RAMbler Blog

Autism Awareness for our ANGELS this April

by Gene Mangiante, III

Board President, The ANGEL Program Fund, Inc.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate and develop social relationships and is often accompanied by behavioral challenges. Autism is currently diagnosed in 1 in 54 children and is four times more prevalent in boys. The causes of this disorder are widely speculated, but largely unknown. The month of April is recognized as Autism Awareness Month, which is dedicated to creating awareness, empathy, and support for individuals and families living with autism.

In 2010, Holy Rosary School created a “school within a school” for children living with autism. Holy Rosary’s vision of including all children in classroom education, regardless of their learning ability, became The ANGEL Program (Autism INtervention and Guidance for Early Learners). The ANGEL Program is a one-of-a-kind program that believes that these special children should learn in inclusive classrooms alongside their typical peers. Holy Rosary is the only private school in Memphis that integrates Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in an inclusive, year-round classroom setting for ages 3-11. ABA is the only scientifically proven therapy for children living with autism.

Here is what a few ANGEL parents have said:

Holy Rosary and The ANGEL Program have become a family to us. We have seen Christ's work through this school, through this program and their work with our son. They have loved and guided him (and us!) through it all, the good and the really bad.

Our son had less than 5 words when he started at age 3 and a half, and within the first couple of weeks of working with the ANGEL team, he was able to calmly communicate his needs to us. He has learned how to attend in a mainstream classroom and function as a typical child would. More than anything, we are now able to know our son in a way that we weren't sure we would ever experience. He can tell us what he is thinking and how he feels.

After we joined The ANGEL Program, our son has thrived. He has learned to speak better and play with others and has also developed ways to respond in social settings without outbursts or shutting down. He has transformed as a student and as a kid and is now thriving in his environment. He has friends, plays sports, communicates, and is never told that he cannot do something, because he can!

Since our son joined The ANGEL Program last summer, he has met more goals than I ever knew were possible. He went from playing alone, speaking mostly babble, little to no eye contact, to now having lots of new friends even "very best friends", speaking in clear sentences, and getting to look straight into those big brown eyes. I couldn't be more proud of our little boy and this program. My wish is for all children on the Autism Spectrum to have something as special as The ANGEL Program to grow and learn the way God made them.

To continue these success stories, The ANGEL Program requires a low student-teacher ratio, competitive salaries, and ongoing professional development for its staff. For these reasons, operating The ANGEL Program is costly and the tuition is expensive for families already burdened with significant therapy expenses. In 2016, The ANGEL Program Fund, Inc. (The Fund) was formed as the fundraising arm for The ANGEL Program and granted non-profit status as a 501(c)(3) organization. Over the last 5 years, The Fund has raised over $500,000 to support The ANGEL Program and provides more than 40% of the annual budget for The ANGEL Program.

To learn more, or to donate online, please visit www.theangelprogram.com.  Please save the date for our largest annual event, the Memphis Runs for Autism 5k, which will be held on Saturday, August 21, 2021. We are optimistically looking forward to a live event this year!

Please keep The ANGEL Program, the teachers, families, and students in your prayers. May God bless you for your generosity!

A smile on my face and a song in my heart

~ The gift of joy through music ~

            The best part of my job is walking into a classroom full of children who are thrilled to see me. Sure, I walk in playing happy music with twinkling lights on my cart and I pull a puppet or two out of my bag, but I also like to think it’s because of the joy music brings to our lives.

            We have all heard the cognitive benefits of music education for our children. Music in the classroom and private lessons have all been shown to help develop fine motor skills, increase test scores and raise IQ scores. It has even been documented that children with a strong musical background attend college at a higher rate than those who do not.

Recently, scientists have turned their attention to how music effects the emotions. In a German study conducted in 2011, scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Human Cognition and Brain Science found that singing together in a group significantly reduces the body’s level of the stress hormone, cortisol. Much like physical activity, it was found that singing releases endorphins causing a sense of joy and euphoria. The study even went so far as to note that those singing together in a group tend to sync heartbeats. How magical to think that singing together in Mass actually joins our hearts together.

            Each of us can sing, no matter how much we might protest. Sing with your child at home and at Mass and encourage them to do so. Promote musical activities such as choirs, plays and learning an instrument as much as you would a favorite sport. The experts have spoken, it will make your child happier.

                                                                        A Lifelong Ram
                                                            What it means to be a Ram!

I have been a Ram since my family moved to Memphis in 1971 when I was a year and a half
old. Being a Ram has certainly played a role in making me who I am today. My first memories
of Holy Rosary center around Sunday school in one of the classrooms and sitting in the front
pew with my family during mass. With six children and my mom and dad, needless to say, we
took up the entire pew. Then, of course, there were the many stops in the cafeteria for coffee
and donuts after mass. That is where I first realized that my dad liked to talk. After waiting for
what seemed like hours we would beg him to take us home. But this shows that, even from
those many years ago, Holy Rosary provided these types of social opportunities for its families.
The adults shared their time together and the children did so as well. This is something that
has continued throughout Holy Rosary’s history.

Then there was the time my brother and I were waiting for my parents to get done with the
Science Fair by playing outside. Let’s just say I started kindergarten wearing a cast for a
broken leg. That experience taught me a valuable lesson; cars are big and heavy. But, that
was not the only lesson I learned during my time as a Ram. I attended school here from
1st-8th grade. During that time my academic foundation was solidified and prepared me well
for my high school and college careers. Whether it was Mrs. Ross in first grade, Mrs. Hill in
third, or Mrs. McWatters and Mrs. Fay in junior high all the teachers had a commitment to their
students and to Catholic education.

I can’t remember all the classmates I had over my time at Holy Rosary but they impacted
my development in different ways. The ones who were with me throughout our time at Holy
Rosary gave me a perspective on situations and experiences that helped me see things from
their point of view. It is an invaluable lesson to learn when you can see a situation through
another person’s eyes. There were great friendships that developed over those years as well.
That is another aspect of Holy Rosary that is so special. You will see many friendships
continue beyond the student’s time at Holy Rosary. The groups of friends I have encountered
as adults that formed during their time in school here are too many to count. It is a special
bond that was developed over many years and through many shared experiences.

Another lesson I learned from Holy Rosary came from participating in the sports program.
My many coaches taught all of us to show good sportsmanship and to represent our school
well. It also taught us how to have a healthy rivalry with the other Catholic schools; St. Ann -
Bartlett, St. Paul, St. Dominic/St. Agnes, and the other school down the road. The sports
program was another part of what made me what I am. It introduced me to different sports
and how to work together to make everyone better.

Fast forward a few years (ok, about 20 years) to the year I was named the principal of Holy
Rosary School, 2003. I had already been on staff for 11 years working with the youth and the
religious education of the parish, teaching some classes, and spent a year as vice-principal.
But being the principal allowed me to utilize my background and history at Holy Rosary. It is
that history that helped shape some of the decisions I’ve made over the past 18 years. I’ve
tried to merge our history and tradition with today’s educational model and technology to
enable our students to reach new heights.

We have always been taught that the “church” is the people not the building itself. The
parishioners of Holy Rosary make up Holy Rosary Church. Over the sixty-five years of our
parish being here many pastors, associate priests and parishioners have come and gone, but,
the great family environment has always been here. It is not one person or priest that makes
that family feeling. Each of us contribute to the specialness of Holy Rosary.

Each of us help to define what it is to be a Ram. And, each of us, once we’ve been adopted into this HR family
are a Ram and it will leave an indelible mark on our lives. Once a Ram always a Ram!

My Family’s Christmas Tradition at my dad’s house is Finding the Pickle. Finding the Pickle means that Santa hides an ornament that looks like a pickle on the tree. And when we all wake up all the kids look for the pickle and whoever finds it gets a prize. ~ Mary

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is going to other neighborhoods to look at Christmas lights then coming home to open presents. ~ Harrison

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is my elf coming with her pet. Then we decorate for Christmas, and we get a Christmas tree! ~ Maggie

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is everyone waking up and tearing the wrapping paper and opening the presents and stockings. We play with the presents. I love Christmas! ~ Colin

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is every year my family gets Chinese food from PF Chang’s, and we watch Christmas movies. All that on Christmas Eve! It is so much fun. ~ Davis

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is our family and our cousins go to my Mimi’s house. We open gifts, eat, and play. On Christmas we go to our other cousins’ house and do the same thing! ~ Thomas

My Family’s Christmas Traditions are: first I go to my grandparents houses then I go to my Aunt’s and Uncle’s house with my baby cousin, and then we will eat dinner at my Aunt’s and Uncle’s because we go to the house that has the baby/toddler, well the youngest kid, then we will just have dinner together. ~ Kate

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is eating food like chicken and mashed potatoes. Opening gifts, toys and clothing. I look for my elf on the shelf. ~ Cooper

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is to unwrap gifts and crumble the wrapping paper or tissue paper and throw it at each other as snowballs. ~ Lane

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is open presents on Christmas Eve. We also go to my grandma’s house. ~ Sam D.

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is playing a game called dirty Santa. The game is you pick a number from a jar. You get your number then if your number gets called you get to pick a present from under the tree. When the next person gets called, they can pick a present from under the tree or you can take the present from anther player. Keep picking numbers, taking a present under the tree or a different present and most importantly have fun! ~ McKinley

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is having an Advent Calendar. We also have a day when we bake cookies. ~ Penny

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is on Christmas I pray to Jesus. Then I go to the tree and open presents. Then my family comes over for breakfast. ~ Adam

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is playing a game about left and right. It is when someone tells a story and add left and right. You pass a gift right or left. Whatever gift you get, you open it. ~ Stella

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is every Saturday before Christmas baking cookies. They are Christmas trees, gingerbread men and bells. ~ Daniel

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is at dinner time. We open presents that Santa gave us. ~ Jim

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is called Finding the Pickle. One ornament on the tree is a pickle and everyone has to find it. Whoever finds it gets to open the family gift. ~ Leonie

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is my nanny and I make cookies that we call butter balls, and we put powdered sugar on them too. They have nuts and my pops loves them. Everyone in the family loves the cookies. ~ Charlie

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is getting to see family I never get to see. First, I will open presents at my mom’s house. Then, I go with my dad to my grandmas to have lunch. Next, I go to my other grandparents’ house and eat dinner and open presents with my family. Finally, I play with what I get and have a great Christmas. ~ Chandler

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is getting a new ornament every year. ~ Ethan

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is putting out a Christmas moose every year. We also put a lot of decorations in our front yard. ~ Gabe

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is reading The Night Before Christmas. It is very fun for my family. ~ Ruby

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is on Christmas Eve going to my Mimi and Poppy’s house for a Christmas party. And then my Mimi and Poppy come to my house for Christmas. And then we open Christmas presents on Christmas Day. ~ Caroline

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is to go to a friend’s house and eat, talk, and play games. It takes an hour to get there. We love to go there. ~ Sam P.

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is my family and I all help decorate the tree. My family and I have a Christmas dinner to celebrate. When it is Christmas morning, we all love each other and wish a Merry Christmas to all. ~ Emiliano

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is my mommy, daddy, sister, and Grammy always watch Christmas Vacation. At the same time, we are decorating the tree. It is really fun! ~ Ella

My Family’s Christmas Tradition is when my elf comes, he does something silly wherever he is. Once he drew on our toilet paper. Also, two times he gave us candy. We also always, make cookies for Santa. ~ Alice