Rev. Irene Cheung (Director of Special Needs Ministry, Consulting Pastor of Young Life Development of RHCCC)

The number of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased dramatically over the past few decades in North America and other parts of the world.  According to the 2012 study of The National Epidemiologic Database for the Study of Autism in Canada, their best estimate of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in Canada is 1 in 94 children 6 to 9 years of age.  It is unclear whether the prevalence was due to increased awareness, subthreshold cases, or a true rise in the frequency of ASD.  It can also be due to expansion of the diagnostic criteria or program eligibility requirements as well as an increase in research methodologies.

Research suggests that parents of children with autism have significantly higher levels of stress as compared to parents of children with other disabilities or parents of children with normal development.  This situation is related to the intense complexity of this life-long disability with behavioral challenges and needs varying at different age stages.  Apart from problems in daily management of the child, parents have concerns over inadequate educational and professional resources.  They are exhausted from rounds of talks with schools, government agencies, healthcare and service providers, fighting with time to get early intervention services and programs for their child.  The never-ending process of advocating for their child’s welfare and negotiation with authorities can create fear, anxiety, guilt, and even shame.

Irene Cheung

What was Jesus saying, was He endorsing “bullying”?

In Matthew 5:39, Jesus told his disciples “do not resist an evil person.  If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”

Well, Jesus allowed himself to be bullied and submitted to the cruelest death penalty imposed upon him by his own created beings who rejected him.  “They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.” (Matthew 27:28-31).