A Vibrant Spiritual Life: Suggestions for Congregations on How to Support Adolescents with Autism
Lois Spitzer, Ph.D.
We often don’t give adolescents, especially those with special needs, enough credit when it comes to spirituality. Because an adolescent has a physical, neurological, or intellectual disability, and can’t communicate in our way, we assume a lack of depth or sophistication. A disability, however, does not mean there are limitations in the ability to have a spiritual life. In my years of knowing individuals with autism, I have made some observations on how congregations can better support adolescents with special needs within their congregations.
Everyone needs to be given the freedom and encouragement to worship without feeling self-conscious. We assume that adolescents are very self-conscious. To be sure, some are. However, mine is not. I sat next to my 22-year-old autistic son, Joshua, recently in church and watched him out of the corner of my eye. He always sings with gusto, in his monotone voice, even when he doesn’t always look at the words in the hymnal. He sings from his heart like he believes that God is listening and is pleased. I almost always catch people glancing at him and smiling. Even though I think he is singing too loud and off-key,
“Adolescents need to feel that they are a valuable addition to small group settings, and be encouraged to participate.”
they are obviously enjoying it. No one sitting close to him could accuse him of not worshipping in church! When it came time to pray, Joshua bowed his head and I noticed he was mouthing words. What was he saying? When it came time to take communion, he very deliberately looked up at the cross at the front of the church as though he were having an internal conversation with God. What was he communicating to God? How wonderful it must be to feel the kind of freedom that he obviously feels. Participation and attendance in the service needs to be encouraged and affirmed. Ever since Joshua was a little boy, he has loved going to church. While he wouldn’t sit quietly anywhere else, in church he instantly would become transfixed. Baptist sanctuaries tend to be functional and thus devoid of visual religious stimuli, and so, Joshua’s attention was not being commandeered by icons or paintings. When he was an infant, he went to the nursery. When he became old enough to sit through service, I remember at first sitting in the back of the church not trusting him to remain still or quiet. Soon, I discovered that this wasn’t a problem. He would participate in service in a very mature manner. Why don’t we bring all of our children and adolescents into the service (or as much as they can tolerate) to experience worship among the family of God? Adolescents need to feel that they are a valuable addition to small group settings, and be encouraged to participate. Often, the comments and prayers of individuals with special needs are very profound and profoundly expressed. It would be a shame to deprive others of the experience of praying out loud with Joshua! As a teenager, Joshua loved accompanying his father (who is a pastor) whenever he would visit people in their homes and hospitals. Once, when he was visiting a dear elderly friend who was about to have surgery, Joshua offered a very simple prayer: “God, please heal Bob’s heart.” Bob was so touched, he began to cry. He said that prayer had more meaning to him than many other more articulate prayers that he had heard. Joshua’s prayers have power and simplicity, and people feel it. If there’s a job to do, let or encourage adolescents with special needs to volunteer. If we are aware of an individual’s strengths and limitations, often we can anticipate the areas in which a person can serve. Sometimes, we might be surprised by what can really be accomplished! Joshua loves to do everything from cleaning the kitchen and refilling the soda vending machines to restocking the office photocopiers and printers with paper. He is such a hard and careful worker and people appreciate his assistance,
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A Journey Into Community
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