A mind that works differently Erin Burnett articulates what it is like to have autism and describes the challenges it brings to her faith.
J
esus instructs us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” – but what if your mind works differently? For as long as I can remember, I have always felt different. It was as if there was an invisible wall between me and other people. I desperately wanted to experience friendship and connection, yet there was something holding me back. At school I would retreat into my own inner world and spend most of the day in silence. Instead of keeping up with the latest music and social media trends, I had very narrow and intense interests – anything from Pokémon to 20th century politics could capture my interest for months or years at a time. I was raised in a Christian household and started to take my own faith seriously around the age of 12 after the Gideons visited my school. Reading the New Testament for myself marked the beginning of an intense, tumultuous and ultimately lifegiving faith journey. I was particularly captivated by John 15:15,
18
Herald July/August 2022
when Jesus says, “I have called you friend” – this verse was an anchor for me when I was feeling isolated. My social difficulties persisted throughout my school years and I ended up being referred to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Several rounds of talking therapy helped somewhat, but still didn’t get to the root cause of my disconnection from other people. Towards the end of my time at CAMHS I saw a different psychiatrist who recognised the cause of my difficulties straight away, for which I will always be grateful. After years of struggling to fit in, I finally had an answer: I was autistic.
…it is vital that churches have an understanding of the condition and are prepared to welcome autistic people into their congregations.
What is autism? It is very difficult to precisely define autism, as it is a spectrum condition that manifests differently for each person. The stereotypical image of autism is that of a child, typically male, trapped in their own world and unable to communicate. This is only one of many ways in which autistic people present. The autism spectrum can range from someone who is slightly quirky to someone with profound disability who requires 24/7 care, and every degree in between. The most significant characteristic of autism is social difficulty. Some autistic people are non-verbal, meaning they do not speak, and those of us who can speak find the unwritten rules of conversation hard to follow. Another characteristic is sensory sensitivity – autistic people tend to dislike loud noise, bright lights and other overwhelming stimuli. Despite these difficulties, there are many positive aspects to autism. We have very intense interests and can hyperfocus on topics that intrigue us – this is a useful skill to have in academia or STEM
