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 SPELLERS, the movie, is about young adults who have learned to communicate with the S2C method. Showing Saturday, August 10, 2024, in Duluth, GA, at St. Monica Catholic Church pizza, popcorn, and movie night, 5-8:30 p.m. Register for free food provided by the Knights of Columbus David Hancharik: (cell) 404-307-2824 - Email: david.hancharik@viasat.com Book: Underestimated: An Autism Miracle by J.B. & Jamison Handley TV Series: Underestimated: The Heroic Rise of Nonspeaking Spellers. Season One adventure streaming weekly on Vimeo OTT. International Association for Spelling as Communication (I-ASC) The Highwire Episode featuring J.B. and Jamie Handley