Mother Of Autistic Boy Fights Church Ban
Monday, August 03, 2009 (09:05:11)

Posted by sylvia

EnewsBy Andra Griffin

Carol Race, the mother of an autistic boy who's been kept out from the family's church pleaded not guilty to a charge of violating a restraining order. A pretrial settlement hearing was set for July 14 in Todd County District Court.

Last month, the Reverend Daniel Walz at Bertha's Church of St. Joseph took the unusual measure of obtaining a restraining order, barring Carol and her husband from bringing their severely autistic 13-year-old son, Adam, to the central Minnesota Roman Catholic church. Walz argued his decision by alleging that the boy had become a danger to parishioners. The reverend said Adam has struck a child during mass, urinated and spit in church and nearly knocked over people.

"His behavior at Mass is extremely disruptive and dangerous. Adam is 13 and growing, so his behaviors grow increasingly difficult for his parents to manage," wrote Walz in his petition for the restraining order.

The case triggered a nationwide media controversy, including a spot on ABC's "Good Morning America," which was set in motion by Race and her support group of families with special-needs children.

Autism is a severe infant disorder of communication and behaviour that develops before the age of three. The autistic child is unable to use language meaningfully or to process information from the environment. About half of all autistic children are mute, and those who do speak often only repeat mechanically what they have heard. The term autism refers to their withdrawn appearance, but its connotation of voluntary detachment is inappropriate.