The Family Room (The Quest)

Join co-hosts Mari Cleveland from St. Jude the Apostle and John Gordon and Craig Wesemeyer from St. Peter Chanel as they speak with authors, theologians, and local priests and lay leaders to provide your family encouragement, resources, and hope. Enjoy heartfelt stories and engaging conversations with Catholics who are excited to share their life experiences and acquired wisdom to help your family continue to live out your faith with joy.
The Gift of Autism
Aug 7, 2024
The Gift of Autism

David Hancharik, engineer, husband, father, ministry leader


David and Nina Hancharik are parents to eleven children, ages 34 to 2. Their autistic son, Seth, caused a watershed moment in their parenting as David readily admits, “Autism is a monumental challenge.” Though challenging, David insists God never makes mistakes, believing a major reason these kids have challenges is because God has chosen them to be part of our own sanctification process. Universally, people mistake nonverbal behavior as a lack of comprehension, but it’s becoming clear they don’t lack language; they lack speech. A communication method called “Spelling to Communicate,” or S2C, was developed whereby nonverbal students are taught to spell using a letter board. After learning this process for one week at age 7, Seth came home writing stories and working with 4-digit numbers. His parents suddenly realized they’d been raising a very bright child who was trapped in his body. Now 16, Seth communicates using a keyboard.

David Hancharik grew up in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as one of five children in a Catholic family. Although he enjoyed being Catholic, in college he drifted away from Catholicism. He and his wife, Nina, were Presbyterian, but both were interested in theology and studied their way back into the Church. David has been an engineer in the satellite engineering industry for 40 years and credits Nina with maintaining a beautiful domestic church where every family vacation is a pilgrimage of some sort! David leads the Disabilities Apostolate at St. Monica’s Church in Duluth, Georgia.

Resources

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