When Christians disagree about autism and healing—and everyone seems completely convinced they're right—who do you listen to? In the final episode of the Autism & Healing series, we're talking about discernment: healing testimonies, confident Christian content creators, Bible verses pulled into Instagram Reels, "God told me" claims, and what happens when someone turns their personal conviction about autism and healing into a test of someone else's faith. Someone can be confident and still be wrong. Someone can have an extraordinary testimony and still misunderstand what that testimony means. Someone can quote Scripture and interpret it incorrectly. And that includes me. Confidence is not authority. God's Word is. We also talk about families who say their child was "healed of autism." Something may have genuinely changed—and we can praise God for it! But discernment asks another question: What actually changed? Behavior is not autism. A meltdown is not autism. Aggression is not autism. Elopement is not autism. Being nonspeaking is not autism. Communication can grow. Sleep can improve. Anxiety can decrease. Sensory needs can be accommodated. Therapy can help. Children can mature. And God can be glorified through every bit of it. God's work does not become less divine because He works through ordinary means. Scriptures Referenced Acts 17 Matthew 4 Isaiah 53:5 James 5 1 Corinthians 15 Romans 10 John 14:6 Matthew 28:18–20 2 Corinthians 12 A Discernment Filter When you encounter a big theological claim, ask: What does Scripture explicitly say? What conclusion is this person drawing from it? Does the passage actually authorize that conclusion? Is this Scripture, inference, personal conviction, or testimony? And remember: Someone else's testimony cannot become God's promise to my family. Where This Series Lands Can God heal? Yes. Do I know whether God intends to remove Graham's autism this side of eternity? I don't know. Does that make me passive? Absolutely not. Do I believe neurotypicality is God's definition of wholeness? No. Neurotypical is a neurological category. Redeemed is a theological category. Do faithful Christians disagree about healing? Yes. And disagreement about healing does not give us permission to redefine the gospel around our conclusions. So what do I do with everything I don't know? I know my assignment. You don't have to settle every question about autism and healing before you get busy with the Great Commission. Pray. Ask boldly. Open your Bible. Learn your child. Trust God with what He hasn't revealed. Be faithful with what He has. God gets the outcome. You get the assignment. Now go raise that autistic disciple. ______ 📚 Letters to Lindsey: Seeing Your Child's Autism Diagnosis Through a Gospel Lens [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FS87WY24] 📚 How to Advocate & Stay Christian [https://link.amazon/B00yWcdKK] 📺 Minno — Get a free 7-day trial with code RAD [https://gominno.com/?afmc=RAISINGAUTISTICDISCIPLES] 🛍️ Larah's Amazon Picks [https://www.amazon.com/shop/raisingautisticdisciples] 👕 RAD Merch [https://raising-autistic-disciples.printify.me/products] ✍️ Read RAD on Substack [https://substack.com/@raisingautisticdisciples]
When Christians talk about autism and healing, what exactly do we mean by healed? Sometimes we picture something dramatic: autistic today, non-autistic tomorrow. And underneath that picture can be an assumption we may not even realize we're making: autistic means something is not whole, less autistic means becoming more whole, and non-autistic means healed. But who decided neurotypical means whole? Because I don't think Scripture did. In Part 3 of the Autism & Healing series, we're examining what Scripture actually teaches about wholeness, redemption, resurrection, growth, and Christlikeness—and why those categories matter for how we disciple our autistic children today. God can grow my son. He can mature him, develop his communication, give him new skills, relieve distress, provide wise doctors and therapists, deepen friendships, grow his independence, and sanctify him. And I can praise God for every bit of that without interpreting every new skill as Graham becoming "less autistic." God's work does not become less divine because He works through ordinary means. Because if I make neurotypicality the goal, I can accidentally celebrate masking as maturity, exhaustion as participation, compliance as discipleship, or silence as regulation. I need a better target. Christlikeness. Scriptures Referenced Romans 3:23 Ephesians 2 Romans 8 1 Corinthians 15 Revelation 21 Galatians 5:22–23 Questions for This Week Open your Bible and ask: Where did my definition of "whole" come from? Did Scripture give it to me, or have I assumed typical means whole because typical is what I'm accustomed to seeing? Then look at the autistic image-bearer in front of you and ask: What am I actually hoping for? Less autism? Less suffering? Greater communication? Growth? Maturity? Independence? Christlikeness? The target matters because the target determines what we celebrate. Average is not the definition of whole. Typical is not the definition of redeemed. Neurotypical is not the definition of holy. God does not need to make my son neurotypical in order to be at work in his life. Next in the series: How do we respond when another family says their child was "healed of autism"—without dismissing their testimony or turning their experience into a promise for our family? ______ 📚 Letters to Lindsey: Seeing Your Child's Autism Diagnosis Through a Gospel Lens [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FS87WY24] 📚 How to Advocate & Stay Christian [https://link.amazon/B00yWcdKK] 📺 Minno — Get a free 7-day trial with code RAD [https://gominno.com/?afmc=RAISINGAUTISTICDISCIPLES] 🛍️ Larah's Amazon Picks [https://www.amazon.com/shop/raisingautisticdisciples] 👕 RAD Merch [https://raising-autistic-disciples.printify.me/products] ✍️ Read RAD on Substack [https://substack.com/@raisingautisticdisciples]
If I don't know whether God intends to remove my son's autism this side of eternity… what exactly do I pray for? In Part 1 of this series, we established a framework: God gets the outcome. I get the assignment. But trusting God with the outcome doesn't mean we stop asking Him for things. Paul didn't. In 2 Corinthians 12, he pleaded with God to remove his thorn three times. Trusting God's sovereignty didn't silence his prayers—and it doesn't have to silence ours. In this episode, I'm getting very practical about what I pray for Graham: salvation, communication, reading, regulation, patience, self-advocacy, friendships, courage, meaningful work, opportunities to use his gifts, and ultimately that he would become a disciple who makes disciples. Because the greatest miracle I could witness in my autistic son's life isn't watching an autistic child become non-autistic. It's watching a spiritually dead sinner be made alive in Christ. And somewhere in all of this, I'm learning how to live in the tension between hope and expectation. I can desperately want something for my son, ask God boldly for it, work faithfully toward it—and still refuse to make that hoped-for outcome a burden Graham has to carry. Ask boldly. Work faithfully. Hope deeply. Hold the outcome with open hands. Scriptures Referenced 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 Ephesians 2:1–10 Romans 8:29 Romans 10:17 1 Corinthians 13 Galatians 5:22–23 Questions for This Week Instead of ONLY asking, "Do I pray for my child's healing?" ask: What am I specifically asking God to do IN my child's life? Write it down. Salvation? Communication? Understanding? Wisdom? Courage? Friendships? Regulation? Self-advocacy? A love for Scripture? Opportunities to serve? Greater independence? Then ask one more question: What am I asking God to grow in ME? Because you can't raise an autistic disciple without first being a disciple yourself. Jesus, make my son more like You. Not less autistic. More like Christ. ______ 📚 Letters to Lindsey: Seeing Your Child's Autism Diagnosis Through a Gospel Lens [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FS87WY24] 📚 How to Advocate & Stay Christian [https://link.amazon/B00yWcdKK] 📺 Minno — Get a free 7-day trial with code RAD [https://gominno.com/?afmc=RAISINGAUTISTICDISCIPLES] 🛍️ Larah's Amazon Picks [https://www.amazon.com/shop/raisingautisticdisciples] 👕 RAD Merch [https://raising-autistic-disciples.printify.me/products] ✍️ Read RAD on Substack [https://substack.com/@raisingautisticdisciples]
Can God heal autism? And if God can, does that mean He has promised that He will? In Part 1 of this four-part Autism & Healing series, Larah wrestles with the difference between God's ability and God's intention—and why that distinction matters for Christian parents raising autistic children. We'll look at what Scripture allows us to be certain about, where faithful theology may require us to say "I don't know," and why accepting, supporting, and accommodating an autistic child is not evidence of deficient faith. The episode ultimately lands here: I am more theologically certain about the Great Commission than I am about whether God intends to heal my son's autism this side of eternity. One is explicitly commanded. The other is not explicitly promised. God gets the outcome. I get the assignment. Scriptures referenced: Deuteronomy 29:29; Psalm 115:3; Daniel 3; Daniel 4:35; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 28:18–20; John 5; John 9; John 11; Acts 12; Romans 8; 2 Corinthians 12; 1 Peter 2:24. Study it for yourself: What does Scripture explicitly say? What has God actually promised? What am I assuming? Where am I confusing what God can do with what God has promised to do? * Next in the series: What I DO Pray For. ______ 📚 Letters to Lindsey: Seeing Your Child's Autism Diagnosis Through a Gospel Lens [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FS87WY24]📚 How to Advocate & Stay Christian [https://link.amazon/B00yWcdKK]📺 Minno — Get a free 7-day trial with code RAD [https://gominno.com/?afmc=RAISINGAUTISTICDISCIPLES]🛍️ Larah's Amazon Picks [https://www.amazon.com/shop/raisingautisticdisciples] 👕 RAD Merch [https://raising-autistic-disciples.printify.me/products] ✍️ Read RAD on Substack [https://substack.com/@raisingautisticdisciples]
Big idea: The meltdown gives us information, but so does the road behind it. If we only study the point of collision, we may miss what our autistic kids were communicating long before they had the words to tell us. Sometimes the meltdown is the first thing everyone notices—but it may not be where the story started. In this episode of Raising Autistic Disciples, Larah shares one of Graham's most memorable meltdowns from the early years after his diagnosis: a simple change in the Sunday morning plan that became far more than a quick walk back to the car. What looked like a sudden explosion was actually an autistic child in deep distress, unable to communicate what his body and nervous system were experiencing. That experience became an important lesson: don't only study the collision. Learn the road that led there. For parents, church leaders, grandparents, and anyone discipling an autistic child, this episode explores how curiosity, observation, and biblical discernment can help us distinguish between rebellion, overwhelm, weakness, distress, and genuine behavior that needs correction. Understanding behavior is not the same thing as excusing behavior. Faithful discipleship requires knowing the child well enough to respond with the right kind of care. Larah also walks through 1 Thessalonians 5:14—"admonish the idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone"—as a framework for recognizing that different conditions require different responses. Sometimes an autistic child needs correction. Sometimes they need comfort. Sometimes they need help. And in every case, they need patient, discerning love. You'll hear practical questions like: What does my child look like before they become overwhelmed? What happens when plans unexpectedly change? What environments require more effort from them? What happens to communication as stress increases? When does more language stop helping and become additional input? And what patterns can I learn now that may eventually help my child recognize and communicate their own needs? The goal isn't to predict every meltdown or become omniscient. Only God is. The goal is to become observant—to learn the child God has entrusted to you so that you can shepherd them faithfully toward Christlikeness. Scriptures discussed: 1 Thessalonians 5:14, James 1:19, Proverbs 18:13, Proverbs 20:5, and John 10. Resources Mentioned: Find the Letters to Lindsey: Seeing Your Child's Autism Diagnosis through a Gospel Lens on Amazon by clicking here: amazon.com/dp/B0FS87WY24 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FS87WY24].