Agency News

Catholic Charities Disabilities Services serves a young man, we’ll call him Michael, who is diagnosed with autism and a rare and fatal type of muscular dystrophy. However his family lives a life similar to that of any family and their goal is to give Michael as many experiences as they can. Michael has a community habilitation staff person Tina, whose job is to accompany him on outings and to help him work on some specific goals, which Michael has chosen. Because Michael requires a motorized wheelchair, this is a unique opportunity (outside of school) that he has to go out without his parents.

This year, Michael was able to purchase a small Christmas present for his cousin with a little help from Tina. At the age of 18, this is the first time he's ever done an errand for his family. Michael was beaming with pride. When I last met him he told me “Tina’s so cool.” We have to agree!