“We Should All Be Welcome:” A Discourse Analysis of Religious Coping for Black Parents Raising Autistic Children

Abstract

Disability for Black families raising autistic children is often inseparable from religious identity and experience. Black parents raising autistic children may rely on their religion to create meaning and seek guidance, but they may also experience unmet support needs from their religious congregations. In this study we analyzed group session transcripts and written responses using Foucauldian Critical Discourse Analysis to highlight the voices of seven Black parents raising autistic children in the context of a parent advocacy program. We aimed to understand the micro-, meso-, and macro-level processes that maintain stigma and barriers to communal coping. Implications for religious leaders and future research are noted.

Keywords:

• autism
• Black families
• Foucauldian critical discourse analysis
• mental health
• religious congregations
• religious coping
• religious leaders