An exciting recent development was the founding of the first formal community for Catholics with autism:
Autistic Catholics is a community of Autistic Catholic people seeking to share their lives in friendship while growing in Faith, Hope, and Charity and looking for new ways to support and share resources with each other as either discerning, identifying, or diagnosed autistic folks.
Aleteia had the chance to catch up with A.O. John Smith, founder of Autistic Catholics. He shared a few key ways that all Catholics can support the members of our community who have autism.
Starting Autistic Catholics
Smith started the group because, after his autism diagnosis as an adult, he knew few people like himself who are both Autistic and Catholic.
“I hope that by starting Autistic Catholics, the wider network of Autistics in the Catholic Church can find and meet one another, share life, and form friendship, while growing in the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity,” he said. “This is our mission and we hope to be a light in the Church, a sign of Christ's Transfiguration, living in joy while sharing our common laments.”
He also hoped that the group could advocate for themselves and other autistic Catholics: “I wanted to find and form a genuine community who could lean on each other through a weekly fellowship of friends. We would, by being in community, serve to become a voice for autistic Catholics in the Church, better informing our leadership about our unique contribution and gift to the Body of Christ.”
Wanting to know more about the needs of autistic Catholics, we asked Smith to share his recommendations for Catholic leaders and all of us in the pews.
1Educate ourselves about autism
Smith encouraged people simply to learn about autism:
The CDC currently suggests that 1 in 36 people are autistic. This makes autism quite common. Recognizing how frequently an Allistic (non-Autistic) person meets an Autistic person should illuminate our minds to the wonderful gift of autism in the Church.
2Offer sensory-friendly services
“The most common outreach currently is sensory-friendly Masses,” Smith said. “Many dioceses have them and also approach belonging for our Autistic brethren in myriad ways of hospitality.”
The National Catholic Partnership on Disability offers many very helpful resources which Smith recommended. You might start with Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew or Sensory-Friendly Mass Toolkit.
3Spread the word about Autistic Catholics
“There isn't another organization or community nationally that hopes to unify and give voice to Autistic Catholics,” Smith said.
If you have a friend or family member who has autism, let them know about it so they can enjoy the fellowship and community it provides.
