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00:00:01
Introduction
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Hey there! Are you a parent, caregiver, or friend of someone on the autistic spectrum? Do you also desire to steward, raise, and encourage them to love and follow Jesus? If so, you're in the right place!
We believe that the gospel is for everyone, including our neurodiverse children. We know that raising children on the spectrum comes with its unique challenges and that discipleship methods may need to look different. That's why we're here to equip and encourage you on your journey to raising autistic disciples who know, love, and follow Jesus.
We would love to connect with you and hear your story. If you have any questions or just want to say hi, please do not hesitate to email us at raisingautisticdisciples@gmail.com.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:06
Speaker
Hi friends, and welcome to the first episode of season one of the Raising Autistic Disciples podcast. My name is Lara Roberts and I am thrilled that you are listening. Whether you're a mom, dad, or caregiver to a precious one on the spectrum, my prayer is that these episodes would encourage you and equip you as you disciple them within your home.
Meet the Family
00:00:29
Speaker
Let me start off with just telling you a little bit of our story. I'm married to Colin, my college sweetheart, and we have three kiddos that keep us thoroughly entertained and on our toes. Our house is always loud, but our crew is always so much fun.
00:00:43
Speaker
We have our daughter Addie, who will be going into middle school this year. Our middle son is Graham, who we'll talk more about in a moment. And our youngest son is Levi, who keeps us laughing all the time. Each with different personalities and interests, but each a blessing from the Lord. Our middle son
Graham's Autism Diagnosis
00:00:59
Speaker
Graham is currently six years old and was diagnosed with autism a little over two years ago.
00:01:03
Speaker
Graham's birth and infancy and even the toddler years were like any of our other kids. He sat up, rolled over, and walked on time. He even babbled and said a few words. Around two and a half we noticed that he wasn't progressing with speech and no new words were happening. So we had a speech eval done to which the therapist said, everything seems fine, give it time and he will talk when he wants to.
00:01:29
Speaker
Now, please don't take what I'm about to say as placing blame, but it's really for more of you who are at the same stage. From what we've been told since then, this isn't the best advice to give parents who have a gut feeling that something's off.
00:01:42
Speaker
So always seek more intervention if you feel like the advice that you are given isn't what you are looking for.
Navigating Preschool Challenges
00:01:49
Speaker
Unfortunately, we took that advice as gold and went on with life. Between that time we moved to North Carolina and settled here and all that goes with that like making friends and getting involved with the kids school and church life.
00:02:02
Speaker
Along with the speech delay, we were witnessing behavioral issues with Graham that we thought may have just been because of the move or even a normal three-year-old behavior, but knowing that he couldn't communicate with us was causing frustration for us all, him included. At three and a half, we registered to him for a preschool program close to our house and prayed that everything would go well.
00:02:23
Speaker
It did not go well. The director of the program even knew this from the first moment, which is why she told me to drop him off and stay to make sure he would be okay. Long story short, I took Graham out of the classroom within 15 minutes after dropping him off. It just wasn't going to work. My heart was crushed.
00:02:42
Speaker
We loaded him up in the van. He was crying. I was crying. I was praying, Lord, I have no idea how to help my child. It was hard. There were so many of these times where Colin and I just felt despair over not knowing what to do, and we still do at times. But one thing has remained constant, and that is God has and always will continue to be faithful to give us strength at every moment.
00:03:08
Speaker
Knowing that for Graham's development, he would need to be around other kids to learn and to pick up on language and social interaction, we worked with the public school system to get him evaluated for speech and OT and into a preschool classroom.
Emotional Acceptance & Faith
00:03:21
Speaker
That team, after evaluation, did affirm that Graham indeed had special needs and would be enrolling him under autism services. He would attend a specialized autistic classroom.
00:03:31
Speaker
We later had a full psyche valve done and official diagnosis that revealed a level two on the spectrum. But that's a whole longer story that I'll tell later. Now, during the season, I will unfold and unpack more of our story, but especially the season is geared toward what I call the stages of the autism diagnosis for those who love and care for those with special needs. I will share exactly the emotions of hearing and confirming Graham was autistic and how that impacted me as a mom and as a person and as a believer.
00:04:01
Speaker
So
Faith in Parenting
00:04:02
Speaker
that's a little bit about our history and how we got to the autism diagnosis. But there's another dynamic to our story, and that is that Colin and I both love and follow Jesus, the one who our lives are lived for and center around.
00:04:17
Speaker
I placed my faith in Jesus as a child, grew to love Him and His words that journeyed into adulthood, and now He's given me these three little disciples to teach and raise. I have nothing worthwhile to give them other than Jesus. I can teach my daughter how to throw a fast-pitched softball and my sons how to correctly load the dishwasher, but at the end of the day, those things are fleeting. Jesus is better. He is forever.
00:04:43
Speaker
Therefore, Colin and I yearn and pray that our kids would grow up to know and love Jesus and become disciples of Him as we launch them into the world in the future. If I'm honest, discipleship is not hard when it comes to our other two children. We try and take advantage of teachable moments throughout the day, make rhythms to memorize scripture with them and pray with them. But if I'm honest, autism has thrown us for a loop when it comes to discipleship.
Creative Discipleship for Autistic Children
00:05:10
Speaker
Not only do we have no idea what we're doing with the actual day-to-day raising and rearing of our precious boy who can't communicate with us, Jesus, how do we disciple someone who can't talk back to us, or we can't even be sure if he understands the gospel. I'm here to tell you, friend, that those very things we have struggled with and brought before the Lord, and he has proven faithful to walk with us in the hard times, joyful times, and confusing times, and he can take those questions.
00:05:37
Speaker
Here's one thing I do know. The gospel is for all. And if the gospel is for all, then it's for Graham too. And it's for your sweet kiddo as well. Do we know if they understand? I don't. But I do know who created and fashioned their innermost parts, and he is a good and kind God and faithful Father. And what that tells me is that this autistic discipleship journey is one that can be done by the Spirit's power alone.
00:06:04
Speaker
Now, it's going to look different, a whole lot different. Sitting down on the carpet for story time isn't going to work for our autistic kids, so we're going to have to be creative. But discipleship in its simplest, purest form is watching and imitating.
00:06:20
Speaker
Therefore, as we look and ask the Holy Spirit to parent us so that we can parent them through the power of the Spirit when we are patient during meltdowns, loving during the grocery store panic attacks, and holding our tongue when the onlooker is mean and judgmental.
00:06:38
Speaker
we then take the opportunity when it arises to tell and teach our autistic kids the gospel. That's when, through all of these different circumstances, that's when we trust the Lord who fashioned them by His power. He
Resources & Encouragement for Parents
00:06:51
Speaker
will open their eyes and ears to know Him in their own way.
00:06:54
Speaker
And when I say in their own way, I mean how God created their brains to process things, because He's the only one that knows how that process works within them. He will reveal to them the good news of salvation made only through His Son Jesus. He is calling us as parents to trust Him even when we cannot see.
00:07:15
Speaker
When Colin and I first started asking these questions about how to do at-home discipleship with our son with special needs, we couldn't really find many resources for parents on how this looks practically. That is the aim of this podcast, friends, to encourage you and equip you along this journey. Discipleship can happen for our artistic kiddos because the gospel is for all. Brother, sister, don't forget it and don't give up.
00:07:42
Speaker
This season is all about laying the foundation of understanding how the autism diagnosis and your theology of God and who He is and why this is what He's given you to steward, why it matters. We
Unity, Support, and Faith Message
00:07:56
Speaker
will walk through the stages of grief that comes with hearing and processing as a parent and hopefully provide some practical advice along the way.
00:08:04
Speaker
My prayer is that season one be a resource that for you as well as down the line when you meet a family that is about to step into the autism journey, that these episodes can be a starting point to share with them for understanding how we can view autism as a gift from our good God that ultimately is allowing autism through the valleys and the triumphs make us more like his son, Jesus, every day. What a gift.
00:08:31
Speaker
Know that you're being prayed for. We're all in this together. Peace and blessings to you as you raise autistic disciples for God's kingdom.