Skip to main content

NCPD LogoNational Catholic
Partnership on Disability
Alianza Nacional Católica
Sobre la Discapacidad

  • Support NCPD
  • Sign up for E-news!
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
      • NCPD Governance Board
      • Catholic Disability Foundation
      • Staff
      • Council on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
      • Council on Mental Illness
    • Donate
    • Press Releases
  • Resources
    • Roman Missal
    • Dioceses and Parishes
      • Accessible Design
      • Gluten and Alcohol Intolerance
      • Work with NCPD
      • Parish Welcome
      • We All Belong
      • Symposium 2019
      • Find a Diocesan Director
    • Clergy
    • Families
      • Prenatal and Postnatal Support
      • Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities at National Prayer Vigil for Life
      • Physician-Assisted Suicide
    • Partners
    • Catholic Schools
      • Professional Development
      • Funding Models
    • Purchase Resources
  • Disability
    • Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Blindness/Vision Loss
    • Deafness/Hearing Loss
    • Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
      • Council on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
      • Speaker Forms for IDD Conference - Fall 2022
    • Mental Illness
      • Council on Mental Illness and Wellness
      • Mental Illness Theological Framework
      • Suicide
    • Physical Disability
  • Catechesis
    • Inclusive Lenten Activities
    • Adapted Faith Formation Activities
    • Catechetical Publishers
  • Affiliates
    • About Affiliate Membership
    • Be An Affiliate
    • Check Affiliate Status
    • Affiliate Connect Calendar
  • Formation
    • Sacraments Course
    • Mental Health Ministry Trainings
    • Sensory-Friendly Mass Training
    • 5 Tasks of Catechesis
    • Parish Advocate
  • En Español
  • Support NCPD
A man's hand dipped into a holy water font

Blog

Would you like to submit a blog post? Learn more here. 

Featured Resources

kids holding hands

The Ripple Effect: Inclusive Catholic Schools

People with disabilities

Promoting a Culture of Belonging

Ben praying

“Do I Need to Offer Sacramental Preparation for Persons with Disabilities in My Parish?”

Veronica

We Never Asked for That Kind of Miracle

Saint Christina the Astonishing

St. Christina the Astonishing and Autism

Caregivers

Being Honest with Ourselves as Caregivers

kids holding hands

The Ripple Effect: Inclusive Catholic Schools

There is a ripple effect that happens when a Catholic school chooses to prioritize inclusion. When teachers and administrators  actively make persons with disabilities seen and welcomed in a community, everyone benefits.  
People with disabilities

Promoting a Culture of Belonging

Rooted in philosophy proposed by Byung-Chul Han, “the art of lingering” refers to the value and attachment human beings place on vita activa or the doing of life. This hyperactivity and attachment to “doing” robs humans of the faculty of contemplation and authentic human encounter.
Ben praying

“Do I Need to Offer Sacramental Preparation for Persons with Disabilities in My Parish?”

This NCPD blog post features an excerpt from NCPD's first course, "Celebration of the Sacraments with Persons with Disabilities" which will be launched in June! If you would like to be contacted when the course launches, sign up here. 
Veronica

We Never Asked for That Kind of Miracle

When our daughter, Veronica, received her diagnosis, many people prayed for “complete and total healing.” We truly appreciate all prayers, but we never asked people to pray for that kind of miracle. To us, it was, and always has been so obvious: Veronica is the miracle.
Saint Christina the Astonishing

St. Christina the Astonishing and Autism

After my son, Ben, was diagnosed with autism, I came to see many things through the lens of all that I learned about autism. Sometimes, this led me to view something in a new way. Christina the Astonishing is perhaps the best example of how knowledge about autism opens the door to a new way of understanding something.
Caregivers

Being Honest with Ourselves as Caregivers

Caring for others, whether we are formal or informal caregivers, can be challenging and difficult.  Although there are many moments of joy, and many gifts to be received, there are also many trials and tribulations to be endured.  Currently, we have seen these caregiving challenges augmented greatly while living through a worldwide pandemic.
Carson receiving a piece of the Eucharist dissolved in a cup

Second-grader's First Communion Means Hope for Others

Carson Crosby, a student at St. Anthony Catholic School, is one of about a thousand or more children who received his First Communion in the Diocese of Victoria this year. But his excitement – and anxiety -- of participation in the Sacrament is magnified by the challenge he had to overcome to receive the Precious Body of Jesus.
Saint Joseph embracing Mary and the infant Jesus

A Letter to Fellow Dads

Dear Fellow Dad, As we celebrate this beautiful year of Saint Joseph, I want to write to you dad to a dad. Thank you for all you do every single day for your family, especially your little ones. 
Sunset with mother and daughter

A Mother’s Heart​​​​​​​

I have been a mom for 31 years. It is by far the biggest blessing of my life to be a mom. I have two daughters; my firstborn will be 32 in November and my youngest will be 18 in October. I never imagined how much love my heart could hold until I became a mom.
Heather and Kelly

Snapshots

"Having a sibling with disabilities comes with its challenges, but it has also been one of the most joy-filled relationships of my life. Kelly possesses a joy that is deeper and more authentic than anyone else I've ever met. Although she can't communicate verbally, she is able to quickly brighten my day with the love in her eyes, her sweet smile, or by grabbing my hand in hers and holding it tight. She continually teaches me to appreciate the little things, and to lean on the love of family when the going gets tough. I'm very grateful for my little sister and the many blessings she brings to my life!" - Heather Cooksey, Diocese of Galveston- Houston. 
Fr. Mark Nollete

Autism Appreciation: Lessons from Horton Hears a Who

Many of you know the Dr.
Hannah Houser

"Apraxia hasn't stopped me..."

My name is Hannah Houser, and though I have apraxia, this hasn't stopped me from my desire to be what I was called to be, a Catholic sister.
Mother and daughter

They might not realize...

For just a moment I thought, “maybe it’s better if she doesn’t make it.” Then the horror of that thought sank in. Was it the exhaustion brought on by 36 hours of labor? Was it the realization that what I saw as a statistical anomaly was now my reality? Was it that I’d seen how people treated my sister with arthrogryposis?
Woman smiling with dementia, inside of a church

What Does a Dementia-Friendly Parish Look Like?

Meet Mr. J, who was very active in ministry at his Catholic parish. He can be very loud and repeats the same three phrases when you meet him, but is joyful as he sings all of the right words to each hymn in Mass. When Mr J, who is living with dementia, had issues performing his ministry duties, he was left off of the schedule without any notice.
Father Mark Nolette

Father Mark Nolette, A Priest with Autism

While searching the web looking for resources of our Catholic faith for persons with disabilities, I came across the blog of Father Mark Nolette.
  •  
  • 1 of 2
  • next ›
NCPD Logo

National Catholic
Partnership on Disability

Promoting the Meaningful Participation
of Persons with Disabilities in Church and Society

Contact us: 415 Michigan Avenue, N.E., Suite 95
Washington, D.C. 20017-4501; ncpd@ncpd.org; 202-529-2933

NCPD is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit corporation.

Copyright © NCPD - National Catholic Partnership on Disability | Website: CEDC