How common is it for people with autism or any type of disability to become Christians?

My son who is 24, is recovering from a six-year regression and severe mental illness. With his Asperger's logic, Jesus makes more sense to him than He does to most "typical' thinkers.

His acceptance of salvation came from God, not from his upbringing as we are not regular church-goers nor do we get caught up in religious complexity.

Christianity itself is not confusing, it's religion that creates problems.

Out of curiosity, a couple of years ago I asked my son, "Who is Jesus to you?" Without even the slightest hesitation, he replied, "Jesus is my Lord and Savior."

So I went further and asked my son, "Where would you be without Jesus?" He thought for a moment then said, "I would probably be smoking crack."

Now, if you know anything about autism, you know that projecting the possibilities of the future outside of a linear fashion is difficult at best. My son had been clean and sober for over a year and did not hang out with anyone who used drugs at the time of our conversation, and yet, he knew exactly where he was headed long after being saved.

I hope this makes sense to you. I would be more than happy to talk to you further about anything you'd like to talk about.

When Jesus said that we have to come to Him like little children, He was talking about faith. A child has to depend completely upon his parents for food, clothing, shelter, protection, love, etc. As born-again Christians, we are God's children and He provides the very things that a good parent provides their children.

Unfortunately, human parents are not perfect and sometimes fail to meet the needs of their children but God IS perfect and is ALWAYS faithful.

It is my belief from observation that people like you and my son have a childlike innocence about you that is much more receptive to the Holy Spirit than most people in this world. Try not to be disappointed in the lack of faith of others and stay strong in your faith so that you will continue to be the Lord's witness. :o)

edit: My son doesn't even have the insight that you have portrayed in this question and yet he still understands the Lord in the simpliest way.

This is way to deep of a subject to ask for help here. I would first talk to a preacher or counselor.

I have always been a Christian, and a Methodist follower. God does not promise that we live perfect lives as Christians or non-Christians. And just because you don't believe in God, doesn't mean God does not exist. It just means that you choose to ignore him. Autism doesn't mean anything in the eyes of God. It means something in the eyes of man. God knows your soul perfectly, he knew you before you were born. He knows you 10 years from now, and in spite of your autism. He sends the Holy Spirit to speak to you and for you to speak with when you are struggling. Always know, Christians believe that Jesus is never far away, ESPECIALLY in times of struggle, like with Autism.

I have an Autistic son, and God loves him very much and will watch over him always for me, whether I am there or not.

I have a child with Autism and I am not Christian. I am very active in the autism community and I can assure you that there is as much religious diversity within it as there is in society.

Edit: I am an atheist Buddhist, and I wouldn't presume to tell anyone in the autism community anything about religion. I can honestly say that in the eleven years I have been involved with this disability, the subject has never come up. We're more focused on treatment, education, awareness, and funding. We're not praying for answers -- we're going out and getting them.

I'm cognitively and developmentally disabled, and even my own family members have got a really nasty attitude towards me - not just the people back in Britain! As you can imagine, i hate being around other people, and i hate being in any sort of environment as well because i just feel really unsafe and unsettled just being around other human beings! It's okay for all those normally functioning people without any brain disease or brain problem to show hatred towards the brain disabled and see us cognitively and developmentally disabled "retards" as a complete waste of space and a burden, but no one seems to understand or even care about how frustrating it is and how much of a real unusual constant struggle life is for autistics, for example; and no one even bothers to at least try to imagine or understand how much suffering these brain disabled people are going through. It's easy for all these neurotypicals to tell us autistics to stop dwelling on our condition, but how would they feel if they were victims of some devastating genetic brain disease which they were made to battle throughout life? So as an autistic, you can't blame me for feeling really depressed, miserable, and bitter about life because i feel that life has been very cruel to me and to others in my situation! No human being on Earth should even be allowed to have something like autism or any other neurological brain disorder in the first place, because it's not very fair on them or their families. But at the same time, that doesn't mean that autistics and other brain disabled people should be treated like dirt by normal people or treated differently in the way human beings would expect to be treated.

Hi I'm catholic.

Well, autism has nothing to do with faith. But humans who have autism have one thing in common, their right brain works so much more dominantly than the left brain. And right brain dominant persons are almost always good at arts, philosophy....

I know right brained persons are more rejected in many areas-so don't be sad. There's a book ,"Right brained children in a left brained world", published by Simon and Schuster. Try to find it on the store or internet.

Additionally and alternatively, get some websites about left and right brain, you may have some self discovery.

Good luck, and God loves you!

I'd tell them not to 'exorcise' their child.

Back in 2003, an 8-year-old autistic boy, Terrance Cottrell, was killed during an exorcism intended to 'cure' him.

I have a long career in teaching autistic children. There is no simple answer to your question, every individual and every family is different. I have known autistic children whose families are Muslim, pagan, Christian, atheist, agnostic, Anthroposophist, New Age, Hindu, Sikh etc

Like all children, they soak up a large percentage of what their parents tell them is 'truth', unless they have profound learning disabilities, and they can't verbalize or communicate.

"I have autism, severe learning disability"

Then, (judging by your cognition and grammar) your country must have a different scale of severity than mine, where 'severe' is in the IQ range of 20-50, which generally means unemployable , usually illiterate and capable only of non-critical household tasks. You would expect only 3rd grade ability.

Please seek psych counseling, your question gives plenty of clues that your biggest 'issues' are emotional and you need to get a handle on those if you want to progress*.

All the best x

*PS Go, see yr doc and set up psychological evaluation and psychiatric rehabilitation counseling.

"Is it because they need hope?"

Yes, that's probably the most likely reason - whether that hope is realistic or not is up for debate though.

"If you're an atheist, what would you tell the Christians with autism or the Christians who have children with autism? Would you tell them to face reality and stop having faith?"

No.

I only speak against someone's religion if they threaten me with it, shove it down my throat or try to influence society with their illogical beliefs. I am perfectly fine with people who are quietly religious or spiritual and do not negatively effect others with fear, hate or bigotry.

Now you need Jesus more than ever to set you free. Autism could be 2 types. One the natural the other an oppression, you could even ask a priest or a pastor with the gift of Deliverance to pray over you and clear your doubts. My Nephew is Autistic. He was born normal and became autistic at age 2.His Autism is a natural one and he was prayed the deliverance prayer upon.

God bless,

It is God's mercy and grace in action. Whoever comes to Him - that person would never be cast away. When a person gets to His presence, then that same person would see the how's and when's and why's. It is not given for us to see that in this lifetime being housed in vessels of clay.

Well it seems being a christian has improved your lot at all.

You are on your own, no divine intervention is going to make your life better.

Rely on your own strength and the tangible strength of your friends and relatives