God, the Church, Autism, and Other People With Disabilities

     Yesterday, I read two articles that bothered me and I know that they also bothered many other people; I also commented on both of them. Both articles discuss autism and faith in God, or the lack of it, and spirituality. One article is titled, "Autism May Diminish Belief in God" and the other is titled, "Are Atheists More Autistic Than Believers?" The very titles suggest that people with autism are inherently less spiritual than others and have less capacity for God, than other people in the population. What is are the authors' explanations for their findings? The writers cite the well-known finding that "theory of mind," the ability to comprehend the feelings and thoughts of other people, is deficient in autism and at the root of so many autistic social difficulties. The writers tell us that the parts of the brain that are involved in appreciating and contemplating God as a Person with thoughts and feelings, are "theory of mind" traits. This "theory of mind" and the involved parts that enable us to see ourselves in relationship with God, are damaged by autism, reason the authors. The conclusion of all this? Autism means a reduced capacity for God and faith.
     The first article, "Autism Diminishes Belief in God," focuses on the supposed reduced capacity for God that autistic people have. Their conclusions are based on asking people with autism and those with traits of autism who are not diagnosed, questions about God, spirituality and faith. The writer bases his findings on what his subjects said in the surveys and the more autistic trait, the more the answers leaned toward diminished belief in God. The second article, "Are Atheists More Autistic Than Believers?" focuses on the supposed autistic traits of many atheists, asking whether many of them many have a form of high-functioning autism. These would include Asperger's Syndrome and Pervasive Development Syndrome--Not Otherwise Specified (PDD--NOS). Many who count themselves as atheists are no doubt offended at the suggestion that they may be considered to have traits of autism, but what is far more of a concern, even offense, to me, is the notion that atheism and autism are being compared in this fasion and the suggestion that autistic people are more likely to be atheists. What should be taken away from articles such as this?
     Let me answer this question with another question. If autism hinders faith in God and spirituality, who bears much of the responsibility for this? I suggest that much of this is because congregations and people of faith, have not known how or have not tried to learn how to welcome people with autism and many other disabilities, especially invisible ones) into their congregational life. What does feeling and being welcomed into the Church (the community of the people of God) have to do with faith in God? I suggest that it has to do everything with it! It is a serious matter when people feel chronically unwelcomed by the Church! It can harm them spiritually.When individuals, autistic or not, or families don't feel welcomed into the Church or a congregation, they rarely stay. And when individuals, autistic or not, or families feel shunned or not accepted by the people of God, they are going to find it easier to feel shunned or not accepted by God Himself. Let's face it, God is invisible and His people are all we can see. Being human, though we know that God is perfect and His people are imperfect, it is all too easy to confuse God with His people. And when autistic people (who are often  challenged in "theory of mind" and higher-order thinking skills) feel unwelcome in the Church, they will be even more likely to question and to doubt God. Why? It is so much easier to believe the message being sent out by the perceived (or actual) rejection of God's people, than it is to believe in the unseen God, His love and His assurance that His favor toward us is not based on what other people think or feel about us.
     Let me cite my own experience with this issue in my adulthood. When my our family became members in the Church and in a local congregation, I soon became uncomfortable there. The members themselves were nice, pleasant, respectable people, many being young professionals and these were typical "church people" with traditional, family values. But this came as rather of a "culture shock" to me, as I had spent much of my youth and early adults years with diverse people, and people with various learning, behavioral and physical disabilities. And I was used to them. But in congregations we visited or became members of, I saw much less diversity. Very few people had disabilities with the exception of more severe ones where the need was obvious and where they were much more likely to be welcomed. Yes, I'm sure that there were more than a few members (as in son many congregations) who had invisible disabilities and feared "coming out of the closet" with them because of possible stigma.
      I'm not blaming the members (or even the leadership) of any such congregation, as I'm sure so many may not have been exposed to the disability community and may often not know about any disabilities, especially the more complex, easily misunderstood and invisible ones. In this setting of people who were not much like so many I had known and grown up with, I became acutely aware of my differences and my background, which I knew were not "normal." I did my best to "stay in the closet" and when anyone asked me anything personal where I might have to share those "unsafe" subjects, I would clam up. And yet, judging from the reactions of others and even from what I heard from my spouse, people still sensed that "something was up" with me. I felt like a misfit and not accepted. And it wasn't that I didn't become involved so I could make a contribution. I did. Still, this did little to ease my feelings of not being welcomed. And, even today, though I know better, my natural tendency is to confuse God, Whom I cannot see, with His people, whom I could see. I tend to wrestle with doubts about my relationship with God; after all, if I have so often "struck out" with His people, what does this say about my relationship with Him? What does it say about my own faith and "spirituality" if I don't feel welcomed by His people?
     And I'm not speaking only for myself here. I know that many other people, autistic or not, disabled or not, have not felt welcome in congregations. I'm positive that this happens with people with disabilities much more often and who have often not felt welcomed in the Church. In the case of those with physical disabilities, welcoming them requires that the Church make their premises accessible: ramps for those unable to walk without difficulty, sign language interpreters for deaf people who use sign language, the allowance of service dogs for those who use them for various disabilities, and I can add more and I'm sure some of you can. And congregations can create a supportive environment where people with invisible disabilities will feel less afraid to "come out of the closet" with their unseen differences and will find that they will not be judged but will be accepted. But I know that many congregations, especially large ones, feel that it is a churchgoer's or member's responsibility to reach out, get involved and make a contribution and that, as a by-product, they will be included and accepted. There is truth to this, that all of us, disabled or autistic or without disabilities, should reach out and seek to contribute to out congregations. However, in the case of people with disabilities, obvious or invisible, more support and often accommodations are needed for most to feel and be welcomed into the Church.
     I know that providing physical accommodations needed by so many with visible disabilities, often costs money or may be seen as inconveniencing others, such as allowing service dogs or other service animals. And in the case of invisible disabilities, especially the complex, more easily misunderstood ones, congregations will need to take time and effort to educate themselves about these. Yes, I recognize that, unfair as it may be, those of us in the disability community and with these conditions, will probably have to lead the way in this, advocating for ourselves and for so many others.
     Getting back to the topic of autism and faith in God, I can't help but but believe that much of this perceived "reduced capacity for God" and even comparisons with atheists, says something also about how autistic people have often not felt welcomed in the Church. I recognize that the Church often does not feel equipped to deal with a complex neurological condition like autism and so often don't know how to welcome autistic people. And since autism means a different way of thinking and different wiring, the Church needs to find out how to make God real to autistic people according to their different wiring. There are no easy answers to this, obviously. But I think that when the Church will try to reach out to autistic people, we may see more come to our local churches and want to know our God. The writers of these two articles seem to be boxing God in, suggesting that He is not able to reveal Himself and make Himself real to those with different wiring or thinking. These articles insult God as much as they do autistic people. Is God limited by the way someone is wired? Didn't He make the brain in the first place? Who is the Creator of those with disabilities, including autism? And doesn't His call to "go into all the world" with His message include those with autism and other disabilities?
     Is the Church listening?

Invisible Disabilities, Law Enforcement and the Criminal Justice System

          Before I begin discussion of this matter, let me get one thing straight from the start. Generally speaking, I applaud law enforcement officers (LEO's) and all that they do to keep all of us safe, risking their lives to do so and often giving their lives in the process. They need and deserve our support and respect. Yes, there are "bad apples" among LEO's and other first responders, those who use their professions to commit crimes. This holds true in every profession. In this post, I am addressing the need for LEO's to receive more training in dealing with invisible disabilities (as other first responders should also get). These invisible disabilities include hearing impairments, Tourettes Syndrome, autism, certain mental illness and cognitive impairments which cause behaviors that can be interprted as off-putting, even suspicious and not consistent with safe people. LEO's and other first reponders are trained to be on the lookout for anyone whose body language and behavior make them suspicious-looking. Aside from their training, LEO's and other first responders are part of our society and so tend to hold the same prejudices, misconceptions and stereotypes that are a part of our culture. Extra training can help prevent injustice and misunderstanding, even tragedy. It can even save lives and make society safer for all of us.
          Throughout history, people with disabilities, especially invisible ones, have faced injustice at the hands of LEO's and the criminal justice system. This is sad but makes sense, as there was less awareness about many disabilities and such persons, because of their frequent lack of financial resources to hire good lawyers, ignorance of their rights and knowledge of the system and how to deal with it, have often been easy targets for injustice. We know that the bulk of bad arrests, and wrongful convictions and imprisonments occur among those who are poor, who are members of minority groups or who have invisible mental or cognitive differences or impairments. As a teen in a special class, I remember that a special education teacher was talking to another teacher about her first year teaching in special education. According to her, "In this, my first class, all these young men have ended up in jail."
          In my own life, I remember, in my teens, going to a convenience store, one afternoon, to purchase some snacks and soda. As I was walking out the door with my purchases, a LEO stopped me and said, "Let me search your bag of purchases." So I submitted the items for searching. At another time, I was under the influence of inappropriately prescribed medications, which altered my faculties and much worsened my behavior; I was "not all there." I had wandered into a stranger's car and sat there. When the owner approached his car, seeing me there, he was understandablly livid and had ordered me, "Get out now or I will call the police!" In early adulthood when I returned to school and took a sociology class, once I was doing an assignment where I had to profile a nonprofit. To get material for this assignment, I visited the crisis pregnancy center which I chose for profiling. In the course of my interview, when I approached their maternity room, which was full of free maternity items for their clients, a person stood by this room protectively. She looked at me every moment as she guarded this room, until I left. I didn't need to be told what this was for.
          My understanding of this matter is that often, when we become objects of distrust and suspicion, it is because people check out our body language and physical movements; when these don't mirror those of typical people, we are seen as suspicious. Conditions like autism often result in behaviors like lack of eye contact, odd speech and even odd gaits that give out signals that such individuals are not to be trusted. Such persons easily become persons of interest in missing persons and criminal investigation cases. When Shawn Hornbeck was missing, at one point one person who lived not far from his community, who was seen as strange, became a person of interest. Soon it was found that he had nothing to do with Shawn's dissappearance and so he was cleared. In the case of missing little, 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan (who was sadly found deceased), the LEO investigation had revealed that a developmentally disabled man, prior to Nevaeh's disappearance, had approached the little girl, who became afraid of him. He had simply liked the little girl and was showing his affection in approaching her. LEO's later had questioned him and he was soon cleared. He had nothing to do with what had happened to this poor child. In research I have done, I have read about a number of other cases much like these, especially in the case of autism.
          Yes, it is true that there are exceptions: A few people with disabilities have indeed been guilty of serious crimes. There was the sad case, many years ago, where one one intellectually challenged boy had confessed to raping and killing a younger girl. More recently, I read an article, via a Facebook post, about a heartbreaking case of a young man, who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, who had confessed to brutally killing a younger girl. These are, however, exceptions.
          A current case of autism and police and criminal system injustice is the case of Reginald "Neli" Latson, a young man with autism. One day, many months ago, according to his mother's account, Latson was sitting on the lawn in front of his local library, waiting for it to open. At one point, a LEO drove by, took note of him and saw Latson as suspicious and accused Latson of carry a gun, which Latson denied. This LEO moved to arrest Latson, and Latson resisted, protesting that he had done nothing wrong. However, he was charged and convicted with "assault on a police officer" and sentencced to at least ten years in prison, after a speedy trial. This young man soon went into a deep depression and his mental state deteriorated, according to his mother. On the website that his mother has set up for him, he is featured in videos where he pleads to be released. Many of us have been circulating an online petition for him, directed to President Obama, pleading for Neli's release. His mother, after many months os seeking media exposure for her son, has only recently succeeded. Now, I realize that a number of people will argue that none of us "were there" when this all happened and that this is a "he said, he said" account and so nothing can be proved. But because of my own history of bullying and misunderstanding and painful awareness that people with disabilities tend to be viewed with suspicion by the prejudiced, I tend to believe the mother's account of her son. And at the end of this post, I will provide a link to Neli's website as well as the link to his petition, which I encourage you to sign and share.
          We can be thankful to The Innocence Project and to DNA for the reversal of many past wrongful convictions, but still they exist. Justice for crime victims, especially murder victims, cannot be achieved on the back of the wrongful convictions of innocent people, especially when the wrongful convictions are based on prejudice and ignorance of invisible disabilites.
         

http://avoiceforneli.com/  A Voice for Neli
This is an informative website for Neli Latson, where you can educate yourself about him and his needs. There are videos and articles and many resources where you can find a number of options to show your support and help. I encourage everyone to check out this website, see how you can help, and share it with others so they can do the same. We can make a difference for Neli and his devastated mother!

http://www.change.org/petitions/pardon-wrongfully-convicted-autistic-youth-neli-latson/
This is the petition for Neli's release, directed to President Obama. I encourage everyone to sign it and share it.

http://www.autismsafetyproject.org/  Autism Safety Project
This site is all about autism and public, with a wealth of information and resources for first responders, including LEO's. There are also many links to other resources.

http://www.asdatoz.com/clear/Home.html/
Community Law Enforcement Aware Response (C.L.E.A.R.)
This is a website for a California-based nonprofit, which is dedicated to providing awareness, resources and support for persons with disabilities, their families and law enforcement. All services are intended to foster public safety, training, support and resources for law enforcement and to foster safer and better interactions between LEO's and people with disabilities. If you are an LEO reading this, or know a LEO, you are encouraged to check out and share this site.