Autism and the Church

Have you ever revisited a memory that seemed to have changed over the years? I have. About ten years ago, I was serving in student ministry and leading a group of ninth grade boys. During our Wednesday night small group, we invited a new student named Randy. Randy is low-functioning autistic, which means that he has low cognitive skills and low verbal skills. For a number of months, Randy held a special place in our group. The other students loved him, rallied around him, and his presence made our group better. At one of the last small groups that Randy attended, I got to talk a bit with his dad. As he and Randy were leaving, he shook my hand with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you so much.” And it wasn’t until six months ago that the gravity of that moment had set in.

You see, I was diagnosed as being on the spectrum last year, so stories like this require reorientation when you relate to the characters differently. Reflecting on memories like these, I have been encouraged to see how the church has rallied around those who have a disability—it is a beautiful picture of inclusion and valuing the Imago Dei in those whom society may look upon as “lesser than.” However, this is not the typical experience for the autistic community—the majority of autistic Christians find it difficult to participate in a Sunday morning experience and to be part of a church community. In fact, it is more likely that an autistic person feels a sense of belonging within the LGBTQ community than within the church. So, this leaves us with two critical questions: Why is it important to have a conversation about autism and the church? And how can the church work to create a safe space for autistic persons?

Why is it important to have a conversation about autism and the church?

As believers, our chief identity is found in belonging to God. Therefore, any other identity—including a diagnosis—must always be secondary to that identity. However, the topic of autism requires discussion due to the impact it has on the global church and on the role of believers in the local church. Approximately two percent of the population—children and adults—are autistic, which means that it is likely that autism is part of your church. And if autistic persons are part of our churches but are struggling to assimilate into the community because of their unique challenges, then autism must be talked about. Grant MacAskill encourages this in his book Autism and the Church, reminding us that because autism is already in the body of Christ, the response to autism should be made by the body: “We [should] approach autism as something that has been united to Christ and his body.”[1]

Consider what Paul says about the church in 1 Corinthians 12:12–26: The church—like the body—has distinct parts, and each person is uniquely designed to serve the body. There are parts of the body that seem weaker and indispensable by our standards (v. 23), yet are treated with special honor by God. Regarding the social structure of the church—and the Sunday morning experience—autistic persons generally feel out of place, i.e. dispensable. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the church to “have equal concern for one another” so that we suffer and are honored as one body (v. 25–26). If the autistic person feels out of place in our church community, it is to our mutual benefit that they feel like they belong.

How can the church work to create a safe space for autistic persons?

Many of the challenges autistic persons face are embedded expectations within the church, which therefore requires the Christian to step out of the routine of the church to care for autistic persons. For example, sometimes autistic persons experience sensory overload in a church service, requiring them to sit in an overflow room, wear ear plugs, or even leave the service altogether. In situations like this, it would be the role of the fellow church member to sit with them, check in on them, showing them that their unique challenges do not alienate them from their church community. Intentional decisions like this remind us that sometimes the church needs to serve the one rather than remain with the 99 (Matt. 8:12-13).

Reflecting on my own experiences in church, the biggest help that my community has extended to me is their willingness to listen and to seek to understand my challenges. The act of surrendering any preconceived ideas and seeking to serve the person in front of you is exactly how Jesus lived among those who were outcasts during his time, and these examples are some of the best ways that the church community can walk alongside those with autism. Some of the support that I have seen from my community is the intentional inclusion in social conversations and asking good questions to help me engage. Small gestures like this help ease the efforts that autistic individuals make assimilating into the social life of the church.

I often think of the conversation that I had with Randy’s father. I realize now that the tears he had in his eyes were not because he and his wife finally got a break from caring for their son. It was because these high school kids and their youth leaders did not define Randy by his autism; they did not view him as a “project” or a “charity,” but as an essential part of their church community. Randy’s parents saw their son loved and celebrated for who he was. They saw people that were glad when Randy was there and were sad when he was absent. This is what autistic persons desire: to be able to be their authentic self within a community that knows them and loves them for who they are. But isn’t that what all of us desire: to be part of a community that knows and loves us for our authentic selves?

Autistic persons may present situations that are atypical to the social standards of the church, but every person holds a unique role in the congregation that benefits the church. And until the final day, it is our mutual responsibility—autistic or not—to “equip [the Lord’s] people for works of service,” that we each may build each other up, seeking unity in the faith and seeking to attain the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:11–13).

Photo of Autism Awareness ribbon retrieved from Wikipedia Commons. Background photo of trees retrieved from Unsplash.

[1] Grant Macaskill, Autism and the Church: Bible, Theology, and Community (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2021), 64.