis. Designed for children and adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilites. Consists of 220 lesson plans, including preparation for First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Lessons build on each other, and are divided into four sections, or levels: Foundational, Relational, Discipleship and Mission.
Pflaum Gospel Weeklies Faith Formation
Pflaum: click HERE to visit website
This program consists of a faith formation handbook- What the Church Believes and Teaches- plus 32 weekly liturgy-based lessons. While not specifically designed for students with special needs, this program comes in various reading levels from Pre-K through 8th grade, with pictures to help visual learners and activities to implement outside the bible study to transfer the teachings into actions in the community. The sessions are broken into three parts, sharing faith stories, listening to the Gospel, and building Christian community. These shorter, focused sessions help keep the learner's attention and allow opportunity for short breaks and movement if needed, and so can support students with learning disabilities, Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder, or social emotional needs.