Tag: disability

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Kevin Wondrash

Opportunity to experience living with dementia

JANESVILLE –– The Aging and Disability Resource Center of Rock County and the Rock County Council on Aging will host a unique opportunity for family and community caregivers to briefly experience the challenges and struggles of a person living with dementia.

This free program will be held on Thursday, Feb. 6, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Rock County Job Center, 1900 Center Ave., Janesville.

Pre-registration is required by calling 608-741-3615. This opportunity will be held in conjunction with the quarterly family night of sharing and pizza. You do not need to participate in the Dementia Live to join us for the night.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Monona school teaches love

ihm teach love
Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) School in Monona Principal Callie Meiller stands with speaker and Paralympian Lloyd Bachrach as IHM kicked off its “Teach Love” campaign. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)

MONONA — As the Paralympic Games are being held from March 9 to 18 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School (IHM) in Monona heard from a former Paralympian.

The talk by Lloyd Bachrach, called “Yes, You Can!” was given during the school’s kick-off of its “Teach Love” campaign, which also included the students, faculty, and staff performing 10,000 acts of kindness around the school.

‘Yes, You Can!’

Bachrach, a motivational speaker and Paralympian who, while born with a congenital bone deficiency which left his legs unusually small, was able to overcome challenges, live out his dreams, and participate in sports at many levels, including the Paralympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 on the United States sitting volleyball team.

The Paralympic Games, both summer and winter, involve athletes with a range of disabilities. They are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games.

Sporting his artificial legs, Bachrach told the students, “I have a disability” and it “makes me a little bit different . . . I use a cane to help me walk.”

With the artificial legs, Bachrach is five-foot-eight inches tall. Without them, he is about three-foot-nine.

Bachrach said his talk would be about “the challenges I had when I was growing up, but also about the success that I’ve had.”

“You know that in life, we all have challenges,” he added, “we’re all trying to succeed at something.”

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Educators attend adaptive catechesis presentation

mdreo presentation
Members of MDREO (Madison Diocese Religious Educators’ Organization) participate in a videoconference with Michele Chronister, the co-chair of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability’s Council on Intellectual and Development Disabilities, during a recent session at Holy Name Heights in Madison. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)

MADISON — “The only real disability is rejecting the Holy Spirit.”

Those powerful and profound words were some of many heard at a recent session of MDREO — the Madison Diocese Religious Educators’ Organization.

Their January 26 session at Holy Name Heights was all about the importance of adaptive catechesis — catechesis for those with disabilities, especially intellectual and developmental.

The presenter was Michele Chronister, the co-chair of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability’s Council on Intellectual and Development Disabilities.

Chronister has written books and articles on adaptive catechesis.

She was originally scheduled to travel to Madison for the program, but was unable to, and instead pre-recorded some videos, specially for the Madison audience. She also participated in a live videoconference later in the day.

The program was made possible with help from a grant from the Diocese of Madison Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities.

The theology of vocation

Chronister’s first pre-recorded talk was on the theology of vocation.

She said when one hears “vocation,” they usually think of marriage, the priesthood, or the Religious Life and added there are people with disabilities who are living out all of those vocations.

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Jean Mueller

Advising senior parents about housing decisions

Question: I think this may have come up before, but I am wondering if there are some guidelines for choosing where to move when being at home is no longer an option.

My father is ready to move out of the family home. He admits he cannot keep up with maintenance and chores and since my mother passed away, he feels he is just occupying an empty space.

My siblings and I are so grateful he feels this way and want to support him as best we can. He does have some health issues and we have wondered if he is depressed or if he might have some memory issues because of some things he has been forgetting.

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Cathy Lins

Raising awareness of mental health issues

Cathy Lins

Along the mental health continuum are three major mental health states in which individuals can be located at various times in their lives.

At the “healthy” end of the continuum are individuals experiencing well-being, a state of good mental and emotional health. These individuals may experience stress and discomfort resulting from occasional problems of everyday life, but they experience no impairment to daily functioning.

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Kevin Wondrash

Free Alzheimer’s/dementia series

JANESVILLE — The Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) of Rock County/Dementia Care Specialist is presenting a free Alzheimer’s disease and dementia educational series at the Job Center, 1900 Center Ave.

Each program in the series, “Stepping Stones to Understanding Dementia: Diagnosis to End of Life,” is free of charge and begins at 6 p.m. Upcoming installments include:

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Kevin Wondrash

Flippo game for persons with disability

MONROE — Catholic Charities invites residents of Green County age 15 and older who have a developmental disability to Flippo, an exciting game with lots of prizes, on Saturday, March 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the community room of Churchill Woods Apartments, 800 13th Ave.

Bring a friend, family member, guardian, or staff person. Refreshments will be served. Monetary donations are appreciated to help defray the cost of refreshments and prizes.

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