What if the non-speaking autistic individuals we underestimate are actually some of the clearest voices God is using today? 🕊️
In this deeply personal episode of The Real Storytellers Podcast, I sit down with Pastor Joe Infranco — author of Decoding Cody and a key voice behind Hidden Gifts Ministry. You may recognize him from Lila Rose’s platform and the viral podcast The Telepathy Tapes, which soared to #1 and shook a lot of people’s assumptions about autism, communication, and the spiritual realm. As Cody’s pastor, Joe has had a front-row seat to the journey of a young man with autism who began spelling out detailed insights about Jesus, angels, demons, spiritual warfare, and “the Hill” — a place many non-speaking autistic individuals say they visit with Jesus.
As a mom to my son Noah, who has severe autism and is non-speaking, this conversation hit incredibly close to home. For years I quietly carried Noah’s experiences: Him naming people he’d never met, calling my friend by her real name that I didn’t even know, pointing to Akiane Kramarik’s “Prince of Peace” and saying, “Jesus”, knowing things before they happen, and a season where he seemed to be speaking to orbs of light in his room while we were walking through a very dark, painful chapter with his school, and so much more! I kept those stories hidden, afraid they’d be misunderstood or labeled “unbiblical.” Reading Decoding Cody and hearing from other families helped me realize it’s not just Noah. There are many others like him.
In this episode, we talk about:
👉 Who Cody is and how Decoding Cody came to be
👉 Why so many non-speaking autistic individuals describe seeing angels, demons, and Jesus
👉 The idea of “assuming competence” and how often we underestimate our children
👉 How spelling and AAC have opened a door for many non-speaking autistic people to finally be heard
👉 Why Pastor Joe filters everything through Scripture first — and how he navigates skepticism, spiritual warfare, and discernment
👉 Stories from around the world of autistic and special needs individuals who see and know things in ways we can’t explain
👉 The heart behind Hidden Gifts Ministry and the urgent need for special needs ministries in churches
👉 How this journey inspired me to help start Project Noah, our special needs ministry at my church
If you’re a parent of a child with autism or other special needs, someone who has quietly had “strange” experiences you don’t know how to talk about, a Christian struggling to reconcile the supernatural with solid biblical faith, a pastor or church leader wondering how to better serve special needs families…this conversation is for you. 💛
📖 Resources Mentioned:
🔹 Decoding Cody by Pastor Joe Infranco (available wherever books are sold)
🔹 Hidden Gifts Ministry: hiddengiftsministry.org
🔹 Follow Pastor Joe on Instagram: @pastorjoeinfranco
✨ If this episode encouraged you, please:
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If you feel called to donate to our new ministry Project Noah, thank you! https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-...
Thank you for being here and for loving our “hidden gifts” — they are not an inconvenience; they are image-bearers of God. 🕊️
