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About the Program

Our Adult Services Program opened in 2015 and provides continuing support for young adults who have completed a school program. Enrollment is open to individuals with evidence of cognitive disability of any race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, or socioeconomic background.


The program currently serves 26 adults from 14 towns and is a natural extension of Saint Catherine Academy, which was established in 1999. Like the Academy, an individualized, comprehensive approach is taken with each participant. Individual schedules and goals are developed along with parents or guardians.

Our goals are to:

  • create opportunities to participate
    in community life;
  • develop life skills competencies foster a safe, stimulating
    environment;
  • support the ability to make personal
    choices for the future;
  • develop and maintain relationships
    with family members and friends.


The Adult Services Program is
approved by the Department of
Development Services as an adult
day service option.

Program Fact Sheet
Testimonials
Contact Us

Adult Services

Building Community
Life Skills
Vocational Experience
Creative Arts
Program Features
  • Six-hour program, Monday through
    Friday
  • Fully-accessible
  • Technologically current
  • Life skills apartment
  • Gymnasium and work-out room
  • Nurse onsite
  • Recreational activities include bowling, music, art, cooking, and more
  • Safe, suburban location
  • Transportation to and from the Center available (in select locations)

Building Community

Interacting and building relationships with other young adults is a primary objective of the Adult program. From simple tasks, such as collecting the mail or cleaning up the garden for planting, to preparing a meal and packaging bakery items for Merton House, we seek opportunities for our young adults to work together, learn to depend on each other, and feel a sense of belonging.
For those who are able, volunteer work at various sites in the community provides valuable vocational experience. Under staff supervision, participants engage in such tasks as sorting clothes, working with preschoolers, shredding documents, and more.
Hands-on activities in the community, such as visits to Silverman’s Farm and the Maritime Center, provide stimulation and entertainment. Many participants in the Adult program also enjoy the regular Dinner Dances, hosted by the Center, in which adults with disabilities from throughout the Diocese gather for fellowship and fun.

Life Skills

Making use of our fully-equipped Life Skills apartment, each participant’s schedule includes activities of daily living (ADLs) as appropriate, from folding clothes to setting the table, emptying the dishwasher, or preparing and serving meals alongside others.

All activities help to build peer relationships and reinforce basic skills.

Physical recreation, such as bowling, swimming, movement, and exercise in the Therapy Room are also part of each individual’s plan.

From the moment we met Helen, the Center’s Executive Director, we knew that this was the right program for Patrick. We jointly developed a program to address his health in body (swimming twice a week), mind (special outings, reading, vocabulary, specific work assignments like delivering the mail and leading the Pledge of Allegiance) and spirit (music therapy and opportunities to attend Holy Cross Church). Every activity sets Patrick up for success and celebrates his growth.

Bob and Mary Ross, parents

Vocational Experience

Saint Catherine Center partners with several local businesses and organizations to provide vocational experiences for students and adult participants:
  • Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens (sorting and stacking planting pots)
  • Marshall’s and TJ Maxx (unpacking and sorting clothing);
  • Connecticut Food Bank and Blessed Sacrament Church (sorting items for food bank);
  • Home for the Brave (distribution of flyers);
  • Merton House (organizing food and toiletries);
  • St. Ann’s Academy (assisting preschoolers);
  • Main Enterprises (shredding);
  • Soda Stop (recycling bottles and cans);
  • and Fairfield University and Sacred Heart University (cleaning).

Our thanks to these organizations for their support!

Francisco Working

Creative Arts

The ability to express oneself through music, art, and movement is particularly important to people with special needs, and the Center’s emphasis on the arts is unique to most special education programs.

Music is often the means by which a nonverbal individual finds a voice; movement can be the way a mobility-challenged person expresses an emotion.

Weekly music, art, and movement sessions give our adults an opportunity to participate more fully in the community.

Sami looks forward to going to the Center every day. She loves going out to the van each morning, peering in to see who is there to pick her up – usually with a big smile on her face. As a mother of a non-verbal child, seeing that smile on her face is extremely comforting, assuring me that she is happy to be on her way.

Lori Leskin, parent