Call For Submissions

Autism Consecrated Resource Library Call for Submissions

April, 2020: Autism Consecrated is pleased to announce an open call for submissions for publishing on our website’s Resource Area, social media and video channels.

Our goal is to invite people from across all communities, worldwide, to share their insights, ideas and testimonies in an effort to create a comprehensive resource library accessible by anyone with an internet connection. Whatever your background may be, if you have thoughts toward achieving Autism Consecrated’s vision “to realize autism’s belonging in the Body of Christ,” we would love to share them far and wide! Read on to learn more about the goals of the conference and what we look for in submissions.

Types of Submissions

As every person has their own personal communication strengths, so too are we looking for a diverse array of submissions.  The manner in which you communicate best is the one we are looking for.  Audio, visual, video and written submissions are all welcome.

Who May Submit Presentations

The short answer is, “anyone!”

That said, here are some more specific examples of who might be interested in participating.

Autistic People and their Supporters

There are few presentations as valuable as those which come from direct, firsthand expertise.  In fact, it would be impossible to build a resource library to address the needs of the autistic community without having its foundation in the autistic community itself!  What are your spiritual needs?  What are the practical challenges to being autistic Christians?  What ways does autism enhance your faith and that of your community?

Key Players in Faith Communities

What have you seen that affirms – or, would affirm –  the value of autistic members in our faith communities?  How can we foster such initiatives in our own and in other communities?  How does the perception of the community encourage autistic people to fulfill their potential in the Body of Christ, even when autism at times appears to interfere with this purpose?

Clergy and Administrators

What are the successes, as well as the challenges, you have seen in meeting the spiritual needs of the autistic community?  What supports do YOU need in serving the autistic community?

Scholars, Theologians and Essayists

How do we reconcile autism’s gifts and challenges with Sacred Scripture, Church Tradition and the theology of disability?  How can we discuss this in ways that include, accept and invite people who may feel unworthy or incapable of participating in worship and community faith activities because of autism?

What we are looking for

Diverse topics

While there will be some overlap expected, we are hoping to get a variety of responses from many perspectives so that our library can truly become a resource for the wide, wide community.

Practicality and positivity

Submissions should reflect hope, encouragement and possibility.  While there is a time and a place for addressing grievances, our library is intended to go beyond identifying problems into generating and offering solutions.

The Gift of your Expertise

Autism Consecrated is a website, not a business.  While we are glad to have this be a mutually beneficial opportunity for professional exposure, and we are aware that many contributors have legitimate reason to promote their talents, the primary reason for contributing to our library is to offer your particular expertise as a gift to others and other communities.  If promotion is the main thrust of your submission, please consider a more appropriate venue to publicize your work.

Respectful Language

“Realizing Autism’s Belonging in the Body of Christ” is the banner under which our website resides.  Although we are Christian in our beliefs, we respect everyone of all abilities, backgrounds and traditions, and we ask that submissions show that same respect to one and all.  We reserve the right to edit or refuse submissions that do not consistently uphold the inherent dignity of every person as a child of God.

Selection Process

We will review submissions in the order in which they are received, and strive to notify you of selection status in as short a time frame as circumstances allow.

Format Details

Submissions may be in the format which best reflects your communication style, so long as they are generally coherent and able to be accessed by the worldwide online audience.  Length is at your creative discretion.  As a general rule, the more efficiently you convey your key message, the better the chances of reaching your intended audience.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please email us at autismconsecrated@gmail.com and we will respond as soon as we are able.

Ready?  Set?  SUBMIT!  All submissions become the property of Autism Consecrated and must be accompanied by a signed release form in order to be considered. 

Submit your contribution and signed release form to:

autismconsecrated@gmail.com

Thank You!

-Aimée O’Connell, Co-Founder of Autism Consecrated

Do You Want To Build A Library?

by Aimée O’Connell

 

Once upon a short while ago, the team at Autism Consecrated was assembling a symposium entitled “Autism Through the Eyes of God,” intended to bring together an array of speakers to inspire and challenge those in attendance to flip our view of autism as a disability and see what it might look like in terms of the gifts each autistic person brings to the faith community.  We had just begun to consider location, date and cost when COVID-19 asserted itself as the card holder in all of our affairs, and now we find ourselves looking at an entirely new landscape where public gatherings are concerned.  Not only are conferences being postponed indefinitely, but prospective attendees are facing job cuts, loss of work hours and a necessary reshuffling of priorities across the board.

While these new operating parameters take precedence among service providers around the world, the topic of autism in our faith communities is just as relevant, if not more so during times of crisis and uncertainty. Moreover, the shift from real interaction to electronic and virtual contacts in the name of public safety only reinforces the spiritual health benefits we lose when we cannot interact in person. Our hope all along was to create a symposium to share our common goals in the same space. Until that can happen… what can we do?

Do you want to build a library?

We were already planning to upload the “best of” our live symposia talks to our YouTube channel.  While we wait for that time when we are able to gather and inspire one another in person, why not enkindle and explore ideas without limits, without cost, and without letting this time of quarantine detract from the passion we carry in our hearts for realizing autism’s belonging in the Body of Christ?

In that spirit, we are opting right now to convert our “Presentations” section to a Clickable Resource Library. In order to build that library, we need content! As such, we are rolling out a Call for Submissions, accompanied by a Release of Information Form, which we will make available in a separate post here and in the Resource Area on the main page of our website.

Whether you have a submission you would like to contribute or a request for a specific topic to be covered, we need your input!

We also need our Call for Submissions shared far and wide in order to get this Resource Library off the ground. Please help us get the word out via email and social media. Download the documents here, or request them by email at autismconsecrated@gmail.com.

Do you want to build a library?  Let’s do this!