Autistic people are...faithful.
Mar. 2nd, 2013 06:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
primeideal (Part of the Autistic People Are series.)
As a person on the autism spectrum, I can oftentimes place an emphasis on logical thinking. Given the all-important caveat that "if you've met one person on the spectrum, you've met one person on the spectrum," there's in many circles an overlap between autistic people and various parts of the scientific fields. Although I consider myself a mathematician and not a scientist, I appreciate the importance that facets of a thought process like "attention to detail" and "interest in clear, unambiguous definitions" can play in the world of science.
Which is why it's all the more important to not make generalizations about autistic people (or, really, anyone at all), by pitting disparate terms to be at odds. My religious faith is extremely important to me, even if I sometimes feel uncomfortable trying to articulate it in various (web-based and otherwise) spaces. My mind appreciates formal structures and patterns, such as can be found in studying a hymn, or the cycles of the church year and lectionary. Some things that are hard for me are dealing with how we, as a church, can respond to social concerns (such as world hunger or something that makes me feel guilty), or, indeed, struggling to articulate my identity as a person of faith when I'm terrified other people will jump to unwarranted conclusions about my worldview, bolstered by other people's uses of religion for wrongdoing (which is a problem as a person on the spectrum, as well).
More broadly, I can be extremely loyal to people or hobbies I develop, sometimes leery of jumping on "bandwagons" until I can commit. This has its downsides, such as feeling betrayed by other people who take those relationships more casually, but is just another part of how I see the world.
As a person on the autism spectrum, I can oftentimes place an emphasis on logical thinking. Given the all-important caveat that "if you've met one person on the spectrum, you've met one person on the spectrum," there's in many circles an overlap between autistic people and various parts of the scientific fields. Although I consider myself a mathematician and not a scientist, I appreciate the importance that facets of a thought process like "attention to detail" and "interest in clear, unambiguous definitions" can play in the world of science.
Which is why it's all the more important to not make generalizations about autistic people (or, really, anyone at all), by pitting disparate terms to be at odds. My religious faith is extremely important to me, even if I sometimes feel uncomfortable trying to articulate it in various (web-based and otherwise) spaces. My mind appreciates formal structures and patterns, such as can be found in studying a hymn, or the cycles of the church year and lectionary. Some things that are hard for me are dealing with how we, as a church, can respond to social concerns (such as world hunger or something that makes me feel guilty), or, indeed, struggling to articulate my identity as a person of faith when I'm terrified other people will jump to unwarranted conclusions about my worldview, bolstered by other people's uses of religion for wrongdoing (which is a problem as a person on the spectrum, as well).
More broadly, I can be extremely loyal to people or hobbies I develop, sometimes leery of jumping on "bandwagons" until I can commit. This has its downsides, such as feeling betrayed by other people who take those relationships more casually, but is just another part of how I see the world.
