Posted on 10/01/2014 6:11:01 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
With 1 in 68 people on the autism spectrum, most churches will encounter a number of people of various ages and backgrounds who are autistic. I am autistic and a Christian, and my faith is a very important part of my life. As a child, I had little use of language and was very “typically autistic.” But as an adult, I learned to use language, and now I teach churches worldwide about autism.
I work with leaders from the Church of England, and I wrote their national autism guidelines at the request of the Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend John Pritchard, who realized what gifts autistic people bring to God and community. Sometimes, complex gifts. Sometimes, simple ones. But the things that help autistic people in churches also help many others. Our research has found that in England congregation numbers rise four times faster when a church becomes autism friendly.
Here are 10 low-cost, easy steps your church can take to become more autism friendly:
1. Check the lights in each room, especially fluorescent ones. Are any of them flickering? Please replace them, or switch them off if you can. The world inside buildings is often exhausting for us. Our heightened senses mean that the world is often beautiful, amazing, fascinating — but we may need some time out to recover from sensory overload. Seeing people clearly in that kind of environment is really difficult, too.
2. Consider your noise levels. Is there unexpected loud noise in today’s service/meeting? Can it be changed easily? If not, can you warn us first? Also, keep in mind that hard or reflective surfaces can cause a lot of echoing that makes it hard for us to hear, especially in a crowd. Our brains cannot filter out the other voices. Carpeting can help a lot, as can a quiet space to recover.
3. Orient us to the building. Do we know what it looks like, and what the layout is like? Is there information on a simple website or blog, perhaps? Autistic people benefit from some information to help orient them to their surroundings.
4. We are very literal, and because of different brain wiring, many of us think more visually rather than just in words. We need people to say what they mean and be truthful. Metaphors and expressions can be very confusing — and of course the Bible is full of these, so explanations really help. It’s easy to think we are being rude or sarcastic if we take instructions literally. We’re not. And keeping instructions short and simple helps all of us. Additionally, some of us may use sign language or assistive communication (e.g. picture stories on an iPad). Make teams aware of this. We are often happy to show others how it works.
5. Will there be physical events like shaking hands during the service? Water being splashed about? We may find this physically painful or scary. Please warn us what will happen and ask if it’s okay to make physical contact with us.
6. Provide a rest area — somewhere quiet to go if we need to. Because we are coping with far more incoming information than most people, we need to pace ourselves to avoid exhaustion. Don’t worry if we need to wander outside for a while (if it’s safe to do so). Routine and predictability are also vital — needing to know what to expect is very much a part of autism; it’s not us being over-demanding or controlling for some malicious reason.
7. Understand that socializing is different for us. Be aware that we find it difficult and exhausting, as we cannot “see” your body language or hear your tone of voice that well. Our body language can be different from yours, and we may find eye contact overwhelming and look away. It is important for communities to realize we are not being rude or evasive. We would not expect eye contact from people who are blind, and it should not be expected from autistic people. Assume our good intentions!
8. Be clear and accurate. If you say you’ll do something, please do it. If you need to change arrangements, just let us know. Think about the order of service — will there be really clear instructions for us, such as where to sit and when to stand?
9. Offer support. Perhaps find a quiet, caring person to be aware of us, someone ready to lend a little assistance if we ask for it. Brief them well, and please respect our confidentiality and privacy. Offer support to parents and caregivers, too. They will often welcome the chance to relax for a while and worship in good ways, knowing their loved one is safe with people who understand autism’s needs.
10. Please ask what else will help. Think about offering good autism training to your teams. You can start with a basic explanation of what autism is and isn’t — it is a brain design difference, present before birth. It is not a mental health condition. Some have intellectual or other disabilities as well, but they are not part of autism itself. It is not a lack of empathy.
Is autism preparedness worth it? Always. As 1 Corinthians 12:18-26 says, “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be . . . . [I]f one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
The world inside buildings is often exhausting for us. Our heightened senses mean that the world is often beautiful, amazing, fascinating — but we may need some time out to recover from sensory overload. Seeing people clearly in that kind of environment is really difficult, too....Because we are coping with far more incoming information than most people, we need to pace ourselves to avoid exhaustion....Be aware that we find [socializing] difficult and exhausting, as we cannot “see” your body language or hear your tone of voice that well. Our body language can be different from yours, and we may find eye contact overwhelming and look away. It is important for communities to realize we are not being rude or evasive. We would not expect eye contact from people who are blind, and it should not be expected from autistic people. Assume our good intentions!
1. Check the lights in each room, especially fluorescent ones.
2. Consider your noise levels.
3. Orient us to the building.
4. We need people to say what they mean and be truthful.
5. Please warn us what will happen and ask if it’s okay to make physical contact with us.
6. Provide a rest area — somewhere quiet to go if we need to.
7. Understand that socializing is different for us.
8. Be clear and accurate...will there be really clear instructions for us?
9. Offer support.
10. Please ask what else will help.
....As 1 Corinthians 12:18-26 says, “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be . . . . [I]f one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
Access Ministry — church program for children with special needs:
http://www.mbctysons.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=84047
This shows a practical loving-kindness toward the people among us who actually need the "special handling".
The every week usher in our small church is autistic. He is also the unofficial church historian. He can tell you everything you want to know about people, dates and occasions over the years. Every now and then he gets a little shaken by something unexpected, but he is a great blessing to us.
The point about fluorescent lights also affects people with epilepsy and stroke victims. (I detest fluorescent lights, personally.)
Once a church (a) recognizes that people with autism exist in the church and (b) recognizes that they are just as important to God and to the community as every other person is ... then there are lots of excellent ideas available to address their specific issues while incorporating them into the community.
I am curious however. It seems lately there have been several threads with similar focus on autism. Is there any particular reason?
It's a topic that has fascinated me for several decades, specifically the question "how does a 'low-functioning' person receive God's forgiveness and grace, if they cannot make known their profession of faith?" The correllary question is similar:"how does a 'low-functioning' person worship God corporately and "not forsake to meet together", if they cannot meet the congregation's standards of appearance/behavior?"
The came-at-it-sideways answer that I found comes from Matthew 5:22b:
...whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fireI asked myself why calling someone a "fool" is worse than insulting them? Why would the name-caller be liable to Hell, for what appears to be just another insult? As I explored the verse, I found that accusing someone of being a fool was to pronounce them incapable of being regenerate and incapable of making the decision to follow Christ. In other words, calling someone a "fool" was making an eternal judgment against them: declaring that there is some minimum physical/mental condition that a person must possess and exercise in order to be forgiven/saved.
My interest was piqued further by the thread The Hardest Place for Us to Take Our Special Needs Child? Our Church, and more specifically by the good Pastor Books' post that he wanted to start a church for special-needs people. And following that, I had learned of a fellow FReeper's experiences with their autistic son and various churches. The convergence of all of these ideas led to these threads on the subject of autism and church.
That's an extremely interesting point!
FWIW, I left out the finishing part of that statement. Here's the complete thought:
In other words, calling someone a "fool" was making an eternal judgment against them: declaring that there is some minimum physical/mental condition that a person must possess and exercise in order to be forgiven/saved. If the church treats the low-functioning autistic person as only a disruption, as if they are incapable of "getting anything" from attending church, it is tantamount to a declaration that they are fools.
Yes, that does follow. Also, the issue of whether the person "gets anything" out of church attendance ignores the question of whether he contributes anything. I don't think we, as Christians, want to be in the business of saying that a severely handicapped person can't be a gift to others, whether in church or elsewhere.
Also, from the standpoint of the Catholic Church, to say that a low-functioning autistic person, or a person with severe cerebral palsy, or a person far gone with Alzheimer’s, “doesn’t get anything” out of attending Mass is to say that the power of the sacramental presence of Jesus Christ depends on us, rather than Him.
One of my friends has a daughter with cerebral palsy who has very little mental functioning, like a 6- to 9-month child. She has received Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation, because her parents (and our Bishop) believe that the Sacraments “work” on her soul just as they would on the soul of a more mentally-developed person.
Thank you again for the ping! I love the fact that the need for churches to reach out to the disabled is getting exposure.
“Also, the issue of whether the person “gets anything” out of church attendance ignores the question of whether he contributes anything.”
If a person has no comprehension, he or she can still be the recipient of the love of others. A baby doesn’t know what is going on around them. Yet the baby has the attention of everyone who walks by.
Our value as human beings created in the image of God is enough reason to be part of a fellowship.
Excellent. That sums it up extremely well.
“The convergence of all of these ideas led to these threads on the subject of autism and church.”
The latest statistics say that 1 out of 68 births now is on the Autism spectrum. One in 68!
Pastors and priests need to learn, now, how to reach out to these people and their families.
Jesus said, “To the extent that you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me.” These precious human beings are the “least of these.”
And also (in our Lectionary today), “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in Heaven, their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in Heaven.”
Think of it like this: If Jesus had Autism and came to your church, how would the church respond?
Well, Matthew 25:40 says: “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
So that teenager with profound Autism might as well be Jesus.
Are we going to love him?
Are we going to put up with vocalizations during the service?
Are we going to give his caregiving family a break and take care of him for an afternoon?
Are we going to change his diaper?
Are we going to spend the money to change our bathroom in order to accommodate his wheelchair and his caregiver?
Are we going to see that he is taught about Christ to the extent that he can be? Or if he is profoundly Autistic that he is loved and cared for as a creation of God in His image?
It comes down to this:
Are we going to love Jesus?
Yes, that really about covers it.
I have a family member with High Functioning Asbergers....which some say is on the Autism scale. She is extremely smart intellectually but has issues socially. Which with counseling she has made great progress developing coping techniques when in social settings such as church.
Since she is a student they’ve now arranged for her to meet with another individual, also with Asbergers, to assist her with things such as jobs, applications, living on her own etc. so that she can adapt.
I write this because I’ve often thought those with Autism who are highly functioning do well with teaching those who need to learn. Why could this not also be applied in a church setting to assist them in adapting to a church setting via a church class for them? By havig it at the church they are already there and able to help them adjust before actually attending when the church is active....showing them rooms and walking through them etc.
“Why could this not also be applied in a church setting to assist them in adapting to a church setting via a church class for them? ....showing them rooms and walking through them etc.”
Great idea! That one goes in my notes!
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