Why Inclusion is a Way of Life: Autism Acceptance at BACC

Why Autism Awareness is Important to Us – 4/21/2024

Today and all month long, people across the world are highlighting the need for greater support of children and adults living with autism spectrum disorder. And according to the CDC, one in thirty six children are on the spectrum and the autism rates are not plateauing. We see in California the rates increase by eleven percent a year. And quite often when there’s a diagnosis of autism, the search begins for those resources and just what to do next. April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, and we are so proud to be community advocates for including people of all abilities year round. Romans twelve, verses four and five. Each one of us has one body, and that body has many parts. These parts don’t all do the same thing in the same way. We are many people, but in Christ we are all one body. We are the parts of that body, and each part belongs to all the others. God wants us to all include each other, so he has put all of us together, and he wants us to learn how to be in relationship with each other, no matter what we’re able to do or not able to do. That’s why Bay Area Christian Church is passionate about inclusion, being a way of life, and why we have supported and developed programs like E-life and Spiritual Resources Ministry. E-life is really a larger umbrella or extension of what we started with esports. Esports started with soccer and over the years grew into multiple sports programs. And we realized that this inclusive philosophy that was helping typical and special needs kids in sports could be rolled into so many other programs, not only for kids, but for young adults. And so now it includes photography, academics, theater, and so many other areas. The experience at soccer is like none other. I mean, there’s other families who have taken their kids to different soccer programs, and then they come to soccer and they learn that it is that there’s nothing like soccer. It provides people with the opportunity to be a part of a team, to have an experience that I think is super valuable and for everybody to feel included and feel like they have a place on the team. I see the joy. I see the joy in seeing the parents gain hope, watching parents jaws hanging open and tears come to their eyes when they see their kids doing something that they thought they could never even be part of a sports program, let alone succeed in the way they have. And now I have the privilege to be one of the assistant coaches at East Soccer and and, and help the kids the same way that the coaches helped me when I was at the first soccer in April two thousand, when I was six years old. SRM is spiritual resource ministry. This Sunday class, kids with special needs and their families come and they’re able to attend church. The class just doesn’t look traditional, like they may need things to jump on, or they may need sound reduction headphones. Or they. They just need extra understanding. It helps us remember that we’re all different, but our differences are what make us amazing to each other. Yeah. As a parent, I feel included and I feel like we belong and we feel like appreciated, you know, by people around us. Our church has invested in inclusive programs like Life Spiritual Resource Ministry and many more for almost twenty five years. Not only has this inclusive mindset positively impacted our surrounding Bay area communities, but has completely changed the fabric and culture of our church. I think our members, our community, learns so much more about how to have a relationship with people in general, and that how you think isn’t necessarily the way to think or how you see things isn’t necessarily the way to see things. And so it enhances everybody’s lives. I’m grateful to be part of a community that is inclusive, and I’m grateful to be, to be part of, of an inclusive environment. The neurodiverse kids learn so much. The neurotypical kids learn from them. They learn. It’s an amazing thing to see when they start little, when they start in preschool, because they really grow up not feeling like it’s such a huge difference between a person with special needs and a neurotypical person. They just think, these are my friends. Instead of thinking of kids with special needs or kids with autism, or I think we just see people as people. I wish people knew that autistic people can still do great things. Autistic people can still make a difference. Autism awareness and acceptance is more than just a month to celebrate. It’s a way of life because when one person is included, we are all better for it. And it’s not hard to get started. You just show up, right? I think you just show up. We don’t just want to keep it for ourselves. We want everybody to promote inclusion wherever they are. Just head over to bake dot cc to learn how you can help out at Esports Life or any of our other inclusive efforts in the Bay area and beyond.