Pope Francis

Autism Light #366 is Pope Francis.

Pope Francis was born with the name Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936 in Argentina and he is the current head of the Catholic Church, holding the title of the Bishop of Rome. He has developed a reputation as a leader who genuinely cares about those who are less fortunate and have special needs. Pope Francis is an Autism Light for his outreach to those with autism in his role as the faith leader of over 1.2 billion worldwide members of the Catholic Church. Under his leadership the Vatican's health care office held the Catholic Church's first ever global gathering on autism on November 20-22, 2014. As part of this conference Pope Francis spoke about autism and met directly with persons with autism and their parents and doctors.

Michele Arbogast, a mother of a child with autism who works for Autism Speaks in New York, said about Pope Francis, "Pope Francis has changed the dynamics. He reaches out to those in need. Words from the Holy Father will reach the smallest villages, touch hearts, change minds and help people to volunteer and help other families (Religion News, November 21, 2014)."

Here is a video of Pope Francis speaking at the International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers which had as its theme this year, "The Person with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Animating Hope".  Pope Francis spoke to participants at the Persons with Autism Conference on Saturday, November 22, 2014.

The medical conference on autism sponsored by the Catholic Church that Pope Francis spoke at is said by organizers to be "the biggest medical conference of its kind on autism, gathering more than 650 experts from 57 countries (ABC News, November 18, 2014)." Thanks to technology the Pope's words will be heard throughout world and reach people around the world, having an especially influential impact on those who are part of the Catholic Church.

The Rev. P. Augusto Chenci of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers said that the reason Pope Francis spoke directly to those with autism at the conference was to "help break the isolation, and in many cases the stigma, that surrounds people affected by autism spectrum disorders (ABC News, November 18, 2014)."

The following are just two examples of some testimonies that were shared on Twitter about the positive impact Pope Francis is having in the lives of those with autism and their families.

I'm becoming a huge fan of Pope Francis #autism... http://t.co/CH75W5bnbP
— Anne Jovanovic (@ajrahming) November 22, 2014

Dear @Pontifex My 3 girls w AUTISM received Sacraments. Thank U 4 recognizing their DISABILITY. pic.twitter.com/cZPDpqLyKT
— Kim Rossi Stagliano (@KimStagliano) November 19, 2014

Social Media: You can follow Pope Francis on the following social media.

• Facebook Page for Pope Francis
• Google+ Community for Pope Francis
• Twitter @Pontifex
• Wikipedia Page for Pope Francis

Special thanks to Pope Francis for all he is doing to raise awareness of autism in the Catholic Church around the world. His respectful treatment of individuals with autism is shining a light that those with autism can find a home in a faith community.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photo: The photo of Pope Francis is from Wikipedia Commons.

Enrico Micheli

Autism Light #283 is Enrico Micheli.

Enrico Micheli was a prominent autism expert in Italy. He died in a mountaineering accident on July 3, 2008 at the age of 58. Enrico Micheli is an Autism Light for the difference he made to advocate and provide intervention for autism in Italy. Enrico Micheli will be added today to the Autism Light Memorial Roll.

Information on Enrico Micheli along with a photo of him can be found on page 112 of Adam Feinstein's book A History of Autism: Conversations with the Pioneers (Source).

Adam Feinstein wrote an obituary on Enrico Micheli after his untimely death that appeared in Volume 4, Number 12 2008/2009 in the Looking Up (The Monthly International Autism Newsletter) and he has given permission for it be reprinted here. It is very helpful in giving a picture of the tremendous influence Enrico Micheli had on autism in Italy.

ONE OF Italy’s leading autism experts, Enrico Micheli, has died in a tragic mountaineering accident at the age of 58, leaving friends, family and colleagues stunned with shock. He was killed on July 3, 2008. 

Micheli, who had been working with autistic individuals since 1970, was one of the first people in Italy to insist that autism was organic in aetiology and to introduce TEACCH into Italy. 

From 1983 to 2000, he was based at the San Paolo-Università in Milan, where his approach was primarily cognitive-behavioural. 

He was a founder of the Committee for Correct Information on Autism and he took part with parents in Lombardy in the movement for the regional autism project. He was also on the board of the Osservatorio Regionale Autismo (Regional Autism Observatory). 

Together with his colleagues in Milan, and with his wife,  Cesarina Xaiz, from whom he was inseparable, Micheli  drew up a model of assessment and intervention for individuals with special needs, which was presented to Division TEACCH in North Carolina in 1998. 

Among his books was Gioco e interazione sociale nell’autismo (Play and Social Interaction in Autism), which introduced many ideas to help the development of interaction in autistic children. 

His last work, editorially speaking, was Verso l'autonomia (Towards Autonomy),  a kind of manual aimed at children, adolescents and adults with disabilities which prevent them from actively understanding the world and the rules which govern it - especially individuals with autism and mental retardation. 

For Micheli, the role of families was crucial. He believed they must play a concrete and active role in the education of their children. 

Moreover, Micheli was a great believer in the role of the school, which he felt could represent a place of learning and development, provided that the teachers were properly trained. 

A charismatic and indefatigable figure, Micheli saw autism as a challenge which drove him all over the world in search of anything that might prove useful to Italian children. 

A huge debt is owed to Micheli who brought  a behavioural model back from the United States to Italy, where for decades there was tremendous ignorance about autism. His work led to a debate about the anachronistic psychodynamic training which was still the norm in Italy at that time - and which blamed the parents for their child’s autism - and many of his colleagues followed him down the correct path. 

Micheli’s life was characterised by his struggle against a health system which was not always open to his innovations. Despite the difficulties he encountered, he never once lost hope that he could knock down the wall of preconceptions behind which his adored autistic children were living. 

Micheli  declared in an interview in 2005: “Sincerely, I believe that we have taken important steps forward, especially in terms of living conditions and in the ability ... to deal with the problems facing families - parents and siblings alike. Today, parents discover their child’s problems earlier, they find out that he or she has developmental difficulties on the autistic spectrum earlier and so they know what to do to help the child. And they also discover earlier that there’s a chance they won’t  be alone with their problems. And that’s no small thing.” 

He always emphasised the importance of his encounter with English and American writings on autism. “I’ve had the great good luck to begin working directly with the children and to study psychology and psychiatry while I was working with them. My encounter with English and American literature on autism, and with the psychology of behaviour and development,  which I learned directly from teachers like Elizabeth Newson, Eric Schopler and Gerry Patterson ... all this changed the way of thinking about autism, developmental disorders and child psychiatry in our country. 

“What I learned I put into books, articles and above all in the training of colleagues, teachers, parents and work with hundreds of children and families. I am proud of my ability to build my knowledge of a child not only on tests or conversations but also on the interchange with dads and mums, and to be able to explain the nature of the child’s difficulties and the possibilities of improvement in a way that the parents can understand. 

“Knowledge is the first step on the path to health and well-being.” 

(Obituary Written By Adam Feinstein, Source).

Publications: Enrico Micheli authored some important autism articles for the International Journal of Mental Health that can still be read online today.

• A Training Guide For Parents of Autistic Children [International Journal of Mental Health, Vol. 28, No. 3, Fall, 1999, pp. 100-105].
• Dealing with the Reality of Autism: A Psychoeducational Program in Milan, Italy [International Journal of Mental Health, Vol. 29, No. 1, Spring, 2000, pp. 50-71.]

Enrico Micheli's autism work had a tremendous influence on the autism community in Italy.  It is fitting that he is the first Autism Light from Italy. May his dedication and diligence to the cause of autism in Italy be an example to those left behind.

Special thanks to Adam Feinstein for his historical information on Enrico Micheli's autism work that was essential to helping this Autism Light post be as detailed as possible on this Autism Hero in Italy.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.