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September 30th, 2008

Autism and Asperger syndrome guidelines for churches

The Diocese of Oxford has produced a document entitled ‘Welcoming those with Autism and Asperger Syndrome in our Churches and Communities’. The document includes some of my cartoons – they are existing ones with occasional minor modifications rather than new material. You can find the document as a downloadable .pdf via this page: Asperger Friendly Church?, which includes an interview with Ann Memmott, Advisor to the Oxford Diocese on autism and Asperger syndrome.

My understanding is that there are plans for guidelines for the Church of England as a whole. On a related note, from the Church Times earlier this year: Act on autism, Church urged.

As an aside: I am aware that there is a lack of crispness in the cartoons in the document. This is something I am aware of, and I’m hoping that it is something that can be addressed.

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10 Responses to “Autism and Asperger syndrome guidelines for churches”


  1. Ann Memmott says:

    Addressing it as fast as we can…and thanks for your excellent work, Dave

    Ann Memmott (author of the guidelines)

    October 1st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
  2. Kristen says:

    Thanks for flagging this up Dave – I’ll be passing on to a Christian friend who teaches Brighton & Hove kids who are autistic or have Aspergers.

    October 1st, 2008 at 2:29 pm
  3. Mary says:

    Well done Dave for your contribution to this worthwhile cause. I’ve been more impressed by this document than any of the talk our diocese has been doing on “Mission Action Planning”. Lets see dioceses other than Oxford take the initiative too!

    October 1st, 2008 at 7:22 pm
  4. truthsign says:

    As the mother of a teenage son with Asperger’s, I am really glad to see this happening. I hope it spreads to other denominations.

    October 1st, 2008 at 8:51 pm
  5. Mark Bennet says:

    This is a fantastic resource, and will enable us to look at how we welcome people in a new and constructive way (not just those who might fit particular descriptive words).

    It unpicks the claim ‘we are a welcoming church’, and asks is a deep way what that might mean.

    I feel the touch of the gospel in my heart – lifegiving stuff. I hope it is well used.

    October 1st, 2008 at 9:26 pm
  6. alice says:

    thank you. it is unusal and always heartening to see AS being talked about in such a constructive and understanding way.

    October 3rd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
  7. Rosalind says:

    I discovered this post just after I had printed off a copy of the guide-lines to show to the mother of a lovely teenage boy who also has Asperger’s. We discussed it a bit today and her comment is similar to my feelings on reading the report – after wondering why people on the autistic spectrum were singled out for guidelines, she felt that what is suggested is really useful for anybody. Most of us can get confused by church, anxious about what to do and when…so anyone who isn’t used to church is probably really confused. These guidelines are help us to look at ourselves as others might see us. So thank you, too, very much, for the cartoons tha help us to do this, Dave!!

    October 3rd, 2008 at 7:08 pm
  8. Ann Memmott says:

    Rosalind, you’re right. So much that’s true for those on the autistic spectrum can also help those who aren’t. We experience things in a far more extreme way, alas, but I think there are millions of people who would be totally puzzled by what goes on in churches and would be wary of going to one unless we can help explain it to them. It also helps people with other disabilities – hearing, sight, etc, as the things those with an ASD overreact to are also things that people with other disabilities also find really difficult in churches.

    PS we singled out people with autism/Asperger syndrome because I knew how difficult it was for me to go to church, and so I wrote it (with the kind help of many, many people). I hope lots more similar things are written soon. Meantime, the charity Through the Roof have produced guides which are brilliant at helping any church that needs to make their events accessible for this or other disabilities. That charity is easily found if you put the name into a search engine, and their “Be a Roofbreaker!” guide is pretty cheap and well worth getting. (I’m not on commission!) ;-)

    October 4th, 2008 at 10:09 am
  9. Jesse Pindus says:

    Anybody know if/when theyr’e coming out with the synaogue equivalent to this?

    October 9th, 2008 at 2:03 am
  10. Thomas D. Taylor says:

    People interested in knowing more about autism, Asperger Syndrome, and other autistism spectrum disorders are welcome to listen to the free Autism Spectrum Podcasts available for download at http://www.mic.mypodcast.com

    October 10th, 2008 at 8:53 pm