From “On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity” by Daniel Bowman Jr. The phrase “the gifts of neurodiversity” appears in the subtitle. Neurodiversity’s gifts do not form a discrete list. I think they are ways of being, of approaching our days; they are lenses through which the autistic person sees and feels […]
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From “On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity” by Daniel Bowman Jr. What are some childish attitudes that bad Christian stories feed into and encourage? I suspect that many of these attitudes are the result of the immature need to be in control – as opposed to the adult need to learn
Since I feel that most examples of bad Christian art don’t deserve serious critical attention, I’ve decided to talk in the abstract here, aware of the dangers of that choice. I do think that if you fill in the example of your liking, much of the critique will work much of the time; in my
Like most people on the spectrum, I need some structure and predictability. Surprises are challenging. Unwanted physical exchanges can be difficult. I often can’t sustain eye contact, and shouldn’t have to. Some weeks, I’m overloaded and simply cannot participate in activities that fall in the category of fellowship; therefore, my church attendance is spotty. Among
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Also: I’ve spent a lot of my life in classrooms and the hallways of academia. I know the people on campus, and our contexts, intimately. I know, in general, what people are going to do or say in most situations. There’s an appealing predictability. Interacting with the folks at Blackford County Arts – a graphic
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I sit on my porch swing on North High Street in Hartford City, Indiana, waiting out a lazy shower on the end of a storm. I’ve learned that a Midwestern spring thunderstorm – the quality of light across the sky, the texture of saturated clouds, the sound the rain makes on the sidewalk – is
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Why do I tell this story in light of the abuse and murder of autistic children? And why do I tell it using only the barest outline of facts? Because I was lost and now I’m found. Things started out hard. And things turned out mostly okay. My life as an undiagnosed autistic kid was
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If you aren’t sure that a pathology paradigm is so bad, I want to simply place the language of pathology side by side with the words of a neurodiversity paradigm, and let you put yourself in the shoes of someone on the receiving end of each. In an October 2020 article for the ADDitude Magazine,
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by Daniel Bowman Jr. https://sojo.net/articles/styrofoam-jesus-or-autism-and-my-first-communion
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