Hi, this is Joni reminding you that April is National Autism Month.
Welcome to Joni and Friends where we take a disability like autism very seriously – a new study indicates that less than 1 in 100 births result in a diagnosis of autism – isn’t that amazing – and estimates indicate that one in 70 boys and one in 315 girls have an autism. You can see that boys are significantly more affected than girls. In fact, the Center for Disease Control considers that autism spectrum disorders, as they are called, are an urgent public health concern.
As I shared, we at Joni and Friends are deeply concerned about the rising prevalence of autism – and it’s not just here in the States. When we take ministry trips into other countries, even China or India, there we will meet many families who have children with autism. And the reason they call it a spectrum disorder is because the array of characteristics range over a very broad spectrum: some children only exhibit mild characteristics and are very high functioning; but other kids have to deal with serious mental and physical handicaps and behavior problems. And parents need help.
Steve Bundy, who heads up our Christian Institute on Disability here at Joni and Friends understands how greatly parents need help because Steve doesn’t approach autism solely from an academic point of view; for him, it’s more than just developing training materials for churches or educating pastors how to embrace these families. You see, Steve has a son with autism. He and his wife Melissa are parents to two little boys, one of whom – named Caleb – is seriously affected by not only autism, but other disorders as well.
Steve recounts the time when, at his church, he and Melissa were so happy that Caleb was able to be in Sunday school. They knew that Caleb’s Sunday school was going to be performing a special song during an evening church event. However, when Steve happened to go visit Caleb’s classroom to check on his son that night, he noticed that all the children were gone. “That was okay,” he thought, “Caleb must have left with his class to go up to the worship center.” But then Steve leaned in the door to take a closer look around the corner – there he saw Caleb, by himself in the room with a teenaged volunteer. When Steve gave a questioning look, the volunteer explained that, “Mr. Bundy, the rest of the kids had to leave to perform the song, so I’ve been assigned to stay back and take care of Caleb.” It was all Steve could do to fight back the tears – obviously, the Sunday school teacher did not consider Caleb as part of the class. He really wasn’t involved; he really wasn’t embraced. No doubt that teacher was afraid Caleb that night during the choir performance would be a distraction.
You know what? I could tell more about Caleb, but I’d rather Steve speak for himself. So this week I’ve posted a video clip from a special television episode we produced on autism – you’ll meet Steve and even get an up-close-and-personal look into what life is really like for this family. You might be a parent of a child with autism and this would be of particular interest to you. So, just go to your computer and click on joniandfriendsradio.org and be inspired and encouraged by Steve and his family. We’ve also listed some information you can download about autism and how your church can begin making a difference. Again, this is a special encouragement for parents of kids with autism to watch this video. Just visit joniandfriendsradio.org. And thanks for having a heart for kids like Caleb during this National Autism Awareness Month.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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