Some see it as too harsh. Others see it as a last resort for safety.
A Minnesota church's efforts to bar a severely autistic 13-year-old boy from its Roman Catholic mass, saying he's a danger to others, illustrates the difficulties that surface when institutions and parents of autistic children intersect. As the number of children diagnosed with autism climbs, it's likely disputes over disruptive vs. dangerous behavior will also flare.
"This is an issue in many communities, for many families and many churches," said Pat Mellenthin, executive director of the Arc of Minnesota, which advocates for the disabled. "In most cases, families and churches do find a solution that works for them. And in this case, unfortunately, that didn't happen."
Instead, the issue landed in Todd County District Court on Monday.
The Church of St. Joseph in Bertha, Minn., filed a temporary restraining order barring Carol and John Race from bringing their 225-pound son, Adam, to church. An affidavit alleges Adam struck a child during mass, fought efforts to restrain him, pulled an adolescent girl to his lap and revved the engine of someone else's car. A parish statement said the legal move was a last resort after church leaders tried to accommodate and mediate, but the family refused.
Carol Race says that her son isn't angry and violent and that his actions and her family's efforts to calm him are misunderstood by a community that doesn't understand autism. She said the family's requests for accommodation haven't been fulfilled. She ignored the court order and took her son to church on Mother's Day, receiving a citation days later.
On Monday, after her court hearing was delayed until early June, Carol Race spent the day lining up legal help and giving interviews to national media.
Her fight isn't likely to be the last.