SPIRITUAL AUTISM

SPIRITUAL AUTISM

There was a family in our ward that had FOUR children diagnosed with autism. Their oldest, a daughter, was not affected, but they had twin boys and then two single births, both boys. It’s interesting that autism is like four times more likely to occur in boys than girls. But I spent ONE afternoon watching the kids, and have the utmost admiration for their parents dealing with this 24/7.

For those who are not familiar with autism, I even downloaded some definitions from the Internet (and yes, these are actually real):

- Defective social or personal relatedness behaviors
- Communication difficulties
- Inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
- Preferred activities having a repetitive or stereotyped quality.

Someone who is autistic cannot comprehend another person’s view. They literally cannot put themselves into someone else’s shoes, or understand an expression such as "he knows that I don’t know."

Okay, try to stay and switch gears with me here, please.

Imagine yourself with a eighteen-month old baby. A child, a grandchild, a friend’s baby. Does this baby have:

- Less-than-perfect social behavior (i.e. crying at all hours for not always apparent reasons)
- Problems speaking to you (outside of "Mama", "Sit DOWN!" or "NO!")
- Preference for certain bath-time or bedtime customs (rocking, bath toys, a certain stuffed animal)
- Certain toys to be used in certain ways (i.e. a plastic hammer to bang on the brother’s head, a wooden playgate that needs to be inspected daily for possible defects)

Now, another big step back:

Suppose (and no, this is not sacrilegious and I don’t think you will be struck with lightening for imaging this - but wearing rubber-soled shoes wouldn’t hurt at all) that you are God. Yeah, the Big Guy Upstairs, with the white beard and Supreme Powers and all that.

Would He, looking down on Us, see us as:

- Less-than-perfect social behavior (jealously, anger, prejudices, inattention to family members, etc.)
- Communication problems with spouses, children, even with Yourself (remember, you are God in this)
- Insistent patterns (not necessarily positive) in friendship, marriages, family relations of conflict, arguments and resentment
- Physical self-abuse such as overindulgent behavior (food, sex, black pumps), exhaustion after repeatedly allowing only 4-6 hours for sleep (not counting watching "The Office" or "Firefly" reruns late a night), and improper use of your body (excluding, of course, consuming large amounts of Premium Choice Mint Moose Tracks Ice Cream or Diet Caffeine-Free Dr. Pepper sodas)

Now, if you are still with me, can you see Heavenly Father seeing all of us as spiritually autistic?

I don’t think that He looks at us in disgust or pity - He just acknowledges to Himself that we are just babies, and we have the capacity to grow, learn and reach beyond... IF we use the tools He has given us, to include prayer, the Holy Ghost, and the Atonement of His Son.


Wow, you really got this far - I am so proud of you!!