Check out the most recent episode of PBS’ Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. The episode features Reverend Bill Gaventa and people with disabilities and their families from Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations
I had an interesting and enlightening conversation with a college friend last week. This woman is a Christian Pastor, Mom and an Autism Advocate. She posted on Facebook about how she was convinced that in her experience of her son, who lives on the autism spectrum, she was becoming more and more convinced that autism was a cultural thing.
I asked her to say more about this and she talked about how she was convinced that her son spoke another “language”. My friend’s sense was that if she could just commit to learning the “language” she could better understand and support her son.
I had that conversation last week and then I came in this morning to find a link to this article from the New York Times in my inbox. I think the article offers some of the same insights.
I lead disability awareness training often and I think there are definitely elements of cultural competency involved.
What do you think? How much of disability awareness is cultural competency vs. teaching people with disabilities to operate appropriately within the culture of the communities where we seek to be connected?
â??My son is very fond of his junior church leader and she has done loads of little things to keep him included. Even though some of them donâ??t work, I am really heartened by her willingness to be creative and think of my son and want him to be happy in the group and to be able to contribute. He often is offered a musical instrument and is the person she asks to draw the curtains and switch off the lights. She accepts a certain level of noise from him and encourages me to contribute to the group overall. He often starts his prayers at night with thanking God for her. â?¦.It is helpful to have people who are willing to learn and understand and treat us both like human beings with feelings. Someone asked me for what they could do to make it easier for him when we went for a picnic together, and that individual approach really
helps.â?
This is an example of one of the many quotes offered by people who live on the autism spectrum and their family members in Welcoming Those with Autism and Aspberger Syndrome In Our Churches And Communities. The document was published by the Anglican Diocese of Oxford.
One of the things that impresses me most about the document is the multiplicity of ways that the voices of people living on the Autism Spectrum show up in the document.
Please download the document and review it. I believe it presents may helpful tips for welcoming people on the Autism Spectrum and their families. Tips like:
The Order of service â?? really clear instructions for us e.g. where to sit, when to stand and sit, what to say at each point? Either write it down, or get someone to be with us to quietly say what to do, please. (This also helps those new to church). Different colour paper may help some to read service sheets, e.g. light blue paper rather than white.
What do you think?
