Three Simple and Meaningful Ways for Parishes and Churches to Promote Autism Awareness in April (And Beyond)

(Note – the graphic is designed primarily for Catholic viewers and readers, but the text here has been adjusted to apply more universally to any Christian worship community. Feel free to share in your own circles!)

Three Simple and Meaningful Ways for Parishes and Churches to Promote Autism Awareness in April – And Beyond!

  1. Plan one homily or sermon acknowledging God’s wisdom in creating neurodiversity: noting the role of autistic people in the Body of Christ, dispelling myths many people still have about autism, and setting the tone for the parish as a place that recognizes and cherishes its neurodiverse members – seen and unseen, heard and unheard.

 

  1. Consider offering a sensory friendly worship service as part of the regular services one weekend… then, consider how that could become a recurring option throughout the year.

 

  1. Host a brainstorming session for autistic people in the church, asking what would make it easier to participate in church events, sacraments, leadership and ministry. Plan this so that input can be received in writing or pre-recorded as well as in person, to include input from non-speaking persons.

 

How can we re-form “awareness”?

Here we are at another April and countless hashtags promoting autism awareness, acceptance and affirmation.  The non-autistic world is most familiar with “awareness” as a positive way to remind the community of things often forgotten in the day-to-day, perhaps taken for granted or not particularly visible.  There is nothing inherently wrong with that, and, if we think about it, that concept does very much apply to autism.

Why, then, do most autistics prefer not to promote “autism awareness”?

Historically, public discussion of autism took place without autistic input.  For decades, autism has been looked at as a condition needing to be treated, rehabilitated, overcome and eliminated.  That mindset arose from lack of understanding of the neuropsychological reality of autism, when people considered this a mental illness that could one day be cracked and solved.  We know better now.  We know that autism is a complex interplay of hyperattuned sensory input, increased processing demands and reflexive high-alert states resulting in our brains and bodies doing exactly what humans are programmed to do under such circumstances.  Anyone who finds themselves in a state of vigilance knows what it means to pause, freeze and not speak, and to laser-lock our focus on details we feel are essential to our safety.  We know better than to take autism personally, and not to assume autistic people are being difficult because we feel entitled to preferential treatment or because we are snobby, shy or seeking attention.

Or… do we?

See, this is why we shouldn’t throw “awareness” out the window just yet.  Yes, absolutely, let us accept and affirm autism as well, but we really do need to reboot our cultural sense of awareness of what autism is, now that we know what it is not.

To be blunt: Autistics know when “autism awareness” is nothing but a token nod from non-autistics who have no intention of learning what autism really is.  In those cases, yes, we do need to move into acceptance and affirmation.  But, how will non-autistics know us and understand us without first becoming truly aware of us and all that neurodiversity is?

Perhaps one day this will evolve into “neurodiversity month.”  Or, even better, we can hope for communities who embrace us as we are so that we can happily be autistic – and they can be aware of how to support us – all twelve months of the year.