Does autism affect your relationship with God?

[muichimotsu]

I am certainly no ableist. All autism is the same. ASD2/3s just have more intense co-morbid conditions, which are separate from the autism, itself. That is where the problems lie. The goal should not be to "cure" autism, but to minimize the additional co-morbid conditions, if at all possible.

Are you saying that if a person is born with autism, they are impervious to environmental insults like bacteria, viruses, fungi, toxins, etc.?

Findings show just the opposite, that the intellectually gifted and basic autistic [ASD1] neurotypes both exhibit hyper-reactive immune systems, particularly in the form of allergies. Read Dr. Martha Herbert about this general hypothesis.

ASD1s were only recently acknowledged. There are no historical statistics to compare us to because we always flew under the radar.

ASD2/3s have always been in special education under one label or another. Prior to 1980?, ASD2/3s occurred 1:1000 live births. Here is a graph for the state of California.

2014-CA DDS Autism Cases By Birth Year
These are ASD2s & 3s only; not including ASD1s. This caseload did not previously exist under a different diagnosis. Also known as Millennial Autism. Image taken from California's Autism Crisis​

The real question should be, "What changed around 1980?"

I myself probably have a decent immune system, but yeah, I do have allergies, so it fits within the explanatory model. I'm not sure where I'd fit, but I think 2 is reasonable, 1 would just be the autism, while I have some comorbid issues that still need proper diagnosis. 1 sounds like the "high functioning" autism that was synonymous with Aspergers, iirc.

 

[muichimotsu]

Still wondering about what other ASD individuals think in regards to me being the odd one out here: obviously the majority would be Christians and such, but still, even some thoughts would be an interesting discussion starter of me being raised Christian and generally still not being convinced, in no small part because of my autism

 

[toumei]

New in the forums so I thought I'd pitch in.

I feel like my autism has slowed down my ability to approach God.
Going to church has always been about managing the social contact and the loud noises, rather than learning about God.
Reading the bible has been tough because there are so many people and places mentioned, I can't keep track of who's who and where they're located.

Meeting humans feels overwhelming and difficult enough, so approaching God feels very difficult.
I've accepted Jesus as my saviour but I feel no connection to him, just like I feel no connection to other people. It makes me sad, because I want both people and Jesus in my life.

No matter how slow my progress is though, I keep coming back. Maybe that's a little piece of Jesus in me.

 

[Sabertooth]

Hello & welcome.

I've accepted Jesus as my saviour but I feel no connection to him, just like I feel no connection to other people.

Have you been to a new-believers class since getting Saved?
Have you been baptized since getting Saved?

 

[toumei]

Thank you.

Yes, I'm baptised and I've attended an Alpha course.

The Alpha course was tough because every meeting started with a communal meal. I knew no one there and the social chit-chat had me drained before the lesson would even start.

(I tried to quote you so that you'd get a notification, but it seems I failed.)

 

[Sabertooth]

Does your church have small groups/home groups? They are less overwhelming.

 

[toumei]

Does your church have small groups/home groups? They are less overwhelming.

Figured out the quote function!

I was a member of a home group a couple of years ago, but the other members mostly talked a lot about their personal lives, and I felt like I couldn't contribute much. I think something like a bible study would fit me more. I should search for that.

 

[NIrelandGillian]

So glad you found a church where the pastor is supportive. Pity the sermons are not so good. What about the other people in the church - are they also supportive? Have you tried anywhere else?

Here in Northern Ireland we have Tio Associates. They work with people with intellectual disabilities and their families and with churches, emphasising the importance of including such people in church life. We're hoping to have one of their representatives come and speak at our church.

You can read about them here: Home - Tio - Christianity on intellectual disability

Gillian

 

[Aleph.beth]

For me it does affect my relationship

I am oblivious when people say that they sense that the Spirit is really present
I miss the hints that others pick up as signs of Jesus moving
I don't get the connections that other get due to their social understanding

 

[Sabertooth]

I am oblivious when people say that they sense that the Spirit is really present
I miss the hints that others pick up as signs of Jesus moving...

You can still get that over time. Keep asking Him to make you aware of His Presence. He will. (He did for me.)

Many of the Old Testament prophets looked like they were autistic, too.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

It bothers my relationship with God when I compare my social disability with those normal people who can socialize easy. It stinks and hard to get over when you try to talk to people and it is only a few words then the conversation is over while the normals can go on and on.

It does not want me to listen to Christian music but Soma FM Drone Zone for hours in the dark.

 

[Sabertooth]

It stinks and hard to get over when you try to talk to people and it is only a few words then the conversation is over while the normals can go on and on.

That happens between autistics, too. We are just on a different page.

It does not want me to listen to Christian music but Soma FM Drone Zone for hours in the dark.

I am not sure what this means.

I don't connect with current CCM very much. My MP3 playlist is mostly '70s-'90s praise & worship. (Most is lifted directly from Scripture.) I also have CCM from the same era and novelty/pop/musicals from almost every decade in the 20th century.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

I do like the older music from Michael W Smith.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

I am not sure what this means

Drone Zone from SomaFM

 

[Sabertooth]

Drone Zone from SomaFM

Is that supposed to be CCM? I like electronica as a genre, but it isn't particularly uplifting spiritually.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

Is that supposed to be CCM? I like electronica as a genre, but it isn't particularly uplifting spiritually.

No its binary beats downtempo ambient no vocals usually depressing music especially on Sundays we're they can play an ambient track that is over 90 minutes.

 

[Tania11]

God understands and is more merciful than we can imagine.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

I prayed about this last week with a group of woman. They said that the word normal or wanted to be normal is a sign for the enemy.

That my mental illness is something that God does not reject and that I am not lonely or broken even though I feel like that sometimes.

 

[JesseBassett]

As an ASD person, I have a deep connection/relationship with Christ. Ever since I was 2. So naturally I would say the ASD only strengthens that relationship with God.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

My ASD makes it difficult but thanks to prayer and Seroquel medication I am getting much better socializing. I even talked to a girl, I approached even talked to her for over 15 minutes a record for me and I asked her to exchanged WhatsApp chats so we do private chats. I also opened up to my friend Justin also from Life Group and I can WhatsApp chat with him and is wife when I have questions or feel down.