In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that approximately 1 in 36 children in the United States are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect social interaction, communication, and sensory processing ([3]). Symptoms may be both visible and nondetectable, varying widely across children and developmental contexts ([1]). Autistic children often experience psychological and social challenges that impact both the child and the broader family system ([4]).

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) characterizes autism as a spectrum of neurodevelopmental differences involving social communication, behavioral patterns, and sensory processing. Within Black communities, however, autism is often compounded by stigma, misinterpretation, and delayed diagnosis, which can intensify family stress and limit access to supportive care. African-centered healing traditions offer alternative frameworks for understanding autism—frameworks that emphasize spirituality, communal belonging, and ancestral purpose. In Akan spirituality, each child possesses a kra, or divine soul, with a designated purpose and destiny ([11]; [19]).

Although research on autism is extensive, only limited scholarship has examined how spiritual or religious belief systems support autistic children and their families ([5]). Africancentered scholars such as Nobles, Baldwin, and Kambon argue that human beings are fundamentally spiritual entities and that clinical approaches that ignore spirituality risk omitting essential dimensions of healing and identity ([12]; [2]; [7]). Spirituality has been shown to reduce caregiver distress, foster hope, and strengthen meaningmaking for families navigating autism ([17]).

In Ghana, spirituality has been shown to strengthen resilience and coping among families raising autistic children ([1]; [16]). Yet in the United States, spirituality is rarely integrated into therapeutic interventions for autistic children or their families ([14]). Instead, research has largely emphasized genetic, neurological, and biomedical explanations for autism ([22]; [9]), offering limited guidance on how spirituality might assist clinical or familial understanding of autism ([8]). This gap underscores the need for culturally grounded, spiritually attuned perspectives that honor the lived experiences of families who welcome such frameworks.

This study utilized a qualitative phenomenological approach to explore how Akan spiritual principles can inform therapeutic considerations for autistic children ([23]). This study included one participant, a traditional Akan high priestess whose teachings served as the primary data source. The aim of this study was to understand how the teachings of a traditional Akan priestess might guide autismaffirming counseling practices to support families impacted by autism. Two research questions guided the inquiry:

1) What Akan spiritual principles inform understandings of autism?

2) What roles do ritual and spirituality play in supporting autistic youth and their families?

The following section presents findings derived from the high priestess’s interpretive perspective on autism and her guidance on how Akan cosmology can support autistic children. Because autism encompasses diverse traits and presentations, the priestess and researcher chose to focus specifically on the non-speaking trait of autistic children; however, sensory perceptions and other traits were also discussed. Her responses framed autism as a sacred and divine variation of humanity. Akan cosmology and ancestor veneration were repeatedly referenced but warrant separate, extended analysis. She also emphasized rituals, communal care, and spiritual attunement as core competencies counselors should integrate into their practice. Quotes are provided to preserve her voice.

This study provides rarely documented insights into Akan healing practices and spiritual interventions for autism care. Several key contributions emerge:

The high priestess’s direct testimony offers epistemic authority and spiritual nuance that cannot be yielded through secondary analysis.Her interpretations of autistic traits through sunsum (spirit), kra (soul), and abosom (deities) provide sacred decoding of behaviors often pathologized in Western psychology.Documenting her guidance on drumming, libation, naming ceremonies, and herbal baths offers a culturally specific care model that can inform clinical and communitybased interventions.Her framing of parents as chosen spiritual stewards reframes caregiving as a sacred assignment rather than a burden.

These insights are most applicable for families who actively welcome or incorporate spirituality into their understanding of autism. The high priestess’s teachings offer a path for culturally responsive care through:

integrating spiritual discernment into assessment and treatment;recognizing nonspeaking presentations as meaningful;engaging extended family and community as therapeutic partners.

This research reframes narratives about children on the autism spectrum by highlighting the interpretive perspectives of an Akan high priestess and inviting more communal, relationally attuned forms of care. Through her teachings, Akan spirituality emerges as a culturally grounded framework that can complement and expand conventional approaches to autism, particularly for families who welcome spiritual meaningmaking. Her insights offer a pathway for transforming narrow or arcane autism practices and advancing counseling approaches that recognize the value of cultural, ancestral, and spiritual interventions. These findings resonate with African-centered scholars such as Wade Nobles and Na’im Akbar, who argue that Western psychology often overlooks the spiritual and communal dimensions essential to human well-being.