One Sunday,
Denise’s five-year-old daughter voiced curiosity about the worship service they had been attending for years. Little Julianne kept asking, “What happens next?” “When will this be over?” and that led to the creation of … ‘My Guide to the Catholic Mass’. This was an immediate hit with Julianne, who now eagerly asks for her Mass guide. The tactile act of closing a window on the card, after each step is completed, helps Julianne anticipate the phases of service and enhances her participation. As a bonus, it allows Mom to focus on the Mass herself!

Denise is an active member of her church in the Dallas/Ft Worth area where she has been teaching faith formation for many years. She uses these guides in her special needs classes and made a whole set for every child in her daughter’s 1st grade class. Immediately after children received their personal mass guide, they were seen in mass using the guide to follow along during the service!

Denise received her undergraduate degree in special education from the University of Texas at Austin and went on to obtain a Master of Education degree, with emphasis on special education transition planning, from the University of North Texas.

This background in special education gives Denise a solid foundation of teaching strategies for diverse populations. Her real passion, however, comes from applying that knowledge to help others be successful in life skills. After several years teaching in the public education sector, Denise ventured out on her own with a private tutoring and consulting business that assists clients in their transition to independence, targeting areas ranging from self-care to job training, independent living, and social skills. Through her extensive work history, Denise has developed the ability to analyze tasks into meaningful steps so that clients are able to accomplish their goals.

My Steps To the Catholic Mass worked so well that Denise started the company ‘My Steps To’ in the summer of 2016, and is constantly coming up with other tasks to analyze and teach through this windows card format. Julianne now responsibly follows ‘My Steps to Get Ready for School and Go to Bed.’ At a local farm museum, individuals with special needs participate in a scavenger hunt by using the My Steps To format. At job sites, employees use this to accomplish their job tasks. Denise is able to customize these cards for the specific needs of any population. With the development of this product, Denise is employing several individuals with special needs, which is one of the missions of My Steps To. Numerous additional Catholic, independent living, and social skills windows card products are planned to be released throughout the year.