Participating Together: Understanding Autism and Supporting Participation

How do we create school and pastoral communities where each person feels welcomed, understood and able to participate in their own way?

As part of the 2026–2027 theme Flimkien, Togetherness, Spiritual Development in Schools and the Secretariat for Catholic Education organised a seminar with Deacon Mark Paine focusing on neurodivergence, autism, participation and belonging.

The seminar formed part of the Participate Together movement of Flimkien. Participants from different educational and pastoral settings listened, reflected and shared experiences about supporting children and young people who communicate, relate and participate in different ways.

Every person relates differently

One of the main messages of the seminar was simple. We need to begin with the person in front of us.

Two autistic people do not necessarily experience the world in the same way. Their communication, sensory needs, interests, reactions and ways of participating may differ considerably.

Deacon Mark shared his own experience as an autistic person, a parent of autistic children, an educator and an adviser in special education. He explained how his own children, although both autistic, experience and respond to situations differently.

This invites educators and pastoral workers to move away from asking, “What do autistic people need?” and begin asking, “What does this person need in order to participate?”

From Inclusion to Belonging

A strong theme throughout the seminar was belonging.

Deacon Mark reflected on the Christian understanding of every person as created in the image and likeness of God. He challenged participants to see participation and belonging as part of the mission of the Church rather than an additional activity for particular groups.

He stressed that people with disabilities are already members of our communities. Our responsibility is to identify and remove barriers which prevent full participation.

Difference should therefore not be seen as a deficit.

A person might communicate differently, respond differently to sensory experiences or need additional preparation. This does not make the person less able to contribute to the community.

See the person before the diagnosis

Participants were encouraged to begin with strengths.

Rather than starting from what a child cannot do, educators and pastoral workers should first identify gifts, interests, abilities, preferred ways of communicating and the situations in which the child feels comfortable.

Deacon Mark described this as welcoming “one learner at a time”. The goal is meaningful participation and belonging rather than expecting everyone to respond in the same way.

This principle applies to school life, prayer, Religious Education, catechesis, liturgy and other pastoral activities.

Communication takes different forms

Communication does not depend only on speech.

A child or young person might communicate through words, signs, gestures, pictures, behaviour, facial expressions, communication devices or other forms of expression.

The seminar emphasised the importance of presuming competence. A person who does not communicate verbally should not automatically be assumed to have limited understanding.

This is especially important within faith formation. Understanding, prayer and relationship with God may be expressed in ways which are different from those educators usually expect.

Creating predictable and accessible environments

Small adjustments often make participation easier.

For some neurodivergent children and young people, unexpected changes, noise, lighting, smells, crowded spaces or transitions between activities may cause distress.

Preparation therefore plays an important role.

Knowing what is going to happen, seeing pictures of a new environment, meeting important people beforehand or having a simple visual sequence of an activity may reduce anxiety.

Deacon Mark shared practical examples of preparing children for the transition from primary to secondary school by showing them photographs of important places and people and helping them become familiar with journeys and routines.

The aim is not to remove every challenge. Appropriate support helps children develop confidence and greater independence.

Listening to children, young people and families

Parents and carers often know how their child communicates, what causes distress, what helps them feel safe and what strengths they possess.

Deacon Mark therefore encouraged schools, parishes and catechetical communities to work with families rather than planning support without them.

Where possible, children and young people themselves should also have a voice in decisions concerning their participation.

Their views might be expressed verbally, through pictures, symbols, drawings, gestures or other forms of communication.

The seminar also emphasised the importance of including people with disabilities and neurodivergent people when decisions about accessibility and participation are being made. Their lived experience provides knowledge which should form part of the planning process.

Learning from one another

The seminar included group discussions bringing together participants from different educational and pastoral contexts.

Participants reflected on the need to develop greater awareness of disability and neurodivergence within schools, families, parishes and the wider community.

One discussion highlighted the importance of speaking about disability positively, including within homilies and pastoral formation. Participants also stressed the need to focus on strengths and abilities rather than defining people mainly through their difficulties.

The discussions reinforced an important message. Greater understanding often changes attitudes.

People do not always exclude others deliberately. Sometimes they do not understand why somebody behaves, communicates or reacts differently. Formation helps communities respond with greater understanding and respect.

Recommendations for schools and pastoral settings

Following the presentation and discussions, several practical recommendations emerged:

• Start with the individual person rather than the diagnosis.

• Identify strengths, gifts, interests and preferred ways of communicating.

• Ask the child or young person what helps them participate whenever possible.

• Work closely with parents, carers, educators and others who know the person well.

• Presume competence. Do not assume lack of understanding because someone communicates differently.

• Accept different forms of communication, including speech, signs, gestures, pictures, behaviour and communication devices.

• Give sufficient time for processing and responding.

• Prepare children and young people for activities, transitions and changes.

• Use visual supports and clear, simple communication where helpful.

• Consider sensory factors such as sound, lighting, smells, movement, crowded spaces and physical environment.

• Provide quieter or alternative spaces when appropriate without unnecessarily separating the person from the community.

• Explain adaptations to the wider school or pastoral community so people understand why they are being made.

• Include neurodivergent people and people with disabilities when planning programmes which affect them.

• Review adaptations regularly. What works for one person might not work for another.

• Focus on participation and belonging rather than expecting everybody to behave or participate in the same way.

Many adaptations introduced for one learner also improve the experience of the wider group. Deacon Mark gave examples from education where adjustments designed around particular needs resulted in better learning environments for everyone.

Participate Together

Flimkien does not mean that everybody thinks, communicates, learns, prays or participates in the same way.

Participating Together asks us to recognise these differences and respond to them with respect.

For schools and pastoral communities, the question becomes:

“Who might be finding participation difficult, and what barriers might we remove?”

Sometimes the change needed is small. A little preparation, a visual aid, more processing time, a quieter place, clearer instructions or a conversation with a family might make a significant difference.

The goal is a community in which each person has a place, each person is respected, and different ways of relating and participating are recognised as part of our life together.