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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Ann Memmott. Ann is a national and international adviser on autism, and main author of autism guidelines for the Church of England.

Good morning.

The days ahead bring us Mothering Sunday, and Autism Acceptance Week. With perhaps 1 in 30 of our population being autistic, you may already share life with autistic people, like me. Maybe as friends, colleagues, prayer partners or faith leaders, family members, artists, musicians or craftspeople. Those are some of the many ways in which autistic people contribute to family life, community, places of faith and workplaces.

Until very recently, so little was known about autism. When I wrote the first version of the national autism guidelines for the Church of England, there were myths that we were all lively young boys, or all living in care homes, perhaps. It has been such a joy to see understanding and acceptance of God鈥檚 much loved autistic people growing each year. Autistic people are women as well as men, older as well as young ones. All people with a different way of communicating, and of encountering the world through the senses.

As we approach Mothering Sunday, what of autistic mothers? After 10 years of not using spoken language as a child, and a gradual journey towards all I now do, I am honoured to be a mum to a fabulous autistic son. In the UK, we have thousands of autistic mothers, and indeed autistic parents & carers of all kinds. Many bringing up their young families with love, dedication and determination, watching their children grow and thrive. Do we enable and accept them?

Loving God, on this Mothering Sunday weekend, we ask that you guide and support all mothers, enabling them to gain strength from you, cherishing all that their children will bring to the world, as young people deserving to be fully loved, and fully themselves.

Amen.