All Faith’s Autism Initiative
Many families with special needs children in our Charlotte community feel lost, alienated, overwhelmed and alone given the uniqueness of their family. With the growing number of children diagnosed with autism and other neurological disorders, the faith community has the opportunity to embrace those dealing with autism. By reaching out to these families they can offer a place where they can belong, feel welcomed, and provide a place that accepts their children and family for who they are, and more importantly, for who they are not.
Through education and program development this initiative will encourage and assist religious organizations with their individual missions to connect with members dealing with autism. In doing so, we hope families will find support for their special needs children while they resume and sustain their faith.
- Our website offers a resource list of all faith organizations in our area that can appropriately serve children and families dealing with autism.
- We offer an “Autism 101” class, which provides an overview of what autism is and ways to understand those dealing with autism. The class reviews appropriate ways to communicate with affected individuals, i.e., visual cues, picture schedules. In order to ensure that expectations of both the faith community and autism community are aligned, the class covers criteria for those who wish to become more autism knowledgeable to those prepared to provide self-contained environments.
- By offering necessary follow up training and support to help faith organizations better understand the needs of this population and be able to provide the level of service they desire.
- On-site assistance in structuring both self contained and/or inclusion programs for those wanting to provide this level of service.
- Establish mentorship relationships and networking opportunities for faith organizations serving the autism community.
- Provide workshops facilitating the creation of hands on materials, different types of schedules, adaptive programs and materials for the special needs community, etc.
For a list of places of worship that currently have active programs for children and families on the spectrum, see the attached:
