Indispensable People
Making the Gospel Accessible to people of ALL abilities so that they may know Christ, grow in Him, and serve Him with the gifts He has given them.
Indispensable People
Faith and Autism
The episode explores the complex realities of autism through the lens of faith and understanding, emphasizing the importance of seeing beyond labels and embracing the whole person. Conversations on brokenness, parenting, masking, and personal identity illustrate the journey toward self-acceptance while fostering compassion in our communities.
• The idea of autism as more than just a label
• Challenging the notion of brokenness in relation to disabilities
• The impact of masking on individuals with autism
• Importance of recognizing and nurturing personal identity in parenting
• Understanding differing perspectives through literature and personal stories
• The balance between self-acceptance and social norms
• Christian worldview on purpose and identity in the context of disabilities
• Encouragement to explore diverse perspectives for deeper understanding
For deeper dives and more information, visit www.indispensable-people.com and Amazon to purchase "The Indispensable Kid" and "Gospel Accessibility and Indispensable People."
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, pastor and missionary and I believe that every person should have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given, no matter their ability. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 25% of the population. However, over 80% of them are not inside the walls of our church. Let's dive into those hard topics biblical foundations, perceptions and world-changing ideas.
Speaker 1:Hey, hey, and welcome to this episode of Indispensable People. We are talking about autism and we are going to dive deep into a book called Unmasking Autism. Now I want to give a very, very, very fair warning that when I read books, I don't just choose books that I know that I will agree with. I choose books that will challenge my thinking, that will open my eyes to things that maybe I haven't seen and hopefully, even if I don't agree, will teach me about another person's perspective so I can see outside of myself, and I think all of those things are incredibly important and very helpful in relationship building, and just knowing where someone else, someone is coming from and they're thinking and how they're kind of developing through really aids in the why. I've always lived upon the thought that, you know, everyone has a story, there's something behind their actions, reactions and choices and all of that kind of stuff. And you know, we're not just the piece and parts of the things we do or the things we say, or maybe how we react or handle things, but there are pieces and parts behind that and that is incredibly helpful, especially when interacting with individuals in the field of disability and whether it's ministry in a school setting, in a clinical setting, however that looks for you. But I am only into the introduction of this book and there are lots of different thoughts, red flags, ways of thinking that I just wanted to kind of tool out with you guys, because it impacts the way that people perceive their diagnosis of autism and also the way that people interact with those with autism.
Speaker 1:Here's what I want everything to boil down to. Every person's a person. Okay, they're not just the sum total of their diagnosis. Yes, their diagnoses impact who they are, how they handle themselves, how they act, all of that kind of thing. But from a Christian worldview, the labels that we receive are not our definer. If we choose to follow our creator and our savior, he is our definer, and we've talked a little bit in previous episodes about the difference between we went from kind of learning about person first language and being a respecter that each person is an individual and their disability is not their prime label, and now we're in this kind of pendulum shift into a I accept my diagnosis and that is a part of who I am. So I am an autistic person or whatever the diagnosis is, and I think there are benefits to both. I think that it is very hard to be the person that God has called you to be if you can't accept all the parts that are a part of you and that have come with that. I also think that it is a challenge when we only capitalize on that piece that diagnoses, because it's not the sum total of who you are. So again, it's the extremes of the pendulum shift and wanting to make sure that there is a balance in between.
Speaker 1:So let's jump into this book First. Again, I already gave you a little bit of a warning that not every book that I read is something that I agree with. It is not something that I utilize in my kind of theological pathway. However, it helps me to understand someone outside of my own self. So this book, not that all of it isn't helpful, but there is a lot of agendas in it and there are some very clear cut directions to those agendas, some very clear cut directions to those agendas, and I'm just going to highlight some of the things that I have come across so far that have enhanced my way of thinking. So the introduction to unmasking autism starts by sharing this person's life and how they had kind of gone through some things but never understood until they sat down and had a conversation with another person in their family discussing that family member's autism diagnosis, which then led this person on to kind of a walk of self-discovery that that might be the place that they're in as well. And so one of the first highlights that he talked about was kind of interpersonal relationships and he said how could I go on connecting with others when every effort was so unsatisfying, which was one of his kind of social indicators that autism might be in that pathway. But also we're going to spend a little bit of time on the next comment and it says being autistic would mean I was broken.
Speaker 1:And here is the battle with these kind of words and these kinds of terminology and kind of the thinking of the past to the thinking of the future is, first of all, we live in a broken world. From a Christian perspective, we have sin entering the world with Adam and Eve, which broke what God had intended through perfection into a marred world, into a marred world. And so brokenness is a part of the world and through God sending Jesus and a savior and healing. And the actual term of a disability, the definition is going to define like barriers and difficulties to living daily life, okay. So when we consider the word broken, that doesn't mean non-functioning, without purpose, it doesn't mean that unlivable, okay. So when we consider, for example and this is something that has been used, has been said for years, and it's really the thought process that comes with it, that's the problem. And so when you might encounter someone with a disability, another person may say to you or ask the question you know what's wrong with them? Okay. The question you know what's wrong with them? Okay. And so from this new shift in thinking, it's not that the thinking is saying there's not something wrong with them, it's just a different way of being Okay. And again we're in that pathway of going right.
Speaker 1:Autism, in some respects, is brings a different way of thinking, a different perspective, maybe a different approach to things, and in some cases it leads to incredibly creative thinking, solutions, great things. However, that doesn't dismiss the difficulties and the barriers that are experienced by those with autism. So it's not an if or it's a both, and Because yes, because of the disability, you live your life in such a way that maybe requires you to think outside of the box and to experience things in a different, preferential way. However, that doesn't take away the difficulty and I say that not to continue to highlight the difficulty with disability. But when we continually tell people that this is a disability, is something to be celebrated, we minimize the struggles that they go through and then we isolate that and then there's lonesome isolation, all kinds of issues that come about that. But again, I would say that it is not just an if or it's a both, and Great things that can come out of those disabilities. Right, and we know that, because God doesn't waste a thing. We know that there's a plan and a purpose behind each thing, and if there's a plan and a purpose, then God will be glorified through it. So that might look like all kinds of different things. It's not just let's celebrate this, but that there is purpose in the pain, there is provision through the difficulties and that God has a plan through it. Let's move on to some of the next things.
Speaker 1:And this statement is a little hard for me. It says as I grew up, I learned to be less intense, less embarrassing, less me. So a good portion of this introduction of this book talks about, I mean, the premise of unmasking. Okay, masking means you're covering up who you are to become more socially acceptable, right, and I struggle between. I mean we all grow as children into adulthood and we learn basically the social norms of life, what's acceptable, what's not acceptable in certain settings that we experience. You know what's acceptable at home, what's acceptable at school, what's acceptable in the workplace and all those kinds of things.
Speaker 1:And you struggle with. You know God created you, he gave you God given personality traits and we all have preferences, we all have wants and needs. We all have preferences, we all have wants and needs and I always explain that a lot of things that we discuss that's the difference between a person that has a disability and a person that doesn't have a disability is those preferences that a person without a disability has are necessities for a person with a disability are necessities for a person with a disability. And so I struggle with that, because is it wrong for me to teach my child that you know it's not okay to punch someone, whether they have autism or they don't have autism and I know that's an extreme thing. But also, you know someone who's very bold and blunt in their words. Is it okay to hurt someone else's feelings? Because, well, you're just bold and blunt and that's just a part of who you are, you know.
Speaker 1:So there is a balance to you know the masking that they're talking about. You know what parts of it is. You know who you are as a personality and you want to celebrate that, and that's OK. And what parts of it are your disability, and you know you are who you are, so you don't want to hide that away. You are, so you don't want to hide that away. But then, in the same respects, then you're going to take away. You might as well take away some of the therapies and the other things that exist.
Speaker 1:Again, I think it's not an if or Like. Do I believe that people are masking and covering up for their disability 100%? Do I live with a child who lives his life to kind of try to blend in and cover for the things that he doesn't want extra people to notice. Absolutely have we spent a good part of his life going? It is okay to be you 100%, but does that mean that I am not teaching him the appropriateness of things to say and do in situations? However, if he needs to wear headphones, noise-canceling headphones that help him in an environment 100%, I don't care what anybody thinks. If that's what makes you comfortable and that's what makes you fit in that space, do it. It's not hurting anyone else, it's not causing a distraction for anyone else. It is giving safety and peace and calm in his body so that he can participate in the space that he's in. That's the difference.
Speaker 1:Right, and I said this a little bit earlier you can't be all that God has called you to be until you accept who he's made you to be and so. But that doesn't mean that we all are not growing and perfecting and working in this line of sanctification where we're becoming more like Christ and we just live this. We, just because we want to be who we are, doesn't mean that we get to live this life in a flippant way. That doesn't matter what anybody else thinks or feels or does, or how our choices impact their environment. And I'm not saying that that's what this book is doing. But I think we have to have a very careful balance in between the both of those things, because we want people to be who they are God created them. But that doesn't mean that we're not molding and shaping and growing as people so that God can be glorified through our actions and our behaviors and the way that we love people and the way that we handle each other. And here's one of the things in the book points out and I think it's an absolute valid thing is that. So he goes on to talk about the kind of covering up for his autism all of his life.
Speaker 1:And the next piece says I found out that there were thousands of autistics just like me who discovered their disability in adulthood after years of confused self-loathing. As children, these autistic folks had been visibly awkward, but they were mocked for it instead of given help. Like me, they developed coping strategies to blend in. To blend in Things like starting at a person's forehead to simulate eye contact or memorizing conversational scripts based on exchanges they saw on TV. And it says many of these stealthy autistic people fell back on their intellect or other talents to gain acceptance. Others became incredibly passive because if they toned down their personalities, they wouldn't have to risk being too intense. And it says, beneath the inoffensive professional veneers, they had developed their lives. Developed. Their lives were falling apart, many of them suffering from self-harm, eating disorders and alcoholism. They were trapped in abusive or unfulfilling relationships with no clue on how to feel, seen and appreciated. Nearly all of them were depressed, haunted by profound sense of emptiness.
Speaker 1:You should also know that the individual who wrote this book is a studied sociology, has a PhD, so they have a very heavy perspective on that side of things. And it says I'm now calling masked autism a camouflaged version of the disorder that's still widely neglected by researchers, mental health providers and autism organizations that aren't led by autistic people. And so why are we talking about this today? Why is this important? Simply because, first of all, you're going to receive parents and children and teens and adults at all different levels of need and all different areas of experience in the world of autism, and you are going to come up against different perspectives, and we need a foundation of where we stand so that we can help to lead them. Now, I'm not saying that they have to think exactly the way that I think to experience, find Jesus, follow Jesus and all that kind of stuff. There is, again, a reason why I read things that maybe I don't fully agree with. However, the things that I've shared with you in this book really highlight a perspective that if I approach someone, I want to understand where they're coming from. I want to understand their thinking.
Speaker 1:This unmasking autism is a very bold way of thinking and approaching and it's kind of like approaching an unapologetic way of saying this is who I am. Take it or leave it, because I'm not going to hide who I am and I'm not going to live this life of isolation in such a way, because I'm masking what I am. And again, we can have a stand of going be who you are. God created you with God-given talents and purpose and personality, but also, in the same sense, god gave us direction and a model of what being Christ-like looks like, and we're all on a path to becoming more like him if we're following him. And again this goes back to it's not not an if or it's a both, and Because that personality that God has given you is there for a purpose and is a plan, and that plan will be stifled if also the talents and the gifts and the personality is stifled. Talents and the gifts and the personality is stifled. But also none of us are perfect and we're all on a path to sanctification. So what will that look like long-term? How will that pan out in the growth of every individual right, which is a natural progression of life, whether or not you're a Christian right, whether or not you're just Christian right, whether or not you're just um. As a parent wants your child to grow up, to be a good person, um, but especially on the path of following Christ, um, and the layer of um, working through the process of sanctification for your whole life. It is taking who you are, taking what God has given you and made you to be, and then working on a path of sanctification and perfection through your whole life. So it's not working against each other. It's not working against each other, it's working together and that is going to heavily impact your approach, your walk through this life with someone with autism.
Speaker 1:Do I recommend this book? I recommend coming up and reading into other people's perspectives. I recommend understanding where other people are coming from. I do think that it has to be very carefully read Again. I do believe that there are some agendas that are in the book that I didn't get into today and I'm probably not going to get into because it's a very different topic.
Speaker 1:But to be unapologetically who God has made you to be, while also in the process of sanctification, is the message that we want to send.
Speaker 1:God has a plan, god has a purpose.
Speaker 1:He created each person with intention and if that intention is covered, is masked, we won't reach our full potential.
Speaker 1:But if we accept who God has created us to be and work on that path, following that model of Christ in our path to sanctification, he will be glorified, he will be made known, he will not be covered up. And the goals of all so that Christ can be known, so that others can know him and so that each and every person can serve him with the gifts and talents that they have been given that is what God wants for each one of us. We don't become who we are for our promotion. We become who we are for God's promotion. Do I know everything about disability ministry? Do I have all the answers? Have I done everything perfectly? I have absolutely not, but we are going to continue this conversation so that people of all abilities can have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given them. For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensablepeoplecom and visit Amazon to purchase the books the Indispensable Kid and Gospel. Accessibility and the Indispensable People.
