Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Aug 2024)
Autism in Taiwan and Thailand: Influences of Culture
Abstract
Carol Westby,1 Kai-Mei Chen,2 Lilly Cheng,3 Ponjit Jithavech,4 Sumalai Maroonroge5 1Bilingual Multicultural Services, Albuquerque, NM, USA; 2Muen Speech-Language Clinic, Taichung City, Taiwan; 3Chinese Cultural Center, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA; 4Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; 5Communication Sciences and Disorders, Texas A&M International University, Laredo, TX, USACorrespondence: Carol Westby, Bilingual Multicultural Services, Albuquerque, NM, USA, Tel +1 505 400-6092, Email [email protected]: The prevalence of autism is increasing worldwide. The majority of autism research and development of autism assessments and interventions has been conducted in Western cultures. The prevalence of autism is reportedly lower in Asian versus Western cultures, but this is likely due to lack of personnel and uniform criteria for diagnosing autism. This article describes how two Asian cultures, Taiwan and Thailand, are dealing with the increasing identification of autistic children. National universal healthcare in both Taiwan and Thailand provides a mechanism for assessment and diagnosis of young children, but a lack of a sufficient number of trained professionals limits the availability of intervention services. A focus of research in these cultures has been on parents’ experiences and coping with the stigma and stress of having an autistic child. Cultural values associated with Confucianism and Buddhism influence attitudes toward persons with disability and how parents of autistic children experience and cope with stigma and stress. Both areas have national laws that provide a range of educational opportunities for autistic children, including inclusion into general education classrooms. Special education and general education teachers, however, have little specific training in autism. Speech and language services are rarely offered in public school programs. Available speech and language services are limited to consultation with teachers a few times a year. In general, parents of autistic children are supportive of inclusion programs, but teachers and parents of both autistic and typically developing children express concerns about the ability to implement such programs in ways that are beneficial to all children.Keywords: focused review, autism, inclusion, Buddhism, Confucian, culture
