Re: Project to publish book about how churches can accommodate people with autism

[Guest guest]

This may be relevant to your church/autism project:

http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/index.php?option=com_content & view=article & id=946:i\

ts-autism-sunday-pity-party-at-church-by-kate-gladstone & catid=216:poetry & Itemid=\

722

Kate Gladstone

[Guest guest]

> This may be relevant to your church/autism project:

>

http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/index.php?option=com_content & view=article & id=946:i\

ts-autism-sunday-pity-party-at-church-by-kate-gladstone & catid=216:poetry & Itemid=\

722

That's on Tony Attwood's web site, What do you think of this?

http://www.asparenting.com/2011/12/21/aspergers-syndrome-is-infectious/

Jane

[Guest guest]

Re:

> That's on Tony Attwood's web site,

It's there because I wrote it and sent it to him: check the by-line.

Re:

>What do you think of this?

> http://www.asparenting.com/2011/12/21/aspergers-syndrome-is-infectious/

I have seen it happen (the phenomenon he describes, of typical people coming to

act more Aspie as they learn from us) There are also, of course, many cases in

which it does not happen.

Kate Gladstone

[Guest guest]

>

>

>

> Writing a book on how churches can accommodate people with autism. Project is

through Kickstarter to get it self-published. Please support this project.

>

>

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tjozwick/book-about-how-churches-can-accommo\

date-people-wit

Before you get too far, have you read " Disabled Church, Disabled

Society - The implications of autism for philosophy, theology and

politics " by Gillibrand?

That seems to cover a lot of ground already; you may not need to write

another book but could recommend this one.

Goodchild's " A Painful Gift " covers some of the ground as

well, though it's not one I'd easily recommend as he seems to mourn

the fact he's autistic, but he did eventually find a good life as an

Technique teacher.

If you find anything else, let me know. I'm a religious studies

student, and both religion and disability are special interests, so

the overlap even more so.

Ruth

[Guest guest]

>

>>

>>

>>

>> Writing a book on how churches can accommodate people with autism. Project is

through Kickstarter to get it self-published. Please support this project.

>>

>>

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tjozwick/book-about-how-churches-can-accommo\

date-people-wit

I've been trying to think all day of another book that was looming on

the edges of consciousness about this subject, and now I have it.

It's quite a small part of a larger book called " The Spiral Staircase "

by Armstrong. Armstrong was a Christian nun for about 7 years,

and went on to become a respected writer on many aspects of religion -

books like " A History of God " and biographies of both Muhammad and the

Buddha, and lots more. In fact I recommend pretty much all her

writing.

But in this particular book, " The Spiral Staircase " , during her

re-entry into the world after she left the convent Armstrong helped

look after an autistic boy, and as she was leaving the church behind

he was beginning to find it and it was proving really amazing for him.

Well worth a read for all aspects of the story, but for us perhaps

this outsider's encounter with a severely autistic child finding

Christianity is really something.

Ruth

[Guest guest]

I have not read that book and there is not much information out there that deals

with autism ministry, the majority of books about autism deal with Autism 101,

early childhood, relationships, and education/work with a male dominance. Even

Kingley Publishers and Future Horizons don't have much on autism and

religion, Future Horizons only have a kids book on teaching autistic kids Bible

stories and Kingley Publishers don't have any at all.

Tabi

> >

> >

> >

> > Writing a book on how churches can accommodate people with autism. Project

is through Kickstarter to get it self-published. Please support this project.

> >

> >

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tjozwick/book-about-how-churches-can-accommo\

date-people-wit

>

>

> Before you get too far, have you read " Disabled Church, Disabled

> Society - The implications of autism for philosophy, theology and

> politics " by Gillibrand?

>

> That seems to cover a lot of ground already; you may not need to write

> another book but could recommend this one.

>

> Goodchild's " A Painful Gift " covers some of the ground as

> well, though it's not one I'd easily recommend as he seems to mourn

> the fact he's autistic, but he did eventually find a good life as an

> Technique teacher.

>

> If you find anything else, let me know. I'm a religious studies

> student, and both religion and disability are special interests, so

> the overlap even more so.

>

> Ruth

>

[Guest guest]

I got this idea from a Facebook friend who contacted me about doing a possible

workshop on autism awareness in her church (still trying to work out the details

on this) and I thought, maybe this is what many churches need, a way to

accommodate autistics in their churches. I even told my pastor about the

presentation idea (not the book idea yet) and he said that he likes the idea and

wants to see the presentation. The book would either lean towards the mainstream

Protestant denominations or the United Pentecostal Church International (My

husband and I go to a United Pentecostal Church)

As for the $10000, both Kickstarter and Amazon Payments would each take about 5

percent of the funds for processing fees, which means that it would be about

$1000 taken out for processing fees. That would leave about $9000 left. 50

backers of $25 would get a free autographed copy of the book and that would run

for $1250, leaving $7750. Costs of copyright registration, ISBN registration,

printing proofreading copies, paying a proofreader, translators, audio book

recording, actual self-publishing costs, marketing costs, plus shipping would be

the remainder of the costs. Yes, it does cost money to write, self-publish, and

market the book.

Tabi

> > I have not read that book and there is not much information out there that

deals with autism ministry, the majority of books about autism deal with Autism

101, early childhood, relationships, and education/work with a male dominance.

Even Kingley Publishers and Future Horizons don't have much on autism

and religion, Future Horizons only have a kids book on teaching autistic kids

Bible stories and Kingley Publishers don't have any at all.

>

>

> I would assume that you would want to include info on including

> children as well though? And perhaps some advice for teachers of

> church related children's groups?

>

> I think JK have a book on autism and spirituality, though I've not

> read it. They have a couple of books on autism and Buddhism now too.

>

> My concern is that there may not be much of an audience for such a

> specialised book, and you're asking people to put up an awful lot of

> money for your project. How exactly is the USD10 000 going to be

> spent? Most people don't use that much to write a book.

>

> Not wanting to quash your idea, but I have a sense it needs a lot more

> thinking through. Remember that church attendence in the West is

> dropping off, while alternative religions are growing, and also that

> the church hasn't a great history for wanting to accomodate people who

> are different. It's never been their priority. You would first need

> to let the right people know this book exists and secondly persuade

> them to buy it. You don't seem to be a scholar, or if you are you've

> not mentioned it, and that may also put people off taking what you say

> seriously. For the book to work you either need to outrightly target

> a specific denomination you know about, or you need a broad study of

> how things work across denominations, enough to qualify you to give

> advice for different kinds of churches - because to take extreme ends

> of the scale, what you advise for Catholics is going to need to be a

> whole lot different to what you advise for Quakers, for example.

>

> Note I'm not saying you don't have anything worthwhile to say, I just

> dont know and haven't seen anything that would perusade me to

> financially support your project.

>

> Ruth

>

[Guest guest]

The book audience is larger than one would expect, since the target audience is

churches and there are millions of churches in the United States alone. The

reason why I am planning on writing the book is that I am both autistic and a

Christian that goes to church every week. I submit a piece of my writing to Key

Ministry (who focuses on kids with autism) and they said that I know a lot about

both autism and the Bible. I believe that not many people write about

accommodating autistics in worship is because many would perceive autistics as

being atheists and/or agnostics, not ones that believe in God. Yes, another

aspect of why I am working on this book is because I feel that God wants me to

use my autism to reach others, especially those that have special needs, which

means that I am starting my own autism ministry that I hope that my church's

denomination (United Pentecostal Church) would pick up and spread to other

churches.

As for the idea of writing a memoir, I am not an open book, I don't share many

aspects of my life with anyone, including my family and friends, and there is NO

WAY that I am sharing my entire life story with complete strangers, who can find

a way to use that against me through the tabloids. I am not saying that my life

is not interesting, but I want to be able to protect my character against those

that want to commit both slander and libel against me. The closest thing that

one would get to my life story would be a single chapter in the book, NOT the

entire book.

For JKP, since they are based in London, they might end up editing the book in

British English, and since I am an American, I want to make sure that the book

remains in American English, not edited into British English.

Tabi

> >

> >

> >

> > I got this idea from a Facebook friend who contacted me about doing a

possible workshop on autism awareness in her church (still trying to work out

the details on this) and I thought, maybe this is what many churches need, a way

to accommodate autistics in their churches. I even told my pastor about the

presentation idea (not the book idea yet) and he said that he likes the idea and

wants to see the presentation. The book would either lean towards the mainstream

Protestant denominations or the United Pentecostal Church International (My

husband and I go to a United Pentecostal Church)

>

>

> OK, well that's good that you have some idea where you are going with

> it and why. I think that to get money out of people you need to be

> much clearer about your plans on the project web page, though if you

> prove me wrong that's great :-)

>

> >

> > As for the $10000, both Kickstarter and Amazon Payments would each take

about 5 percent of the funds for processing fees, which means that it would be

about $1000 taken out for processing fees. That would leave about $9000 left. 50

backers of $25 would get a free autographed copy of the book and that would run

for $1250, leaving $7750. Costs of copyright registration, ISBN registration,

printing proofreading copies, paying a proofreader, translators, audio book

recording, actual self-publishing costs, marketing costs, plus shipping would be

the remainder of the costs. Yes, it does cost money to write, self-publish, and

market the book.

>

>

> Yes, I realise that money is involved, it's just that it's an awful

> lot to ask for a book that is only likely to interest a small minority

> of people. Ideas if funding is not forthcoming might be to create a

> webpage instead, or to try to put something together that a publishing

> house might take up.

>

> The other concern that you haven't addressed in this reply is why you

> would be the right person to write this book. You haven't mentioned

> prior experience of writing, nor a wider experience of autism needs

> than just your own, and if you are actually active in giving sermons

> etc then your perspective as a churchgoing autistic is fairly unique

> and may or may not be of use to others, depending on how broadly you

> can address the needs of autistics generally, churchgoers generally

> and church organisers and ministers.

>

> Please believe me, I'm not just trying to bash your idea here, but to

> encourage some clear planning, and some clarity to those you seek

> funding from as to why they should give you money to do this.

>

> Another idea - and if you do this I would be very interested - would

> be to write about your own experiences. This you are eminently

> qualified for, and it might be a unique enough book in the autism

> world to attract the attention of JK or similar.

>

> Ruth

>

[Guest guest]

To self-publish at Crossbooks, it would cost between $1300 to $7000 for the

standard packages, $1400 to $2800 for the color packages, and $7000 to $37000

for the pro packages. This shows that many self-publishing packages are NOT

cheap and they include printing costs, editing, ISBN and copyright registration,

marketing, a limited number of free copies.

http://www.crossbooks.com/Publish/PublishingPackages.aspx

I was looking around before getting a good estimate of how much it would cost to

actually self-publish the book.

Before anyone judge about the idea of the book, read a little part of the book

and then make up your mind on it based on my writing ability Here is a little

sample of the writing. The verses are in King due to possible copyright

issues.

(start of sample)

7:1-6 Judging Others

1Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall

be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest

not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine

eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5Thou hypocrite, first cast out

the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the

mote out of thy brother's eye. 6Give not that which is holy unto the dogs,

neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their

feet, and turn again and rend you.

Both families of autistics and autistics themselves get judged by others a lot

because they really don't understand anything about autism. If they see a five

year old autistic child having a meltdown at a busy store, they think that the

child is being a bad child and needed to be punished, not really understanding

that the child is having a hard time processing the information around them or

is simply tired and could not find a better way to communicate the need that the

child needs some rest.

As for autistic adults, they are less likely to be hired for a good paying job

because the interview process required them to answer questions, relating to the

job and not relating to the job, rather than showing them what they can do. As a

result, they ended up being on SSI or have a low paying job, all because they

could not get pass the interview process because the interviewer judged them

based on how they answered the questions, not on their job skills.

Both also get judged that they are anti-social because their social skills are

weak, not realizing that there are autistics that wanted to socialized, but they

don't have the skills to do it, especially the skills of nonverbal

communication. They also get judged because they do things differently than what

is expected by society.

Here is a good tip, instead of judging an autistic person based on what one

perceives about autism, actually get to know them because no two people with

autism are exactly the same. Some would need assistance for the rest of their

lives, while others can live independently in their communities.

Mark 10:46-52 Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and

a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the

highway side begging.47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began

to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of , have mercy on me.48And many

charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal,

Thou son of , have mercy on me. 49And Jesus stood still, and commanded him

to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort,

rise; he calleth thee. 50And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to

Jesus. 51And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do

unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

52And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And

immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Like Bartimaeus, when autistic kids do make noise, especially at public places,

many people would rather the kid to be quiet and behave like any typical kid

would do, forgetting to realize that the sounds could have different tones:

happy, sad, tired, or overwhelmed. Sometimes, it could cause them and their

families to be kicked out of movies, plays, and even in places of worship,

resulting in families not be able to enjoy many things outside of their homes,

but this needs to be changed.

Anyone with autism is a part of society and they need to be treated with respect

and some places are trying to accommodate to their needs. Several AMC theaters

have sensory-friendly movies once a month for families with autistic family

members and they are also good for parents of young children, who we all know

does not sit still. It should be known that autism is not only an invisible

disability, it is a misunderstood disability.

(end of sample)

Tabi

> I submit a piece of my writing to Key Ministry (who focuses on kids

> with autism) and they said that I know a lot about both autism and the

> Bible. I believe that not many people write about accommodating

> autistics in worship is because many would perceive autistics as being

> atheists and/or agnostics, not ones that believe in God.

>

>

>

> I'm not sure most people think about that at all.

>

> I'm also very unsure that simply being something qualifies a person to

> write a book about it. I certainly don't think that being asked to

> give one talk means there is a huge demand for a book. I was

> concerned that you said there aren't any books on the subject yet, and

> when I told you ones I've read, which even though they don't cover all

> your ground you could use for references, you were dismissive about

> them without checking them out.

>

> JK was just an example of a mainstream autism publisher; if you know

> others in the US that would work better for you.

>

> I wish you luck, I just can't see it coming in the nature of USD 10 000.

>

> Happy Christmas though anyway!

>

> Ruth

>

[Guest guest]

There is an article for the autism website, Autism After 16, that talks about

religious practices of autistics, and I was one of the people interviewed.

http://www.autismafter16.com/article/10-05-2011/autism-communities-worship

Tabi

> >

> > I'm also very unsure that simply being something

> > qualifies a person to write a book about it.

>

> Yes, but in this case, she is writing, from the perspective of

> being something (autistic and Christian), on things lay people

> very definitely participate in, which include running of

> churches, providing accomodations for hidden disabilities,

> inclusion and civil rights in religious groups. There are also

> a number of churches which are adverse to having the ministry

> manage the operation of the church.

>

> > The reason why I am planning on writing the book is that

> > I am both autistic and a Christian that goes to church

> > every week. I submit a piece of my writing to Key Ministry

> > (who focuses on kids with autism)

>

> It seems they are providing a very useful service. Since

> religious participation is a social activity, this can be very

> useful. Even if religion and religious social activities are

> not especially useful for autistics, for those who desire such

> participation, it is helpful to remove barriers to the

> participation and make it available.

>

> A very major issue is that there may be substantial resistance

> in some churches to elimiation of the practice of " laying hands "

> (a practice in which practitioners attempt to " cure " autism and

> other personality traits). This practice essentially excludes

> autistics from those congregations. " Laying hands " needs to be

> made a relic of history in the same manner as violent forms of

> exocism.

>

> > I believe that not many people write about accommodating

> > autistics in worship is because many would perceive

> > autistics as being atheists and/or agnostics, not ones

> > that believe in God.

>

> There may well be a high percentage of atheistic autistics, but

> that should not affect church accommodation, because those who

> attend would presumably be people who are practitioners. (In

> the case of Christian practioners, I think that would generally

> equate to believers.)

>

> Quite apart from the " laying hands " issue, there are some groups

> who more broadly consider autistics spiritually unworthy, but I

> think they are a statistically insignificant minority.

> Regardless, there may be a tendency to think of accommodation of

> hidden disabilities a burden on the church as a business

> (generally euphemistically described as " the church's mission " ).

> The basic issue is that churches, and particularly those whose

> income is dependent on the church, do not want to encourage

> anything that will diminish the appeal of the church to their

> financial supporters.

>

> > For JKP, since they are based in London ... I want to

> > make sure that the book remains in American English,

> > not edited into British English.

>

> Then I presume they could tell you whether they will accommodate

> that. It is very possible that the editors will follow their

> own usage unless requested otherwise. Still, it seems that the

> first place to look for support would be Key Ministry, because

> of their focus on access to churches by people with

> hidden disabilities.

>

> A question -- would this be directed to accommodation of

> children,

> accommodation of adults or both?

> - s0

>