How Does Manasseh’s HFA Translate to Biblical Culture?

Mt. Hood from our living room window in Vancouver, WA.

I was an Indiana girl until my husband’s career took us to the Pacific Northwest (PNW) in our forties. After a lifetime of living amid cornfields, Mt. Hood stood majestically outside my living room window for nine years. It translated into a real love affair with mountains.

When we moved to the North Carolina (NC) mountains in 2016, our new neighbors assured us, “You’ll love the Appalachians! No humidity, no bugs, and it’s so much cooler here!”

Now, we were accustomed to the PNW’s 30% humidity, no screens on our windows (because there were truly no bugs), and mild temperatures year-round. So, my experience when we moved to NC was more humidity, more bugs, and it felt a lot hotter!

Did our new NC neighbors lie to us? Absolutely not. It’s just that their experience of the mountains was in comparison to the Piedmont (valley). We weren’t comparing apples to apples. Do you see how experience changes how we interpret facts? (And, BTW, we LOVE our Appalachian Mountains too!)

Ancient Social Science?

So, how does translating experience affect our society as a whole? Do you know anyone who contracted coronavirus and recovered? If so, your perspective on prevention might be different than someone whose best friend died from COVID. Likewise, if you’re Caucasian, you will have experienced this world differently than our friends or co-workers of Color who have experienced many things differently in our world and, therefore, interpret facts through a different lens.

How much more of an impact would 2700 years have on interpretation? Add another variable–the Middle Eastern culture, for instance–to the mix, and you’ve got my writing project: Isaiah’s Legacy. 😯

Because the study of social sciences hadn’t yet formed in 700-670 BC, behavioral facts and/or analysis was never recorded. So, how could I hope to imagine King Manasseh as high-functioning autistic (HFA)?

Step #1

Both expert moms and the medical professionals I consulted suggested I watch two TV shows to give me a fairly true representation of how an “Aspie” or HFA individual might behave in a contemporary setting: The Good Doctor and Parenthood. 

I’d actually watched Parenthood when it was on television, which was very helpful in giving me insight into both an adolescent’s character (Max) and an adult character (Hank). But I took their advice and binged The Good Doctor, gaining even more insight.

After having done over a year of research on autism, I’m now fairly certain there are people in my life that would have been placed on the spectrum if they’d been tested when they were children or even young adults. But since I don’t have regular contact with anyone officially placed on the spectrum, I needed first-hand observation and consultation with someone I could ask really pertinent questions. The best observation came through my sweet friend’s family . . . “Down Under.”

An Invaluable Experience

Katie Donovan and I had the most wonderful–and unforgettable–Skype conversation! It was evening for me; morning for her (since I’m in the U.S. and she’s in Australia). She’d planned it so carefully, getting all five kids busy on their homeschool work before we started our chat. But I quickly learned about HFA short attention spans and minimal social filters (LOL!)—and oh, so very much more.

A Sweet and Tender Introduction

My very organized friend, Katie, tried to talk through items on her list between periodic hugs and questions and other visits from her kiddos. At first, she apologized for the interruptions, but I think (I hope) she realized how much I appreciated just watching her interact with her precious kids—all under 12 years old, and four of the five having HFA. What a privilege to witness a mama’s love for her children in an environment of patient and godly instruction.

In the time we chatted privately, she also gave me patient and godly instruction about how her daily experience might translate into the ancient context of Judah’s most wicked king. I’ll list her wisdom in bullet points to get as much as possible in this short space.

A Mom Explains “How My ASD Kiddos See the World”

• Schedule is crucial; any deviation throws mind, emotions, and sometimes body into chaos.
• Very black & white; no gray areas (when teaching to share, give away all toys).
• When a trusted someone says something is right, they’ll do it and defend it to the death—until another trusted someone says something contradictory. When two trusted people contradict, it causes internal crisis and confusion—often expressed in external soothing of some kind (rocking, humming, etc).
• Very literal (say “hop over to the table,” they literally hop).
• Words with dual meanings are tough to understand (sheep, sheepish).
• Process experiences with all five senses, but not necessarily attach emotions (face feels hot, but may not understand embarrassment).
• May crave deep-pressure contact (held tightly or weighted blanket) while others only allow a kiss on the cheek after years of building trust.
• May connect immediately with one person and be totally stand-offish with another—without any obvious or expressible reason.
• Physical Attraction/Sex – interested in the mechanics of it (facts), but difficult filtering and/or understanding how body feels/reacts with appropriate emotional labels. (Rapid heartbeat, sweaty, dry mouth, prickly cheeks happen when scared, excited, angry, AND when physically attracted.)
• Can be taught appropriate social responses: manners (please & thank you), eye contact, handshake, etc. Teaching with smiley faces (a technique used in Isaiah’s Legacy) teaches them to look at the mouth instead of the eyes, where most of the expression lies, so must teach where to look as well as what to look for.
• When learning, will often create a rule to help remember (look at eyes for 5 heartbeats before looking away).
• When presented with a problem, rather than asking for help or expressing emotion, will often state a fact: “This is a bad game,” or “I won’t do this.”

What It Meant For Isaiah’s Legacy

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Katie, did me the great honor of scouring through my manuscript to study every thought, word, and action of Manasseh, helping me ensure that he exhibited believable HFA tendencies. (She’s also incredibly devoted to the biblical fiction genre in general. You can see her database of ALL biblical fiction titles HERE.)

As you read Isaiah’s Legacy, I hope you’ll be able to see not just a boy king with HFA but that you’ll also hear echoes of Katie’s loving heart for her kids. Observing how this amazing woman loved and taught her children with HFA–and how tenderly those precious kids responded to her–taught me so much about how Manasseh might have reacted to his extremely challenging circumstances and how his mother, Hephzibah, would have loved him to the end!

It’s my heartfelt desire that if you or someone you love has been placed on the spectrum, you’ll see in Manasseh’s fictional story the truth that people with autism are capable of loving and so worthy of being loved. I don’t know if King Manasseh was HFA, but I do know Yahweh redeemed him from a Babylonian prison and used his story to change a nation.

We all struggle with some sort of challenge–physical, mental, or emotional–and I believe with all my heart that God can use ALL our stories to somehow encourage others.

Tweet-Ables:

• Personal experience can change how we translate or interpret facts.
• Our perspective on COVID or racism will depending on our experience and life circumstances. 
• I don’t know if King Manasseh was HFA, but I know Yahweh redeemed him from a Babylonian prison and used his story to change a nation. God can use your story to change others too.