I wish I could celebrate the fact that earlier this year the Ukrainian Orthodox Church published a molieben for autistic children. Unfortunately the language of those prayers reveals an appalling ignorance of autism on the part of their author(s). Some examples:
Moleben for Children Suffering from the Affliction of Autism . . .
. . . these suffering children . . .
. . . the innocent suffering children . . . afflicted with the illness of autism . . .
. . . who innocently suffer from the illness of autism
Let’s be clear. Autism is not an illness. It is a family of neurodevelopmental differences which means that the brains of autistic people are wired rather differently than those of the majority of the population. What autistic people need is not healing but acceptance of such differences as make the majority uncomfortable. And perhaps the Orthodox Church should take a fresh look at the men and women it venerates as fools-for-Christ in light of the diagnostic criteria for autism.
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| The Overlapping Skills and Strengths of Neurodiversity by Nancy Doyle, based on work by Mary Colley |
