Influence of Religion The role of religion in all cultures provide a major source of support for autistic families including emotional comfort, strength for daily tasks, meaning to the diagnosis and hope for the future. Catholicism, the dominant religion in the Latino culture, plays a major role in the acceptance of an autistic child.
Full Answer
Are today's autistics rejecting religion?
Recent studies suggest today's autistics tend to reject organized religion. Why? What Is Autism? One of the things I love about fall is the fairs and carnivals. The biggest of them all – where I live at least – is the Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
Should the church be involved in the lives of children with autism?
Many church leaders believed that church should be involved in the lives of children with autism and other disabilities, but primarily by offering what they described as a warm and embracing attitude.
How can parents explain religion to children with Aspergers?
Temple Grandin explained in an article for Autism Asperger Digest that it helps to explain religion with concrete examples. She explains that parents can help teach their children morality with concrete examples of what is helpful and positive to others.
Is there a place for autistic people in primitive religion?
Primitive religion (before the days of agriculture) tended to be about promoting group cohesiveness, and as such would discourage independent (i.e. autistic) thinking. But there was a place for autistic people if they had a special connection with the spirit world.
How does religion affect autism?
Cite. Most scholarly discussions of autism and religion presuppose the absent self theory of autism. The theory holds that autistic persons lack a sense of self and anticipates that they will have trouble relating to a personal God and assigning religious meaning to their lives.
How does culture influence autism?
Different cultural factors can change how individuals experience autism in everyday life, influencing their interactions with family, community, schools and health services. Cultural factors can also impact how autism is understood, interpreted and accepted in different communities.
How does religious affect child development?
The findings, published in the journal Religions, show that children raised in religious families tend to have enhanced social and psychological skills but may perform less well academically, compared to their non-religious peers.
How does religion affect cognitive development?
Hill believes religious practices such as singing, praying, attending sermons, studying scripture and socialising with others during faith-based activities can maintain dense neocortical brain synapses and delay cognitive deterioration in the elderly.
What is the stigma of autism?
The Unique Nature of Autism Stigma Autism may involve behaviors that society finds to be frightening or uncomfortable. Some people with autism may hit, yell, or hurt themselves. They may violate other people's personal space, ignore social rules, or laugh or make noise at the wrong time.
Is autism different in other countries?
If parents in different cultures developed the same sense of autism awareness as in the West, research suggests, autism prevalence around the world might look no different to — or may be even higher than — in the United States or the United Kingdom.
How does religion affect behavior?
Most religions enforce moral behaviour through positive and negative reinforcement by infusing 'god-fearing' elements in scriptures, such as the concept of karma and reincarnation in Hinduism, heaven-hell and salvation in Christianity, paradise and hell in Islamism, peaceful afterlife and reincarnation in indigenous ...
How does religion affect learning?
In one study, students who attended religious activities weekly or more frequently were found to have a GPA 14.4 percent higher than students who never attended. Students who frequently attended religious services scored 2.32 points higher on tests in math and reading than their less religiously-involved peers.
Why you shouldn't force your child to go to church?
Providing proper teaching and encouragement, they said, is much better than forcing church attendance. Besides, forcing our children to attend church may cause them to rebel and perhaps reject the Christian faith altogether. No Christian parent wants that.
How does religion promote development?
Religious beliefs matter for economic outcomes. They reinforce character traits such as hard work, honesty, thrift, and the value of time. Otherworldly compensators — such as belief in heaven, hell, the afterlife — can raise productivity by motivating people to work harder in this life.
What is the relationship between religious beliefs and psychology?
Psychology and religion are considered as two separate entities, totally independent of each other and following two parallel processes without influencing each other. Psychology follows a secularistic road, while religion adopts a disincarnated attitude.
What does psychology say about religion?
Harking back to Sigmund Freud, some psychologists have characterized religious beliefs as pathological, seeing religion as a malignant social force that encourages irrational thoughts and ritualistic behaviors.
Autism and Religion: Raising Religious Children on the Spectrum
Google “autism and religion.” When I did so, I was flooded with results explaining why people on the spectrum are less likely to believe in God or participate in organized religion. Many sources explain how the desire for logical answers to all of life’s questions isn’t congruent with some of the mysteries that come with a belief in God.
Additional Resources Regarding Autism and Religion
http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/kennedy_files/ChildrenWithDisabilitiesinReligiousEdJuly11.pdf
What is religious activity?
Religious activities refers to a person’s involvement in specific organizational or non-organizational events. (2) In this study, both religious beliefs and spirituality were associated with fewer negative and more positive social and emotional outcomes.
What is the difference between spirituality and religious beliefs?
Religious beliefs are a set of ideas and values concerning a person’s relationship with God and religious community . Spirituality refers to finding meaning from life experiences and may not necessarily be related to a belief in a higher power.
Why is grief reactivated?
As such, especially during important life transitions, the grief is reactivated when your child fails to meet the same goals as other peers or is unable to engage in important rites of passage.
What is positive religious coping?
Positive religious coping is defined as “seeking a positive relationship with God and expressing closeness and harmony with God”. Negative religious coping is defined as “blaming God or believing that God had abandoned or punished them”.
Is the Meaning-Making Theory of Grief better suited to parents of children with ASD?
This has been termed “chronic sorrow”. (1) The good news is that the Meaning-Making Theory of Grief is better suited to parents of children with ASD. This theory came from the assertion made by Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust death camp survivor, that finding meaning in suffering helps us to cope.
Is it normal to grieve a child with ASD?
As a parent of a child with ASD, you need to understand that the grieving process is typically intermittent and prolonged. This process may even last a lifetime. Understand that if you feel this way, it is “normal”. Do not feel guilty.
Why are holidays stressful for autism?
The holidays can be a stressful time for a person with autism because it is a breach in their daily routine. If a child is educated about the holidays before they arrive, he or she will be more comfortable and feel at ease. This , in turn, will alleviate much stress from the family.
Can older people with autism participate in the community?
Older youth and adults with autism can participate partially or fully in different ways, just as most youth and adults without autism do. Encouraging participation and service to others is important for the individual as well as the community.
Religion and Autism: An Interview with a Religious Education Director
This week we hear from Robby Kiley, the Director of Religious Education at Saint Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, IN. He has a brother on the autism spectrum and holds a Masters in Divinity from the University of Notre Dame.
Discuss how you grew into an understanding of autism and learned how to become an advocate for those with special needs
For a long time when I was growing up, I didn’t always see my brother as a person to be respected and loved, but rather as a set of needs and behaviors that sometimes came with perks (like cutting in line on roller coasters and parking closer at the mall).
What special challenges did you face as the sibling of someone on the spectrum? How did you address them?
I mentioned this feeling of “determinism” above, and that certainly came into play. As a sibling of someone with a cognitive and physical disability, I learned compassion and patience early on (the only other option was anger and frustration – although sometimes those were easier paths to take!).
Discuss your current professional pursuits related to autism
Currently I work as the Director of Religious Education at Saint Pius X Catholic Church. I oversee the faith formation of over 600 students in after-school programs. A small slice of this program is our adaptive religious education group, the Children of Saint Angela Merici (CSAM) (the patron saint of people with disabilities).
How does the CSAM program at St. Pius specifically serve those with autism? What does a typical program day look like?
The CSAM program is tailored to the students in the class. There are a mixture of students with different levels of cognitive functioning in each class, so the routine and class make-up is varied. Students attend class with a parent or aide, and all of our catechists have some experience with special education or occupational therapy.
Why is it important for programs like CSAM to exist?
One of the principal tenets of Catholic Social Teaching is the so-called “Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable.” The idea is that those who are valued least in society are those that most deserve our time, attention, and care.
Do you have any advice for teachers of autistic children either in a religious education program or a general education classroom setting?
There are things I’ve learned with each child I’ve taught. But the biggest lesson has been to treat every child as an individual. Learn their likes and dislikes. Find what excites and motivates them. Some children thrive with structure, some need space.
What do Christian scientists believe?
Christian Scientists. Christian Scientists believe that the primary method of healing should be through prayer, and many members have in the past been against modern medical treatments. There have been measles outbreaks among Christian Scientists, and studies have shown that mortality levels were high.
Do Seventh Day Adventists have medical issues?
In fact, Seventh-day Adventists have no issue with standard medical treatment but do emphasize a holistic approach to health, which they practice in their not-for-profit Adventist hospital system, with divisions around the world.
Do Amish people seek medical attention?
An Amish horse-drawn buggy. Though the religion does not forbid its members from seeking medical attention, many Amish are reluctant to do so unless absolutely necessary. They believe that God is the ultimate healer, and they are likely to turn to folk remedies, herbal teas and other more “natural” antidotes.
