A Special Class for Special Friends

Aww, he’s a handsome dude," Patty commented on the picture of a young man in military attire, standing in front of a fighter plane. 

The young man is the son-in-law of Fredericksburg Area Coordinator Gail Hylton and the subject of the Special Friends Sunday School Class topic on Psalm 91. For many years, verses from Psalm 91 have been sent to soldiers overseas, offering them protection and encouragement. 

The framed picture of the young pilot, Gabe, was passed around among each DDM resident. The picture is important for adults with intellectual disabilities, Gail notes, because the residents benefit from having physical objects in their hands. 

"We do a lot of object lessons. We do things that are visual for them," Gail said of the DDM residents. "We do role playing. We’ve done the manger scene and Joseph and his coat of many colors." 

The DDM residents at HopeTree represent a wide spectrum of functioning, making it difficult to teach a class that will reach everyone. That’s why Gail’s picture of her son-in-law works as a visual learning tool for most residents’ cognitive abilities but also addresses the needs of a blind resident like Mark. 

"Mark is very attentive to everything he hears, and he’ll ask you something if he doesn’t quite get it," Gail noted.

Having something to hold is a normal part of Mark’s learning process and it makes him feel like he’s a part of the group. 

The residents’ interest, spirit, and understanding came as a bit of a surprise to Gail when she started the Special Friends Class in 1979. Fresh out of college with a degree in Special Education, Gail was the only person at Fredericksburg Baptist Church with any experience working with disabled individuals. The mother of a future DDM resident needed a place for her daughter while she attended Sunday school class and the Sunday School Director thought Gail would be the perfect person to start up the program. 

"At first, we thought it would be like a babysitting service," Gail stated. "Our goal changed very quickly. We found out they have a wonderful spiritual life. They taught us a lot about simple things. All those things we take for granted, or forget about as adults, they remember those things." 

The residents became very involved in the class and the numbers began to grow. Through the strong spiritual foundation of the class, several residents were baptized. 

"I’ve been in the baptismal pool with one lady. I’ll never forget, she was clapping her hands the whole time saying ‘Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me,’" Gail remembered with a smile. "Well, you can’t get anymore profound than that." 

That energy is just as strong in the residents today—where a class can field up to 35 total people—as it was 31 years ago. The residents enjoy starting the morning off with several songs led by a volunteer duo that play piano and sing. 

What’s remarkable is not just each resident’s familiarity with every word of every song, but the fact that they all know the signs for each word as well. This way, the several residents that have audio and visual impairments do not feel left out and are often the most enthusiastic of the group. 

To reflect the day’s message of supporting our troops overseas, the songs shift to patriotic themes. After the last verse of "My Country ‘tis of Thee", Gail asks for prayer requests. DDM resident Barbara is the first to respond with a request for our troops. Her appeal is not solely topical. She makes the request every week. At home in the Kelly Home, Barbara frequently watches the news and will often bring questions to Gail about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

"She’s very well-aware and she’s very spiritual," Gail said of Barbara. "Their spirituality is so awesome because they have compassion for so many people." 

Barbara was a member of Fredericksburg Baptist Church for many years and, in many ways, was the catalyst behind the foundation of the Kelly and Cates Homes. Her parents began to wonder who would care for her after they had passed. Because the Special Friends were so embraced and supported by the church, its members set out to find them a home. Soon after, a local community member donated the homes and church members donated their time and resources to fixing it up. 

"The church owns the property and takes care of the maintenance, while HopeTree runs the program," Gail stated. "It’s really a wonderful relationship." 

Now the class consists of nearly all of the Kelly and Cates Home residents as well as other members of the community with intellectual disabilities. It has turned into a program that fosters community, fellowship, and the Word of God.