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Many people come to Autism Consecrated looking for concrete resources.  Some have tried-and-true ministries attended by fantastic groups of people – and yet, there are still parishioners who do not participate or connect well in large groups. Some ask how to intentionally welcome and invite those who seem reluctant or out of place.  Sometimes individuals disclose their needs ahead of time, only to find that staff are not sure how to respond thoughtfully with accommodation and support.

Autism Consecrated does not offer packages, programs, or solutions on our website. We believe the best way to serve autistic members of the community is to seek out those people and find out from them what they want, what they need, and how they can comfortably participate. Even though we ourselves are autistic and can explain some basic principles about the way we process, reading or watching materials we produce cannot take the place of getting to know those in your community directly. We think the better approach is for us to interact with you one-on-one and give you some guidelines which you can then take and adapt to your surroundings and circumstances. Moreover, this approach fits well with the communication style of Autism Consecrated’s team. We ourselves communicate better one-on-one than we do in groups, and we process better in writing than we do when speaking. It simply does not match our style to mass-produce material for people to download without ever interacting directly.

Pre-packaged training and resource materials are oftentimes unnecessary. Frequently, the ideas and tools a parish or community needs to support autistic members are already there. It does not take hours of training or hundreds of dollars to make a community more welcoming to neurodivergent members – but maybe what’s already there needs to be rearranged, amended, and made flexible enough to allow the sensory, social, physical and processing styles of autistic members to flourish alongside everyone already there.

Oftentimes, programs or activities designed for autistic people end up falling short or missing the mark because they were created with assumptions which turn out not to match what autistic people in your community actually want and need. We often feel unseen, unheard, and unknown because our needs and preferences don’t match what the purchased program offers, or because we have a difficult time processing and communicating at the speed of the group format the program is designed for. It helps if we can try something first before we know if it is a good fit, and if the program can be adapted based on feedback from participants. Programs are also vulnerable to becoming outdated very quickly. What might be considered “good practice” now might be replaced by something newer and better next year.

Next point: Programs and resources designed BY neurodivergent people are often a better fit than those designed by neurotypical people. The most welcoming communities flip the narrative, so that leaders learn from neurodivergent members rather than aiming special programming at neurodivergent members. This involves working collaboratively, one-on-one, discovering the ways in which people process and participate most comfortably. Flexibility and an openness to feedback make adaptations easier and foster a true sense of belonging. Those with a background in education may recognize these principles closely align with CAST’s Universal Design for Learning. If the goals of, say, a parish, religious community, formation class, or particular ministry can be equally achieved by nonspeaking, mobility-challenged, low-energy, socially-reserved, multisensory processors of all academic abilities and styles as they can by active, gregarious, highly verbal, “typical” individuals: we’re good to go – and the whole community benefits together!

Here are some (but certainly not all) of the practical considerations which we typically address with communities seeking to better support autistic members.

The sensory, processing, and interpersonal needs of autistic people can make participating in groups difficult. Thanks to auditory processing delays and sensory overwhelm, group activities can feel confusing, painfully loud, and difficult to relate to the concept or object of the presentation. Autistic people might like the idea of faith-sharing but not be able to keep up with pace of the group. Others find the vulnerability of faith-sharing overwhelming, and still others find faith-sharing impossible because verbal expressions do not come easily to us.

Group activities require a lot of social energy, which is often in short supply among autistics.  If we have already had a long day where most of our interpersonal energy has been spent, we might not have a lot left for “extra” activities. In fact, rest is essential to our well-being. Pushing through and adding more to our schedules can significantly impact our health. Opting out does not always mean lack of interest or motivation; sometimes, it’s medically necessary.

Besides the sensory demands of traditional group settings, neurodivergent people often have physical conditions such as joint hypermobility/chronic pain, migraine, dysautonomia, and digestive issues, just to name a few.  Autistic children, teens and adults may not have the energy levels others feel they are “supposed” to have.  Group games, hikes, sports, and anything requiring mobility may make participation prohibitive. This study from 2024 is one of many which corroborates this claim with reliable data (in this case, as pertains to children and adolescents; this same chronic pain and fatigue, it should be noted, often persists into adulthood).

The best thing a community or parish can do is GET TO KNOW EACH PERSON INDIVIDUALLY.  Interact with them in whatever format it is most comfortable for them to communicate, and do so often enough that you really have a sense of who they are, what they like, and what they don’t like.  Get to know their processing style, their relationship style, their prayer and spiritual style.  Are they introverts or extraverts?  Do they like to pray silently, or out loud?  Do they enjoy music?  Do they enjoy singing?  What ways do they learn best – by reading, listening, visuals or activities?  Are there conditions under which they do not process information well? Do they have particular interests or questions about the faith?  It is not just autistic people who can benefit from questions like these.  Most people will be able to engage better when there is a balanced blend of  visual, academic and experiential spirituality and formation.

Equally important: BELIEVE WHAT THE PERSON SAYS.  If someone says the lights are too bright, then the lights are too bright for them, even if others don’t feel that way.  If someone says they don’t feel comfortable, then they don’t feel comfortable, and persuasion or cajoling will send the strong message that their very legitimate health needs are not important to the community.  If someone says they don’t know, then, they don’t know.  Alexithymia, for example, can make it difficult for a person to know what he or she feels or how to put it into words.  Neurodivergent people may see others reacting or praying with strong emotion and feel their own faith must be lacking if they do not have the same response, or if they can’t testify and witness as others do.  Faith sharing can be extremely difficult for reasons that have nothing to do with one’s actual faith.

What about those who are introverts, who need alone time to process information, who prefer to sit and listen in group settings?  The richness of our faith allows for many ways to meet these needs and still foster community – primarily by trusting that the person is attending, even if silently and reflectively.

Taking the time to get to know someone who has difficulty interacting can feel intimidating and challenging.  Most of us speak and interact so automatically that we do not stop to consider the simple act of being present with, and attentive to, one another.  Once we do, it is surprising to realize how many ways exist to share the love of Christ. Making intentional effort to invite less verbal and neurologically vulnerable people into our communities, and offering them the hospitality which allows them to comfortably attend and participate, brings about the realization of their belonging, capability, and necessity as fellow disciples –  yielding good fruit for the entire community. Once we get to know each other well, it is intuitively easy to see how each person is best able to participate and what kinds of support makes that possible. No pre-packaged program or script can take the place of this kind of connection!

In short, we believe it is very possible to create space within the existing community to welcome and encourage autistic members to flourish, both by recognizing the wonderful individuality of each person and considering ways that typical formation, activities and gatherings may be made easier on the senses to allow the quieter, more reflective participants to thrive.