Happy April friends in Christ!

As we enter into this Spring season I wanted to share with you something that is close to my heart. April is known as Autism Awareness or Acceptance month. Personally, I would advocate for Autism Inclusion month.

 It is important to continue to raise awareness of neurodiversity and provide opportunities for education. Acceptance is still a big work in progress because the awareness is not in-depth at this time. Acceptance is different from tolerance. Acceptance is about welcoming people, understanding that they will experience things differently. 

However, inclusion is where education meets acceptance and says: "We know that you have different needs and experience things differently. We also need you as part of our community because you see the world differently and have unique insights to share." As an adult with autism and parenting a child with autism I love being asked about what it means to be autistic and what the needs are of people in the neurodivergent community. I also want to share what an educator shared with me: "If you've met one autistic child, you've met ONE autistic child." 

Neurodiversity is so extensive and everyone is so unique there is no "one size fits all."

During the month of April I am going to endeavor to blog each day about some aspect of neurodivergence. I would love to hear any questions or topics you might be interested in as I plan out the month. It is also a desire for me to get to know what are the needs of our local neurodiverse community so if you are a part of the community or know someone who is, please reach out or make connections.

Blessings!

Pastor Robyn