Amanda Hebert Hughes

Testimony

I “asked Jesus into my heart” when I was four years old. I remember it and I even remember feeling excited and less afraid of one of the dark hallways in my church - of all places. I remember loving God that early in life.

I was raised in a Christian home in the burned-over district of upstate New York. We attended various non-denominational Christian and Missionary Alliance churches my entire childhood. I attended Bible college in Nyack, New York.

I was bullied in public school specifically for my social challenges and for being openly Christian. By the time I graduated high school, I had been physically assaulted, harassed, name-called, and even threatened with r@pe. I was called “Miss Perfect”, “Holy Roller”, and “Bible Thumper”, daily. I have had bottles of water thrown at my face. I have been shoved against a locker. I have been robbed.

If ever I am joyful, it is not because life is good, but because God is.

Statement of Faith

I BELIEVE that there is one God who created heaven and earth. He came to earth in human form, His Son, Jesus Christ, to reconcile an imperfect people with a perfect God. Anyone who enters the covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ will be saved. God reveals Himself to us through His written word, the Holy Bible, the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit who is available to all of us who belong to God. The Holy Spirit, Son, and God's written Word never disagree with one another. They are the standard unit of measure and the authority of all truth. They enable believers to live and die for one another and a Holy, Good, Powerful God.

I love God. I thank God for saving me. There is no other way to be saved but by the name of Jesus. God is all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, merciful, just, gracious, kind, and King.

Jesus Christ is Lord. ©

Bio

I am a late-diagnosed autistic artist, author, and advocate. I served fifteen years in ministry as a pastor’s wife. Dr. J attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where he completed his MDiv, ThM, and PhD. We served our entire pastoral ministry in the Southern Baptist denomination while serving military personnel through reserve chaplaincy.

My evangelistic heart wanted to do more to connect with those outside of the insulated church culture, so this became my prayer. God answered by opening a door through art. In 2019, I created an unexpected new art genre which became Sensory Gated Art® in 2021. During this time, I discovered my autism diagnosis which allowed me to communicate in ways I never could before. I used my art to advocate for neurodivergence in the art world where I met the secular neurodiversity community.

A whole new world of human connection opened up for me and it all happened by the shared experience of neurodivergence. With this new awareness, I immediately and urgently searched for my neurodivergent fellow church members. But, where were they?

A fellow neurodiversity advocate published a book titled, The Autistic Trans Guide to Life. I’ll never forget this moment. I thought, “Why do they get a resource before we do?” “Where is the neurodivergent Christian’s guide to life?”

We can correctly say that the Holy Bible is the neurodivergent Christian’s guide to life. It is the best one. However, I wasn’t just looking for a guide to life, I was looking for my neurodivergent Christian community. I was looking for the brothers and sisters in Christ who had shared experiences and perspectives with me as someone with a differently-wired brain. I was looking for discipleship among people who connected and understood one another in ways that I shared with my secular neurodivergent community.

I suspected that I could find them with the help of Christian literature on the topic. It was 2021 and I googled for books titled “The Autistic Christian” and “The Neurodivergent Christian”. None. Sadness.

Weeks later, I was vacuuming. Suddenly, lines and words started pouring out into my mind. I had to drop the vacuum and rush to write them down. Weird.

It happened again days later. Then continued for days, weeks, and months. Until I realized:

“I’m writing a book?”

In 2023, I completed the first draft of the manuscript, The Neurodivergent Christian. I didn’t know what God wanted to do with it. As an already indie-published children’s book author, I was fully aware how saturated the traditional publishing market is. Should I self-publish? I had a firm conviction from the start: No. If this message was as needed as I thought it was, it deserved the widest reach possible. I settled on traditional publishing or none, and never looked back. I couldn't carry this message alone, nor should I. If it fell flat, then maybe it was meant to.

But I still longed for neurodivergent Christian community, so I reached out by creating a neurodivergent Christian social media page and then a group. I kept going. Of course I got criticized by people who identified as Christians and didn’t understand what it was like to be neurodivergent (ND). But I am used to persecution of different kinds and it was worth it. I cared more about helping others than my pride. I find so many of us out there on islands feeling the same way: alone and living with traits unwanted by the church.

Meanwhile, I worked to get my follower and reader numbers up to the industry standard of 10,000+. I was lucky. Now, it’s 100,000+ minimum. However, before I even reached 10,000, a literary agent named Sherri Wilson Johnson found my page and “got it”. I received an offer for representation from her and another agency within the same week, but the passion that Sherri and I shared for this message was clear.

With her help, in 2025, I signed with Tyndale House Publishers.

Today, I work full time for neurodivergent adults through writing, painting, sessions, design, advocacy, and social media.

Why a buzzed head

On February 11, 2026, I buzzed my head. For over nine months, my hair had been falling out abnormally. My doctors had no reason to believe that it was due to a life-threatening situation and narrowed it down to three likely causes. My only choice was to give it a year to recover. Five months passed and my hair continued to fall out.

Facing this significant hair loss gave me no choice but to rip off the band-aid. The hair products used to “get over the hump” to see what my hair was going to do, didn't help or made it worse.

So, I prepared my family and myself….and had it buzzed off. It was really tough to approach that day and I was concerned how I would adjust personally.

It took two seconds.

I feel obligated to hate it because it goes against social conformities, but the truth is, I love it. I think it looks good and it’s “me”. It removes a burden and sensory issues. I feel more unmasked.

While my natural hair will now have an opportunity to get healthier, I hope to keep it like this. I have some wigs that I can use occasionally, but they bring new sensory challenges. They also give me an image that feels false.

Did I plan this? No. But I have to remind myself that God loves us and promises to work all things for our good.

Even if I feel like Gideon sending home warriors before battle