Neurodivergence and The Church

[I Have Questions]

I thought this article was interesting.

Maplewood, N.J. • Incense. Organ blasts. Forced hugs and handshakes.

For folks who struggle to process sensory input, houses of worship can quickly feel anything but holy.

That was the case for Lark Losardo’s son Percy, who in 2017 began attending Catholic Mass with his family at age 7. Percy, who is autistic, was often overwhelmed by the Brooklyn church’s open space, noise and crowds. At first, when he needed to move around or stim (engage in repetitive actions to self-regulate), he’d leave the service with a parent. Eventually, partly because of the barriers to attending as a family, they stopped coming altogether.

Then, in 2020, the Losardos moved to Maplewood, New Jersey. After watching online services at a nearby Catholic parish called St. Joseph during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lark Losardo learned in 2024 that the parish was opening a sensory room equipped with regulation tools, including a weighted blanket, touch pillow, ear defenders and a sound machine. Thanks to that room, today Percy is back in the pews, using the room to regroup whenever needed.

“It speaks volumes,” Lark Losardo told Religion News Service. “Not everyone needs this space, but just having it there sends a very clear message.”

At St. Joseph’s, the Rev. Jim Worth said the new sensory room, which opened in December, is a natural extension of the parish’s faith values. To him, the room is evidence that inclusion — a principle Worth linked to Catholic social teaching — isn’t just given lip service.

“When you put intentionality behind something,” Worth said, “it makes a world of difference.”

“This sensory room has really changed everything for us,” said Pavitra Makam, a St. Joseph parishioner and mother of two neurodivergent kids. “Being able to worship together has been the biggest thing for our family.”

This is all good, forward thinking stuff. Catering for the needs of a diverse congregation so that all can feel welcome and so families don’t have to make a choice between attending church services or staying together as a family

According to Rebecca Barlow, a regional disability specialist in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, adding a sensory room to a house of worship doesn’t automatically make it accessible to those with sensory needs.

“It’s just one piece of a bigger machine that you’re trying to build,” said Barlow, disability specialist for the Desert Ridge Stake in Mesa, Arizona.

The first step to building that machine, Barlow said, is asking disabled individuals and their families what it would take to make church feasible for them. When she first became a disability specialist roughly five years ago, feedback was invaluable. “The biggest thing was listening. The parents of these children know what they need,” said Barlow, who is also the parent of a child with autism.

Based on the families’ input, she created a sensory room in her meetinghouse with new donated items. Knowing it would be used by kids who could become aggressive, she removed hard chairs and chalkboard lips that could pose safety risks. She also filled the room with the usual sensory items, added light-blocking curtains and included a night-light that projected a calming light pattern.

So the Church with hundreds of billions of dollars stashed away, led by Jesus Christ and God, can’t even put a little bit of effort and finance to producing a properly fitted out sensory room in a Chapel. Instead an individual has to cobble it together.

This is another example of the Church failing to lead on something important. The Church should be the example of how to include neurodiverse worshippers, but it isn’t. Others are leading the way. Why? How does the Church conduct worthiness interviews for neurodiverse members? What training do local Church leaders receive about delivering worship services for the neurodiverse? How does a neurodiverse member (assuming they’ve been allowed to be baptised) attend the Temple? Temples don’t cater for the neurodiverse, they are de facto excluded regardless of worthiness. Why?

Barlow says the seven wards in her regional stake now have their own disability specialists and sensory rooms, and she routinely takes calls from Latter-day Saints across the country and the globe seeking to set up sensory rooms of their own.

“It feels like we’re seeing a cultural shift toward understanding and accepting and integrating people with disabilities,” said Barlow. “If we want to follow Christ, if we want to emulate him, if we want to be his disciples … they need to be foremost in our mind.”

Once again it’s a lone member with gumption and drive making things happen on their own initiative, that progresses the Church. With word of mouth pushing the ideas forward and wider. Why aren’t The Brethren funding this? Why aren’t they leading this? It’s another example of the members leading.

[Kishkumen]

This is the way the LDS Church works. Members build up the kingdom by contributing and working in the way the Brethren command. The Brethren are there to tell people what to do, not fund the project. The Lord’s money is only used as a last resort. It is being saved for the Second Coming.

Yeah, this post is somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

[MG 2.0]

I thought this article was interesting.

Maplewood, N.J. • Incense. Organ blasts. Forced hugs and handshakes.

For folks who struggle to process sensory input, houses of worship can quickly feel anything but holy.

That was the case for Lark Losardo’s son Percy, who in 2017 began attending Catholic Mass with his family at age 7. Percy, who is autistic, was often overwhelmed by the Brooklyn church’s open space, noise and crowds. At first, when he needed to move around or stim (engage in repetitive actions to self-regulate), he’d leave the service with a parent. Eventually, partly because of the barriers to attending as a family, they stopped coming altogether.

Then, in 2020, the Losardos moved to Maplewood, New Jersey. After watching online services at a nearby Catholic parish called St. Joseph during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lark Losardo learned in 2024 that the parish was opening a sensory room equipped with regulation tools, including a weighted blanket, touch pillow, ear defenders and a sound machine. Thanks to that room, today Percy is back in the pews, using the room to regroup whenever needed.

“It speaks volumes,” Lark Losardo told Religion News Service. “Not everyone needs this space, but just having it there sends a very clear message.”

At St. Joseph’s, the Rev. Jim Worth said the new sensory room, which opened in December, is a natural extension of the parish’s faith values. To him, the room is evidence that inclusion — a principle Worth linked to Catholic social teaching — isn’t just given lip service.

“When you put intentionality behind something,” Worth said, “it makes a world of difference.”

“This sensory room has really changed everything for us,” said Pavitra Makam, a St. Joseph parishioner and mother of two neurodivergent kids. “Being able to worship together has been the biggest thing for our family.”

This is all good, forward thinking stuff. Catering for the needs of a diverse congregation so that all can feel welcome and so families don’t have to make a choice between attending church services or staying together as a family

According to Rebecca Barlow, a regional disability specialist in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, adding a sensory room to a house of worship doesn’t automatically make it accessible to those with sensory needs.

“It’s just one piece of a bigger machine that you’re trying to build,” said Barlow, disability specialist for the Desert Ridge Stake in Mesa, Arizona.

The first step to building that machine, Barlow said, is asking disabled individuals and their families what it would take to make church feasible for them. When she first became a disability specialist roughly five years ago, feedback was invaluable. “The biggest thing was listening. The parents of these children know what they need,” said Barlow, who is also the parent of a child with autism.

Based on the families’ input, she created a sensory room in her meetinghouse with new donated items. Knowing it would be used by kids who could become aggressive, she removed hard chairs and chalkboard lips that could pose safety risks. She also filled the room with the usual sensory items, added light-blocking curtains and included a night-light that projected a calming light pattern.

So the Church with hundreds of billions of dollars stashed away, led by Jesus Christ and God, can’t even put a little bit of effort and finance to producing a properly fitted out sensory room in a Chapel. Instead an individual has to cobble it together.

This is another example of the Church failing to lead on something important. The Church should be the example of how to include neurodiverse worshippers, but it isn’t. Others are leading the way. Why? How does the Church conduct worthiness interviews for neurodiverse members? What training do local Church leaders receive about delivering worship services for the neurodiverse? How does a neurodiverse member (assuming they’ve been allowed to be baptised) attend the Temple? Temples don’t cater for the neurodiverse, they are de facto excluded regardless of worthiness. Why?

Barlow says the seven wards in her regional stake now have their own disability specialists and sensory rooms, and she routinely takes calls from Latter-day Saints across the country and the globe seeking to set up sensory rooms of their own.

“It feels like we’re seeing a cultural shift toward understanding and accepting and integrating people with disabilities,” said Barlow. “If we want to follow Christ, if we want to emulate him, if we want to be his disciples … they need to be foremost in our mind.”

Once again it’s a lone member with gumption and drive making things happen on their own initiative, that progresses the Church. With word of mouth pushing the ideas forward and wider. Why aren’t The Brethren funding this? Why aren’t they leading this? It’s another example of the members leading.

The church is not unaware of people with various special needs:

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are called to reflect the Savior’s love in everything we do. As His disciples, we bear one another’s burdens and help lift those in need (see Mosiah 18:8–9). Together, we make up the body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12:12–18). And in many of our wards and branches, there is a group of parents carrying burdens who are often unseen: parents of children with autism and other neurodivergent conditions.

This quote is found in a church magazines article called:
Five Ways to Support Parents of Children with Autism or Neurodivergence at Church By Mindy Selu.

Leaders and members have brains. When we see that there are nuerodivergent members in the ward there are ways to adapt to their needs. It's not like they are being ignored.

Regards,
MG

[Everybody Wang Chung]

I thought this article was interesting.

Maplewood, N.J. • Incense. Organ blasts. Forced hugs and handshakes.

For folks who struggle to process sensory input, houses of worship can quickly feel anything but holy.

That was the case for Lark Losardo’s son Percy, who in 2017 began attending Catholic Mass with his family at age 7. Percy, who is autistic, was often overwhelmed by the Brooklyn church’s open space, noise and crowds. At first, when he needed to move around or stim (engage in repetitive actions to self-regulate), he’d leave the service with a parent. Eventually, partly because of the barriers to attending as a family, they stopped coming altogether.

Then, in 2020, the Losardos moved to Maplewood, New Jersey. After watching online services at a nearby Catholic parish called St. Joseph during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lark Losardo learned in 2024 that the parish was opening a sensory room equipped with regulation tools, including a weighted blanket, touch pillow, ear defenders and a sound machine. Thanks to that room, today Percy is back in the pews, using the room to regroup whenever needed.

“It speaks volumes,” Lark Losardo told Religion News Service. “Not everyone needs this space, but just having it there sends a very clear message.”

At St. Joseph’s, the Rev. Jim Worth said the new sensory room, which opened in December, is a natural extension of the parish’s faith values. To him, the room is evidence that inclusion — a principle Worth linked to Catholic social teaching — isn’t just given lip service.

“When you put intentionality behind something,” Worth said, “it makes a world of difference.”

“This sensory room has really changed everything for us,” said Pavitra Makam, a St. Joseph parishioner and mother of two neurodivergent kids. “Being able to worship together has been the biggest thing for our family.”

This is all good, forward thinking stuff. Catering for the needs of a diverse congregation so that all can feel welcome and so families don’t have to make a choice between attending church services or staying together as a family

According to Rebecca Barlow, a regional disability specialist in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, adding a sensory room to a house of worship doesn’t automatically make it accessible to those with sensory needs.

“It’s just one piece of a bigger machine that you’re trying to build,” said Barlow, disability specialist for the Desert Ridge Stake in Mesa, Arizona.

The first step to building that machine, Barlow said, is asking disabled individuals and their families what it would take to make church feasible for them. When she first became a disability specialist roughly five years ago, feedback was invaluable. “The biggest thing was listening. The parents of these children know what they need,” said Barlow, who is also the parent of a child with autism.

Based on the families’ input, she created a sensory room in her meetinghouse with new donated items. Knowing it would be used by kids who could become aggressive, she removed hard chairs and chalkboard lips that could pose safety risks. She also filled the room with the usual sensory items, added light-blocking curtains and included a night-light that projected a calming light pattern.

So the Church with hundreds of billions of dollars stashed away, led by Jesus Christ and God, can’t even put a little bit of effort and finance to producing a properly fitted out sensory room in a Chapel. Instead an individual has to cobble it together.

This is another example of the Church failing to lead on something important. The Church should be the example of how to include neurodiverse worshippers, but it isn’t. Others are leading the way. Why? How does the Church conduct worthiness interviews for neurodiverse members? What training do local Church leaders receive about delivering worship services for the neurodiverse? How does a neurodiverse member (assuming they’ve been allowed to be baptised) attend the Temple? Temples don’t cater for the neurodiverse, they are de facto excluded regardless of worthiness. Why?

Barlow says the seven wards in her regional stake now have their own disability specialists and sensory rooms, and she routinely takes calls from Latter-day Saints across the country and the globe seeking to set up sensory rooms of their own.

“It feels like we’re seeing a cultural shift toward understanding and accepting and integrating people with disabilities,” said Barlow. “If we want to follow Christ, if we want to emulate him, if we want to be his disciples … they need to be foremost in our mind.”

Once again it’s a lone member with gumption and drive making things happen on their own initiative, that progresses the Church. With word of mouth pushing the ideas forward and wider. Why aren’t The Brethren funding this? Why aren’t they leading this? It’s another example of the members leading.

Here's what our prophet said about individuals with disabilities:

[Moksha]

Leaders and members have brains. When we see that there are nuerodivergent members in the ward there are ways to adapt to their needs. It's not like they are being ignored.

Regards,
MG

So, what is being done?

[Gadianton]

Five Ways to Support Parents of Children with Autism or Neurodivergence at Church By Mindy Selu.

Five ways for the members to take responsibility for it. 1) they claim deniability because they sent a message (thoughts and prayers, shooting victims!) 2) The saved a ton of money because they don't have to do anything now until society first normalizes the processes and they're forced to conform to keep appearances.

Do you think the LDS church led the way in wheelchair accessibility? I guarantee there were no "revelations" here for something that would matter to humanity.

Have you ever had that rich friend that makes you buy dinner half the time and you gladly do it because, hey, you can say you have a rich friend? That's your relationship to the Church x2. You pay for bragging rights to say that your leaders are rich and you are connected to them.

[MG 2.0]

Leaders and members have brains. When we see that there are nuerodivergent members in the ward there are ways to adapt to their needs. It's not like they are being ignored.

Regards,
MG

So, what is being done?

I would assume that it works at the ward/branch level. There are Ward Counsels, Elder's Quorum Presidencies, Relief Society Presidencies, Young Men and Young Women's Presidencies, and Primary Presidencies. Redundancies in the system. Other churches may or may not have the same redundancies/support systems that the church has in play all across the church.

I suppose you can find fault where you want but I think the LDS Church at the local level is set up to meet the needs of members, including those with special needs including neurodivergent folks. A.lot of it comes down to individuals and their willingness to help and serve others. That's a BIG thing amongst active and believing members.

Regards,
MG

[I Have Questions]

I thought this article was interesting. This is all good, forward thinking stuff. Catering for the needs of a diverse congregation so that all can feel welcome and so families don’t have to make a choice between attending church services or staying together as a familySo the Church with hundreds of billions of dollars stashed away, led by Jesus Christ and God, can’t even put a little bit of effort and finance to producing a properly fitted out sensory room in a Chapel. Instead an individual has to cobble it together.

This is another example of the Church failing to lead on something important. The Church should be the example of how to include neurodiverse worshippers, but it isn’t. Others are leading the way. Why? How does the Church conduct worthiness interviews for neurodiverse members? What training do local Church leaders receive about delivering worship services for the neurodiverse? How does a neurodiverse member (assuming they’ve been allowed to be baptised) attend the Temple? Temples don’t cater for the neurodiverse, they are de facto excluded regardless of worthiness. Why?

Once again it’s a lone member with gumption and drive making things happen on their own initiative, that progresses the Church. With word of mouth pushing the ideas forward and wider. Why aren’t The Brethren funding this? Why aren’t they leading this? It’s another example of the members leading.

The church is not unaware of people with various special needs:

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are called to reflect the Savior’s love in everything we do. As His disciples, we bear one another’s burdens and help lift those in need (see Mosiah 18:8–9). Together, we make up the body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12:12–18). And in many of our wards and branches, there is a group of parents carrying burdens who are often unseen: parents of children with autism and other neurodivergent conditions.

This quote is found in a church magazines article called:
Five Ways to Support Parents of Children with Autism or Neurodivergence at Church By Mindy Selu.

Leaders and members have brains. When we see that there are nuerodivergent members in the ward there are ways to adapt to their needs. It's not like they are being ignored.

Regards,
MG

Really? What specific arrangements have you seen in any Temple for neurodivergent members? The Church magazine presents it as the parents of autistic children carrying a burden…the Church sees autistic children as a burden. Think about that for a minute. Do you honestly think the parents of autistic children see their kids as burdens?

[Moksha]

So, what is being done?

I would assume that it works at the ward/branch level. There are Ward Counsels, Elder's Quorum Presidencies, Relief Society Presidencies, Young Men and Young Women's Presidencies, and Primary Presidencies. Redundancies in the system. Other churches may or may not have the same redundancies/support systems that the church has in play all across the church.

I suppose you can find fault where you want but I think the LDS Church at the local level is set up to meet the needs of members, including those with special needs including neurodivergent folks. A.lot of it comes down to individuals and their willingness to help and serve others. That's a BIG thing amongst active and believing members.

Regards,
MG

I wasn't proposing this as the single shard of Nephite pottery. I was hoping to hear of some concrete action that could be identified.

[MG 2.0]

I would assume that it works at the ward/branch level. There are Ward Counsels, Elder's Quorum Presidencies, Relief Society Presidencies, Young Men and Young Women's Presidencies, and Primary Presidencies. Redundancies in the system. Other churches may or may not have the same redundancies/support systems that the church has in play all across the church.

I suppose you can find fault where you want but I think the LDS Church at the local level is set up to meet the needs of members, including those with special needs including neurodivergent folks. A.lot of it comes down to individuals and their willingness to help and serve others. That's a BIG thing amongst active and believing members.

Regards,
MG

I wasn't proposing this as the single shard of Nephite pottery. I was hoping to hear of some concrete action that could be identified.

I realize that. As I've said, the church counsels provide frequent opportunities for identifying those within the ward who have special needs of one kind of another and determine what, if anything, can be done to make their church experience comfortable and spiritually uplifting. From members being assigned to assist to creating 'quiet rooms', or whatever else might make/help a neurodivergent person's Sunday Worship meaningful to them.

There are a lot of good and loving members that are willing to step up where needed. In many churches much of the work for accommodating people with special needs falls on the pastor or ecclesiastical leader. The LDS Church has a much larger group of individuals to consistently provide service needed through callings and assignments.

Regards,
MG