OPENING DOORS TO PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES
A Friendly Resource Guide to Creating
Parish Access
The U.S. Catholic bishops, in their three pastoral statements since 1978, have
called parishes to be accessible and welcoming to parishioners who live with
disabilities. In the 1978 Pastoral
Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities,
they challenged:
For most Catholics the community of believers
is embodied in the local parish. The parish is the door to participation for
individuals with disabilities, and it is the responsibility of the pastor and
lay leaders to make sure that this door is always open. (par. 18)
Since 1982 the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD), previously
known as the National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities, has been
the source of resources, consultations and advice in fostering that mission.
Opening Doors to People with
Disabilities, Volume I, subtitled
A Pastoral Manual,
includes 216 pages detailing the foundation and planning essential in creating a
meaningful ministry, as well as pastoral issues and disability facts and
statistics. It forms the base upon which parish staff or volunteers can create
meaningful inclusion for the 15 to 20 percent of any parish which can be
expected to have a disability.
The companion Volume II, The Resource
File, is a user friendly collection
of facts, figures, new models and definitions, survey forms and plans for action
which are bound into two large loose-leaf notebooks. This set will assist any
parish in creating the Welcome and
Justice for Persons with Disabilities
called for by the USCCB in their 1999 pastoral
statement. Its Table of Contents is the key to finding the desired information
quickly.
Access to Public Facilities
The 14 million Catholics with
disabilities in the United States and their families find their access to public
facilities assured by secular laws. They expect but too often fail to find
similar welcome within their local parishes. Help for churches seeking to meet
those expectations are found in NCPD’s
Opening Doors to People with Disabilities.
The following sampling from Creating an Access Plan Utilizing the Principles
of Universal Design (Chapter One,
Section B, 1) offers a glance at creating welcome for all parishioners.
“Achieving universal design which creates enabling and inclusive environments to
serve all people at all points during their lives is the goal of an effective
access plan, recognizing that what is a necessity for some is a convenience for
most. .”
“An assessment of the parish . . . provides valuable information on existing
access and levels of understanding of disability issues and assists in
developing an access plan. . . . . Often pastors are unaware of the significant
number of families which include an individual with a disability. A 1991 Louis
Harris and Associates survey revealed that one family in three has a member with
a disability.”
“. . . Often older people whose mobility and sensory acuity have been diminished
could use large-print reading materials, enhanced hearing systems, and properly
placed railings but do not think to request such. Thus, questions on a parish .
. . census should focus on identifying accommodations to enhance participation
rather than on specifying disabilities.”
“A long-range access plan addresses various barriers: Attitudes, the physical
environment and in carrying out of programs, events and activities. The cost of
such remedies varies from low or no cost common sense solutions to possible
significant expense for some architectural modifications and technology. Of
course, people with disabilities are to be consulted throughout this process to
offer their expertise and life experiences and to explain their needs.”
“Often the most challenging barriers faced by people with disabilities are the
negative attitudes of others, including those which convey stifling pity, fear,
or repressive misconceptions about a person’s abilities. An important low-cost
first steps involves familiarizing personnel and volunteers with the concerns
and needs of people with disabilities, emphasizing patience, respect and
willingness to ask questions and admit mistakes or misconceptions.”
This section of Opening Doors also delineates some essential low
cost renovations: “Ensuring that doors are at least 32 inches wide and can be
opened with minimal effort. Modifications of bathrooms to include grab bars,
toilet seat 17-19 inches from floor, lever-type faucet and door handles,
wall-mounted urinal with the opening of the basin no higher than 17 inches from
the floor, towel racks and mirrors mounted no higher that 40 inches from the
floor. Creation of a unisex bathroom which may be entered by the disabled
person, a parent, spouse or personal assistant is optimal.”
Common sense approaches are also detailed with courtesy, consideration and a
calm interaction the goal. “Treat the person as you would anyone else. Do not
be afraid to ask questions about a person’s disability. Do not always ‘do for’
the person. Treat adults with disabilities as adults, rather than as children,
regardless of the disability. Familiarize yourself with aids such as
communication boards and synthesized speech.”
“Creating a plan to address the long-range access needs of parishioners with
disabilities can be approached through a three-fold process involving
identification and implementation of needed renovations, facilitating access to
programs on an ongoing basis and development of policy statements. Such a plan
is not static.”
Section A, 5 in that same Chapter includes various hints for
Educating for Disability Awareness
for young people and adults. Young people may
find these suggestions helpful:
Provide a situation which allows the group to become more comfortable with a
disabled person.
If at all possible, invite a person who has the disability focused on that day.
Personal interaction is really the best way to dispel fears and touch people. If
such a person is not available, invite a family member or show a video, slides,
filmstrip, film, etc.
Educating for Awareness
Make posters, banners, or a
classroom mural. This could be done during an art or drawing period.
Older students might write a report about one famous person who lives/lived with
a disability (Franklin Roosevelt, Stevie Wonder, Marli Matlin, anyone you know.)
Have students complete the sentence: “If I had (name a disability), I would want
other kids to .”
Read stories about disabled persons.
Have someone teach a song, or the Lord's Prayer, in sign language.
Older students may choose to:
Visit residents in state schools, in nursing homes, and other facilities.
Volunteer in schools and agencies serving disabled persons.
Serve as an aide in inclusive or special religious education programs.
Offer to sit with a child or adult who is disabled, to provide family members an
opportunity to go out.
Challenge a wheelchair tennis or basketball team to a tournament.
Coach a team in a recreation/sports program for children or adult who are
disabled.
Adults may choose to offer a presentation of issues related to disability,
including the following:
The connection between disability and life issues such as abortion and
euthanasia;
The changing perspective on disability (moving from the medical model to one
emphasizing
rights);
The history and current status of the disability rights movement;
The goals and successes of inclusive education.
Chapter 1, Section B, Universal
Design—The Key to Access for All
provides a sampling of access surveys, action plans, resolutions on access
issues, technical assistance guides and resources on universal design and
assistive technology. A two-page resource on questions for a parish census
offers the following advice:
“In order to reach more people and increase the
participation of all, it is advised that questions regarding functional
limitation and accommodations be incorporated into the parish or diocese's
standard census rather than conducting a separate disability-only census. A
person who may not otherwise identify himself or herself as having a disability
would likely answer the questions listed below. Care should be taken to locate
and survey people who may not be currently active in the parish due to past
experiences of negative attitudes or barriers.”
Finally,
Opening Doors to People with Disabilities
includes several simple surveys which can be
used “as is” or modified to meet the needs of a particular parish. After
conducting such a survey it is best to list the barriers located, brainstorm
ideas for their removal and then consider, consult and estimate cost of any
proposed modifications. Priorities can then be discussed with the pastor and
pastoral council and best solutions and a time line developed. A simple 2 page
back to back folded booklet format includes such questions as:
Are there one or two pews 32” apart for use by people who use crutches or
walkers?
_____Yes _____No
Have several pews been shortened enabling people in wheelchairs to sit with
family/friends?
_____Yes ______No
Which of the following does our parish use to make worship and activities
accessible to people with visual impairment?
Yes No
___ ___ large print material
___ ___ Braille material
___ ___ Audio cassette material
___ ___ Audio description
To your knowledge, people with disabilities serve in which of the following
ministries:
Altar server’s ___, Catechist ___, Eucharist Minister ___ Greeters/Ushers ___,
Lectors ___, Parish Council ___ Parish Staff ___, Youth Ministry ___, Service
Groups ___ Special Ministries ___
Chapter 3 provides extensive materials on several pastoral issues: education
(including Catholic schools and religious education programs); employment;
ethics/life issues; family concerns; sacramental access and spiritual
enrichment; and social justice.
If you’d like to order the Opening
Doors 2-volume set for your
parish, it normally sells for $55.00, plus $13.50 postage and handling, a
total of $68.50. For a limited time, NCPD is offering the complete set to
The
Priest readers for
$45.00 for prepaid orders. All orders will also receive a complimentary copy
of NCPD’s newly revised Poverty
Brochure. This full-color,
ten-panel brochure offers significant information on disability demographics
by race and age, poverty, abuse, unemployment, and health care. Order from
NCPD, 415 Michigan Avenue, NE, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20017-4501;
202/529-2933; 202/529-2934 (tty); 202/529-4678 (fax).
This article appeared in Our Sunday Visitor’s
The Priest Magazine,
July 2002.
