Some people (including many professionals) deny even the possibility of spiritual or religious awareness in people with autism. they doubt that so-called low-functioning (LF) autistic individuals (esp. those whom Lorna Wing calls ‘aloof’ and ‘passive’ – living in their own world, unwilling or unable to start and maintain interaction with others) can be spiritual, because they do not seem to be aware of anything going on around them Then, those who are high-functioning (HF) seem to be too rigid and too literal to understand such abstract concepts as ‘religion’ and ‘spirituality’.

One of their arguments is that people with autism (esp. at the LF end of the spectrum) lack relationality and connectedness with others because they are seen as ‘not wanting’ (or ‘unable’) to relate and to communicate to others. However, it is a common mistake to interpret what we ‘see’ as what they feel or experience. In this particular case, the contrary seems to be true.