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Autism

Writer's picture: Profiles in CatholicismProfiles in Catholicism
Dec 21, 202414 min read

Updated: Jan 2



A Message from the Editor

I was fortunate to work with people with autism several years ago and learned much about their disorder – what it is and what it isn’t. But when I  recently learned that that many chidden and teens with autism are murdered by their parents and caregivers I started to cry.. This is one of the  greatest crimes imaginable, What must have gone through these precious minds as they were being murdered?  


To help remember them we have designed a webpage for Murdered Autistic Children and Teens and hope that you will pray for them often.


 A Quote to Remember


"Autism is not a tragedy. It's a challenge that can be met with creativity, courage, and resolve."

by Senator Tom Harkin.


Prayers


“An Enlightening Love” 

        

How, Lord, little by little, I forgot to spend your love, not mine,

On the children who wear me away, like water on a rock, rising

Early, even midnight or four in the morning, ready to play and

Rock the day, ready to play and wear me away, ready to play day

By day, when I am no longer ready to play but ready for a rest.

 

Dear Mary, you were alert at the marriage feast and knew that

The wine had run out and that we needed an extraordinary help

In the gift of your Son taking the waterless jars used to wash

And, just as we used up that water to clean externally, to rinse

What can be rinsed off, and to soak what can be soaked off.

 

Dear Joseph, you were close to running out of goodwill when the

Angel spoke to you of a divine gift of accepting a child not your

Own but your wife’s and to live that love of Him as if it was your only

Son, your most precious son, yet the son you adopted amidst

The adoption of other children, too, which were not your own.

 

Oh Joseph, you needed the help of an angel to see beyond a child,

Not your own, mysteriously conceived in the womb of Mary, your

Betrothed, knowing that the child was not your own but, by angel

Grace, knowing that this child was divine and was given as a grace

To help the human race and so, like Mary, you took up the task.

 

Oh Mary, you needed the help of an angel, too, to accept the truly

Mysterious nature of a uniquely holy conception, wholly holy, in

The very embryonic reality of Jesus Christ, the Son of God made

True man, come to unfold the path of redeeming love for all who

Live, traversing human life from conception until an untimely death.

 

And you Lord, in the garden of anguish, confronted with an inescapable

possibility of a terrible suffering, an angel came to

Strengthen you, giving the strength that comes from the presence

Of God Himself, making us realize that in our hour of desperation,

When it is impossible to be patient, that the angels are there to help.

 

Lord, may you and your holy Mother and spouse, St. Joseph, all

Of whom have known the help of an angel, press into service for each of us,

our guardian angel, given us by God to be exactly there,

At our side, in order to turn our hearts into helpers especially when

Our goodwill is spent, we are tired, and the child is in danger too.

 

Let your word, coming as it does more freely than psychiatric

Assessments, more routinely than a regular appointment with

The doctor, revealing more than an x-ray and opening,

more discreetly than we can be, what untold stresses are in our hearts

And hammering at our door, day in and day out, to ask for help.

 

And so we pray, Lord, not just for ourselves but for those we love

And care for, that we need the vigilance of our Guardian Angel

So that, on call more than any monitor, our angel may help us to

Seek the help that we need to be of help to others without the snap

And crack of wear sending us to prison to get the help we needed.

 

by Francis Etheredge Catholic married layman, father of 11,3 of whom are in heaven, and an author. Just published: The Word in Your Heart: Mary, Youth, and Mental Health


A Prayer of St. Francis for Autism


The sun shining through trees on a dirt road

The silhouette of a person climbing on a mountain with the sun in the background

The silhouette of pine trees with blue sky in the background

Lord, let thy peace fill me up until I overflow;

that where people cannot speak, I may be their advocate;

that where anyone is rejected, I may extend my arms in welcome;

that where parents are heavy burdened, I may offer a word of comfort;

that where our children struggle, I may lift them up and cheer; that where some see disability, I may reveal to them extraordinary gifts; that where others judge, I may share with them my deep gladness; and that where any are overlooked, I may help the lights of all to shine.


Oh giver of these gifts, grant that I may not so much seek to be reassured as to reassure; to be praised as to praise; to be accepted as to accept;

for it is in all our uncertainty that we are inspired to hope;

it is in great challenges that we discover our greatest joys,

and it is in our community of wanderers that we find the way home.

Amen.

by Tim Tucker


Both Hands and a Flashlight Parenting, Autism, and the Pursuit of Being Awesome

Provided by the National Catholic Partnership on Disability Autism Task Force


Autism Interviews



General Interviews



Medical Journal Articles on Autism





General Autism Articles and Commentaries



General Articles and Commentaries



Book Reviews and Commentaries



Film Reviews and Commentaries

  • The Saints               Commentary by Monica Miller Crisis Magazine

  • On Falling Commentary  by Claudio Zonta SJ La Civita Cattolica

  • Gladiator II by Stefano Rebeggiani Angelus News


Television Reviews and Commentaries


Videos 


Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC: Big Announcement, "I'm Autistic"


A 10 year-old autistic and blind boy singing. His voice shocked everyone.


10 Early Signs of Autism


Study: Autistic Kids Struggle in the Catholic Church

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