How Repeating ‘Who Made You?’ Shapes My Children and My Faith
Catechism in an Autistic Family
I believe that catechizing is one of the best possible tools to disciple your children. When I was a children’s pastor, we used a Baptist version of The First Catechism. It covers major theological truths at a level that even kids as young as two can begin to repeat and understand
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I always said that when I had children of my own, we would have them memorize the catechism. Yet God had different plans.
My oldest two sons are best described as non-verbal. My oldest has severe autism, and I have endured the grief of watching my beautiful boy—who once could answer the first four questions of the catechism—lose his ability to speak. He went from responding confidently to now struggling to say much at all.
My middle son has both intellectual disabilities and a vocal cord injury. In nearly five years of his life, I have not heard him say a single word.
And then there is my youngest, who as far as we know is typically developing. He is able to answer the first three questions of the catechism with joy and confidence.
This means that in my house, I ask each of them the first question probably 20–30 times a day.
Who made you? God. Who made you? God. Who made you? God.
When my oldest or youngest even gets close to saying the answer, we celebrate like they’ve just won the World Series. We jump, we cheer, we shout.
When you have non-verbal children in your home, any response to any question is worth rejoicing. How much more when the answer is the greatest truth we could ever confess?
What It Does for My Soul as a Parent
Catechism is not just about training children in rote memory. It is about spiritual formation—for both the child and the parent.
When you repeat, over and over again, the truth that God made you, it carves itself into your heart. It reminds me daily not only that God made us, but that God made my children. Each of them—verbal or non-verbal, typical or disabled—has been fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of our Creator.
And with non-verbal children, the repetition increases a hundredfold. The joy of even one whispered or attempted response multiplies a thousand times over.
Conclusion
So, we keep asking. We keep repeating. We keep celebrating.
“Who made you?” is not just a catechism question in my home—it is a daily confession of faith, a reminder of dignity, and a reason for hope. It is shaping my children, but it is also shaping me.
And every time one of them answers—whether with words, with effort, or even just with a look—I am reminded that God, who made them, is also faithfully remaking me.