Our Vision:
To realize autism's belonging in the Body of Christ.
The historical mischaracterization of autistic behavior as "wrong" has left many autistic adults questioning our belonging in the Body of Christ. It is hard to believe that God loves us unconditionally and intends us to be the way He designed us if our ways of perceiving, communicating and processing are constantly criticized and corrected. Society has only recently begun to acknowledge that neurodiversity is an intentional and valid way of being human. It can be disorienting to consider that maybe we do have a place in the Body of Christ without having to first cleanse ourselves of our autistic traits.
The truth is this: Autistic people are known and loved by God, exactly as we are.
The Church needs her autistic members and is incomplete without our presence.
Our Story
Autism Consecrated is the next stage of the Mission of Saint Thorlak, an initiative
begun in 2017 to explore how autism is experienced in the context of our vocation as Christians.
Autism Consecrated was founded in 2020 by an autistic Catholic priest and an autistic Lay Carmelite. We bring to this apostolate our lived experience, our areas of expertise, and our desire to serve God through our autism. Our purpose is to be a living example of autism’s belonging in the Body of Christ, and to help others realize their own value and place as autistic members of the Church. We offer prayer, spiritual direction, vocational support, consultation to parishes and communities, and a place where autistic people may know they are loved and treasured by God. We are exclusively online, and we communicate exclusively through email and text. Our methods focus on individual connection, getting to know each person who reaches out to us individually. We are primarily rooted in prayer: for specific intentions brought to us, and in general, for better understanding and belonging of autistic people in the Church.
Our apostolate is designed to be a living example of how autistic people can sustainably engage in ministry and discipleship. The accommodations and flexibility we need are integrated into all that we do, taking into account the ways we comfortably communicate and receive and respond to information. For instance, our auditory processing gets easily overwhelmed with phone and video calls. We are greatly helped in any interaction by seeing words in type and having unpressured time to reflect and consider what we want to say before responding to questions. Large gatherings overwhelm our sensory processing, so we limit our outreach to one person at a time. As a priest-hermit and Lay Carmelite, it is a natural outflow of our respective vocations to offer our time in prayer for individuals who reach out to us, as well as the entire Church and the spiritual needs of autistic people worldwide.
We have intentionally designed Autism Consecrated to operate with as few resources as possible. We are 100% volunteer, and we rely on word of mouth and the Holy Spirit rather than investing our energy and money in marketing and promotions. We are not about numbers. We don’t get anywhere near as much attention as larger, incorporated ministries do, but that leaves us more energy to be fully present to those who reach out to us, and to maintain our commitment to intercessory prayer. Being able to offer God’s love to even one spiritually hungry person, and being in a position to pray for autism’s belonging in the Body of Christ, is more than sufficient to fulfill our mission day after day.
Another way we differ from other ministries is that we do not focus solely on children. There are thousands of autistic teens and adults who are spiritually hungry and would benefit from accommodations, but the majority of resources out there are geared toward autistic children and are rooted more in behavior management than spiritual development. We want autistic teens and adults to know they too are seen, heard, valued, and that their spiritual needs are of equal importance.
Most importantly, we want autistic people of all ages to know that the Church needs our ideas and gifts... that the Church is incomplete without our presence.
Our Platform
We are an online resource based in the United States, operated by volunteers, connecting people worldwide.
We accept free will offerings through PayPal; however, our ministry is not incorporated and does not engage in fundraising. That means donations are not tax-deductible, but what we do receive is greatly appreciated and goes directly toward defraying the costs of webhosting, postage and printing.