One autism story, two autism theories, many autism gifts

Abstract

This article reflects on how autism interacts with the Christian faith and the Church. From considerations of the lived experience of the author’s son, who has autism, tensions are noted between the two main theoretical stances which are commonly applied to autism and how this has a bearing on a ‘theology of autism’. Of these two stances, it is suggested that ‘Intense World’ theory is more useful because it treats autistic people with greater empathy; ironically, an aspect that an ‘impaired’ Theory of Mind suggests they lack. This has implications for how the Church can learn from and be enriched by neurodiverse people.