Q&A from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

I have learned over time to speak quite a lot of “Aspie” – language that says things in a way that makes sense to him. And he is gradually learning to pause when he doesn’t understand what people say, and ask them to interpret metaphorical language and idioms. For him, living in a world of NT’s is like constantly speaking a foreign language.

literal interpretation:

One of the things people overlook in ASD/Aspergers is that it has extremely positive sides. Stop treating it as a problem, and start treating it as a way of being, and suddenly the whole world changes. Aspies typically are honest, and seldom lie; many are highly intelligent with long concentration spans, many are extremely loyal and dependable. If the Church wants to be inclusive for those with ASD/Aspergers, I would say it’s vital not to treat them as disabled or problematic, but as people who speak and live in a different language, which can greatly benefit the Church if we listen carefully enough.

The Diocese of Oxford has some guidelines to help Churches be more aware of ASD/Aspergers syndrome. Dave Walker’s cartoons for the publication include the one above which demonstrates how confusing everyday language can be for people with an ASD.

Hi.  My name is Ben. Last year I wrote about what it’s like to have Aspergers Syndrome.

I didn’t have such a good time at primary school, because I have Autism.

But now i’m 12 years old, and now i’m in secondary school called Parkside. Since I moved there, things have changed. This school is familiar with autism, and now I’m getting help from teachers.

I can now bring in a laptop to do my work on, instead of a pen. It helps me to do my work much faster.

My grades have shot up in the last few months, and I get more noticed than when I was in Primary school.

When my head fills up, I can just go out of the room to allow my head to just empty it out. My head doesn’t fill up from too much information in Parkside. instead, It fills up because of too much noise.

I have made plenty of friends. Luke was my first friend at Parkside, Harry was his friend, so we were quickly introduced, Jack also has autism, just like me, & Connor likes many of the things I like. Quite a few of my old friends from Primary school are there too, but I don’t talk to them as much.

Since my twelfth birthday I have been rather fond of Warhammer. It’s a hobby where you collect soldiers, paint them, and play a game with them. It’s really fun, & now I have a expanding collection of living dead warriors.

Since I left primary school, I’ve learned that it’s important to have a good school, & that when you do, and when you do well in school, you can do anything.

Me? I abhor the tendency to allow liturgy to be dominated by the greetings card industry.  It has already turned Mothering Sunday into an icky sentimentality, and now apparently we have to celebrate Lurve as well.  The problem is that these are personal issues that have the tendency to become exclusive. The Mothering Church includes everyone. Mother’s Day doesn’t.

Valentine, incidentally, died a horrible death and his efforts on behalf of someone else’s love was the reason for him becoming the patron saint of Love. But if you imagine that celebrating “being in love” is going to be inclusive, spare a thought for all those who are single, divorced, widowed, or – probably worse – married but living in deep loneliness with a spouse who doesn’t love them.

You could either ignore Valentine altogether, or you could talk about the REAL valentine and the challenge of loving against the odds, or you could celebrate Cyril and Methodius, or you could stick to the Transfiguration, which is the reading of the day, or (and this is my top recommendation) you could note that Sunday is also Autism Sunday, and work on celebrating and including those who find demonstrative expressions of love a totally foreign language.

More on Mothering Sunday in my book:

The National Autistic Society’s chief executive, Mark Lever, said: “A great many parents of children and young people with autism have to fight huge battles to get the education support that should be theirs by right, often at considerable emotional and financial expense.

“We hear terrible stories from parents of local authorities flouting the law by ignoring diagnoses, not meeting statutory timescales, failing to write statements properly, and even saying they ‘don’t do’ statements any more.

“It is hardly surprising then that parents have little confidence in the special educational needs system, and they could be forgiven for thinking that this report will do little to change what for them is an often complicated, intimidating, and sometimes infuriating system.”

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said: “In the New Year we will set our plans to address the recommendations that Brian has made to address the changes to teaching and learning that are necessary to improve educational outcomes for children with SEN. We are now working to ensure all parents have confidence in decision making by giving them and their children a stronger voice at the heart of the SEN system.”

Yeah. I hope Mr Balls carries out his promise, but I’m not holding my breath.

Imagine a job testing Lego and robots. In a quiet, peaceful and well structured environment, where  someone who can concentrate for long periods on some tricky little task is appreciated as a uniquely wonderful person. Asperger heaven. I hope such environments will be commonplace by the time my own remarkable, clever and talented son grows up.

That's how Tony Attwood (an expert in ASDs) accounts for Clay Marzo's amazing story. It's an inspiration for anyone, but especially for those on the uphill struggle of living an ASD in an NT world.