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Biblical Counseling and Autism in Children
What if the Bible really does have answers, even for autism? When the term autism entered her own home, Johanna Pressley was flooded with fear and disorientation. But as she turned to Scripture, she discovered a source of hope stronger than any diagnosis and more trustworthy than the shifting standards of secular therapy. Drawing from over a decade of experience as a certified biblical counselor and teacher of children with autism, Johanna shows how the unchanging truths of God's Word speak directly into the complexities of disability, parenting, and gospel ministry. Whether you're a parent, pastor, or counselor, this book will equip you with practical tools, Scripture, and a renewed confidence in the sufficiency of God's Word—no matter the label.
144 pages, Paperback
Published September 19, 2025
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10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 19, 2025
I apologize for the long review but autism has been a part of my family’s life for over thirty years and I have a lot to say about this fantastic book.
My husband and I pursued a diagnosis for our daughter who showed signs of autism. The doctor said that if she did not learn to talk by age six, she would never talk. Because she was low functioning, she may never learn to read, write, or do math. She went through all the testing and evaluations. We attended parent meetings, and most parents were also dissatisfied but did not offer alternatives. We believed we had no choice but to send her to school and get an IEP. We were not satisfied with what schools offered her. We chose to homeschool and to use dietary measures to help heal her gut and immune system with the help of doctors who thought outside of the box. While her health improved and her symptoms of autism lessened a little, she struggled to speak and to interact with people.
Like Johanna, we rejected behavioral approaches to autism. The foundations of behaviorism ignores the spiritual aspects of a person. In behavioral therapies like ABA, behaviors are shaped through an elaborate system of alterations to the environment and positive and negative reinforcers. Autistic children spend up to forty hours per week being programmed to act like other children. We rejected this therapy for a more relationship-oriented approach which fit with our homeschooling methods better. We did not pursue medications because the side effects seemed to outweigh any benefits.
We chose to homeschool following a philosophy of education, which cherishes children as born persons. Charlotte Mason, the educator who pioneered it, was searching for a natural law of education, which put her ideas on a developmental path. Because God created this path, the spiritual life is an integral part of education. Very slowly, our daughter blossomed because the knowledge of God, the universe, and humanity nurtured her soul. She walked the path of development almost at a snail’s pace. God designed the brain to be far more plastic than we were told thirty years ago. She surprises us with new growth every day! I am a teacher at the school where Johanna works — a school based on Charlotte Mason’s ideas. We figure out in what areas children are novices, what areas they are experts, and everything in between. They start working where they are and they grow in their abilities, some quickly, some slowly. In the same classroom, children at different levels speak, read, and discuss ideas from the same books. We celebrate when a novice narrator suddenly says four sentences about the reading. We challenge the expert to add on a new detail that nobody has mentioned. Everyone works together and yet on their own, and they thrive in an inclusive classroom.
As Johanna has said, the children who blossom the most are the ones who believe in Jesus. Why? The Holy Spirit is the teacher sent by Jesus to teach us. The Spirit guides not only the students individually in their understanding but also the teachers and parents in knowing how to build trust with warm, encouraging, smiling eyes and what kind of consequence is needed. If we truly believe in the Fruit of the Spirit, then every person in a classroom can tap into the true vine and grow in the ways in which our Creator has intended us to flourish.
Where Johanna’s book shines the most brightly is in the area of creativity. Meditation on key Bible verses has enabled her to pour visual images and practical scenarios into the lives of families to help them root their identity in Christ. As the love of Christ becomes more real to us, we are more able to persevere in the hard work that helps us grow. Johanna points us to the idea of a family as a community in which members bear one another’s burdens and do not grow weary doing good. Every person in a family is an image bearer in Christ. She gives families practical ways to evaluate a situation using a grid of beloved, instead of a grid of broken. She shares ideas of breaking down a scenario into different parts (physical weakness, lack of knowledge, lack of training, willful sin) in order to find a loving and Biblical way to guide the child.
Early in our autism journey, I read every book I could find about autism. Some were helpful, but most left me hopeless because we never found the one miraculous thing that turned everything around for our daughter. Johanna’s book is the first one I have read in a long time.
Her perspective is full of hope because she points families to seven strengths that only Christianity can offer. She helps exhausted families look at the limits of time and align their day to worship of the Lord. She shares ideas in assessing methodologies in alignment to the Bible or to verifiable research to avoid the quick-fix offers in the autism world that typically disappoint. Physical challenges call for physical approaches, and spiritual challenges which we all have require a spiritual response. She cautions families about psychologically based therapies, which have a replication crisis because of the difficulty in designing research studies in cognitive, behavioral, and social sciences.
My husband and I pursued a diagnosis for our daughter who showed signs of autism. The doctor said that if she did not learn to talk by age six, she would never talk. Because she was low functioning, she may never learn to read, write, or do math. She went through all the testing and evaluations. We attended parent meetings, and most parents were also dissatisfied but did not offer alternatives. We believed we had no choice but to send her to school and get an IEP. We were not satisfied with what schools offered her. We chose to homeschool and to use dietary measures to help heal her gut and immune system with the help of doctors who thought outside of the box. While her health improved and her symptoms of autism lessened a little, she struggled to speak and to interact with people.
Like Johanna, we rejected behavioral approaches to autism. The foundations of behaviorism ignores the spiritual aspects of a person. In behavioral therapies like ABA, behaviors are shaped through an elaborate system of alterations to the environment and positive and negative reinforcers. Autistic children spend up to forty hours per week being programmed to act like other children. We rejected this therapy for a more relationship-oriented approach which fit with our homeschooling methods better. We did not pursue medications because the side effects seemed to outweigh any benefits.
We chose to homeschool following a philosophy of education, which cherishes children as born persons. Charlotte Mason, the educator who pioneered it, was searching for a natural law of education, which put her ideas on a developmental path. Because God created this path, the spiritual life is an integral part of education. Very slowly, our daughter blossomed because the knowledge of God, the universe, and humanity nurtured her soul. She walked the path of development almost at a snail’s pace. God designed the brain to be far more plastic than we were told thirty years ago. She surprises us with new growth every day! I am a teacher at the school where Johanna works — a school based on Charlotte Mason’s ideas. We figure out in what areas children are novices, what areas they are experts, and everything in between. They start working where they are and they grow in their abilities, some quickly, some slowly. In the same classroom, children at different levels speak, read, and discuss ideas from the same books. We celebrate when a novice narrator suddenly says four sentences about the reading. We challenge the expert to add on a new detail that nobody has mentioned. Everyone works together and yet on their own, and they thrive in an inclusive classroom.
As Johanna has said, the children who blossom the most are the ones who believe in Jesus. Why? The Holy Spirit is the teacher sent by Jesus to teach us. The Spirit guides not only the students individually in their understanding but also the teachers and parents in knowing how to build trust with warm, encouraging, smiling eyes and what kind of consequence is needed. If we truly believe in the Fruit of the Spirit, then every person in a classroom can tap into the true vine and grow in the ways in which our Creator has intended us to flourish.
Where Johanna’s book shines the most brightly is in the area of creativity. Meditation on key Bible verses has enabled her to pour visual images and practical scenarios into the lives of families to help them root their identity in Christ. As the love of Christ becomes more real to us, we are more able to persevere in the hard work that helps us grow. Johanna points us to the idea of a family as a community in which members bear one another’s burdens and do not grow weary doing good. Every person in a family is an image bearer in Christ. She gives families practical ways to evaluate a situation using a grid of beloved, instead of a grid of broken. She shares ideas of breaking down a scenario into different parts (physical weakness, lack of knowledge, lack of training, willful sin) in order to find a loving and Biblical way to guide the child.
Early in our autism journey, I read every book I could find about autism. Some were helpful, but most left me hopeless because we never found the one miraculous thing that turned everything around for our daughter. Johanna’s book is the first one I have read in a long time.
Her perspective is full of hope because she points families to seven strengths that only Christianity can offer. She helps exhausted families look at the limits of time and align their day to worship of the Lord. She shares ideas in assessing methodologies in alignment to the Bible or to verifiable research to avoid the quick-fix offers in the autism world that typically disappoint. Physical challenges call for physical approaches, and spiritual challenges which we all have require a spiritual response. She cautions families about psychologically based therapies, which have a replication crisis because of the difficulty in designing research studies in cognitive, behavioral, and social sciences.
November 5, 2025
This is a helpful introduction to the topic of autism through the lens of Biblical Counseling.
It scratches the surface of a topic that deserves much more time and attention. I hope it’s an awakening among Biblical counselors seriously considering how to counsel and address this constantly-growing need.
It addresses the two main frameworks autism is culturally examined through: bad or broken. And does a solid job explaining how neither is Biblical and how the Biblical lens, of being limited but able to grow, actually gives a lot more hope and opportunity to those with autism.
In so doing, it was a lot more fair, reasonable, and Biblical in addressing “the challenge of defining problems Biblically” than another prominent “biblical counseling” book I read on the topic (that basically painted any uncomfortable autism traits as rude and therefore sinful.)
This book acknowledged very clearly the need to distinguish between sin, weakness, and lack of knowledge/training, and gives appropriate guidance accordingly.
It does provide a helpful mode/framework for interacting with autistic children and guiding them to truth and righteousness. It’s very similar to Tripp’s Shepherding a Child’s Heart “circle of safety”, and which could certainly be applied to any/all children, but is geared more specifically to autistic children in this book.
A large chunk of the book was spent critically evaluating pursuing a diagnosis and therapies. It raised some helpful considerations and didn’t rule out the wisely approaching those, but felt very biased against doing so.
Also, stylistically it was a little choppy to read. Mainly at chapter introductions, which could’ve been clarified and ordered more effectively to introduce topics and directions. I had to reread several sections to make sense of things that weren’t introduced clearly.
Overall, a good start in the right direction. I look forward to autism and its specific needs and concerns being addressed more thoroughly in the future.
It scratches the surface of a topic that deserves much more time and attention. I hope it’s an awakening among Biblical counselors seriously considering how to counsel and address this constantly-growing need.
It addresses the two main frameworks autism is culturally examined through: bad or broken. And does a solid job explaining how neither is Biblical and how the Biblical lens, of being limited but able to grow, actually gives a lot more hope and opportunity to those with autism.
In so doing, it was a lot more fair, reasonable, and Biblical in addressing “the challenge of defining problems Biblically” than another prominent “biblical counseling” book I read on the topic (that basically painted any uncomfortable autism traits as rude and therefore sinful.)
This book acknowledged very clearly the need to distinguish between sin, weakness, and lack of knowledge/training, and gives appropriate guidance accordingly.
It does provide a helpful mode/framework for interacting with autistic children and guiding them to truth and righteousness. It’s very similar to Tripp’s Shepherding a Child’s Heart “circle of safety”, and which could certainly be applied to any/all children, but is geared more specifically to autistic children in this book.
A large chunk of the book was spent critically evaluating pursuing a diagnosis and therapies. It raised some helpful considerations and didn’t rule out the wisely approaching those, but felt very biased against doing so.
Also, stylistically it was a little choppy to read. Mainly at chapter introductions, which could’ve been clarified and ordered more effectively to introduce topics and directions. I had to reread several sections to make sense of things that weren’t introduced clearly.
Overall, a good start in the right direction. I look forward to autism and its specific needs and concerns being addressed more thoroughly in the future.
October 24, 2025
📚 Biblical Counseling and Autism in Children by Johanna Pressley
“There is a line past which we all must accept our limitations. No matter the outcome of a therapy or the level of disability, I am God’s freedman (1 Cor. 7:22-24). My hope and joy are never in bondage to my circumstances. I look to Him each day to meet my needs, aiming to do the will of God from my heart and knowing whatever good I do I will receive back from the Lord (Eph. 6:5-8). Since the Lord is with me (Heb. 13:5), I can be content to remain in the condition in which I was called (1 Cor. 7:24).” 💜
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book is a fantastic resource for the biblical counselor or parent who wants to know how the truths of scripture are sufficient for the child with autism. Johanna breaks down biblical identity and behavioral change by the power of the Holy Spirit and scripture. She introduces practical help and hopeful encouragement. I also liked how she contrasted all the forms of secular therapy and held them against scripture to share which would be biblical and which would be unbiblical. This is definitely the best Christian resource I’ve found on the subject of autism! Great work Johanna and ACBC counseling team!
*❗️: Suitable for all ages
*my personal opinion
#kyleesreads #biblicalcounselingandautisminchildren #johannapressley #biblicalcounseling #acbc #christiannonfiction #bookstagrammer #whatimreading #bookreview #bookish #reading #readersofinstagram #bookishlove #bookishlife #booklove #booklover #bookworm #bookcommunity
“There is a line past which we all must accept our limitations. No matter the outcome of a therapy or the level of disability, I am God’s freedman (1 Cor. 7:22-24). My hope and joy are never in bondage to my circumstances. I look to Him each day to meet my needs, aiming to do the will of God from my heart and knowing whatever good I do I will receive back from the Lord (Eph. 6:5-8). Since the Lord is with me (Heb. 13:5), I can be content to remain in the condition in which I was called (1 Cor. 7:24).” 💜
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book is a fantastic resource for the biblical counselor or parent who wants to know how the truths of scripture are sufficient for the child with autism. Johanna breaks down biblical identity and behavioral change by the power of the Holy Spirit and scripture. She introduces practical help and hopeful encouragement. I also liked how she contrasted all the forms of secular therapy and held them against scripture to share which would be biblical and which would be unbiblical. This is definitely the best Christian resource I’ve found on the subject of autism! Great work Johanna and ACBC counseling team!
*❗️: Suitable for all ages
*my personal opinion
#kyleesreads #biblicalcounselingandautisminchildren #johannapressley #biblicalcounseling #acbc #christiannonfiction #bookstagrammer #whatimreading #bookreview #bookish #reading #readersofinstagram #bookishlove #bookishlife #booklove #booklover #bookworm #bookcommunity
September 22, 2025
I am so excited to see how Johanna Pressley’s Biblical Counseling and Autism in Children fills a crucial gap in biblical counseling resources. Written with both Biblical fidelity and a mother’s lived experience, this book offers gospel hope and practical tools that help families navigate autism with clarity and compassion. Pressley’s careful approach to identity terminology is compelling, providing families with language that fosters dignity, growth, and hope. The drills and skill-building exercises are particularly valuable for helping someone develop trust, make decisions, and manage difficult emotions. I highly recommend it!
February 13, 2026
Highly Recommended
This is very helpful and applicable to a wide spectrum of strugglers. It would especially benefit parents, counselors, pastors, and caregivers.
This is very helpful and applicable to a wide spectrum of strugglers. It would especially benefit parents, counselors, pastors, and caregivers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews