Autism and Church: A reflection

Abstract

This is a reflective piece on the experience of an autistic child and their family in churches over a period of years. It considers a variety of church practices in terms of their encouragement or inhibition of the child’s journey of faith and their experience of welcome, safety, and love. It also draws a contrast between the church practice of welcoming and the experience the autistic child and family have had at one of the centres of the Riding for the Disabled Association, and its very different approaches and ethos held in relation to those who are disabled.