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<div class="ms-rteFontSize-3" style="text-align:left">​​Stories gathered by Naomi Mitchum and originally published <a href="http://www.naomimitchum.com/special-needs/worship-information/stories-of-spiritual-growth/">here</a></div>

​​When my son was not yet walking, I was taking my turn caring for children in our congregation's toddler room. While something else had my attention, a visitor dropped off a little girl and headed off to worship. The girl, six or seven years old, began wandering aimlessly back and forth, picking up a toy only to put it down and move on to the next. She showed no response to anything I said to her, never even looking at me.

In the Sunday school class I teach, Kyle is a third grader with a form of autism. His presence in my classroom always inspires me to think of creative ways to present the curriculum to my students.​

​​“Joey” attended the day camp where I worked for the past three summers. As an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with autism, Joey was capable of doing many of the things that other kids could do, yet he struggled in forming friendships. It was obvious, even to the other children, that he desperately desired to relate with the other campers, but his awkward social behaviors got in the way of making friends. Even though he was working hard to improve, his differences caused other children to avoid him.