Aspies in Asian Culture

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So I wasnt sure where to post this.

I was asking any aspies who are from asia. How is if for you? I heard a few things about asian culture. Asian culture, communication is based more on social subtleties and it is seen as rude to be blunt and straight-forward. Implicitness is very important. But also asia as a more structured social hierarchy where the rules are a bit more defined. The same rules generally apply. In america, the rules are more fluid and change from situation to situation where aspies get confused.

I am asian american but I grew up very westernized, so I dont know very much. I just get an idea from what people say and reading about it. I was just curious.

How have you asian aspies faired, do you think you have it any easier or harder then aspies in the western countries.

I just know a bit about it (in Chinese culture) and it seems to be the same. I don't live there but a lot of my friends and family do. The reason there seems to be 'rudeness' (not saying excuse me when you're getting on the bus, etc) is because the rules about personal space / spitting lol are different, and folks' eating habits are different. If you don't pick up on "sub-text" people do *step away* from you and shun you in a polite way, you'll never know it until it's too late because they don't do it to your face. I don't think it's any more 'structured' than in the west, just less culturally diverse.

If you're a 'mild Aspie' who isn't visibly awkward, that's fine for younger folks who want to blend into the background. But if you are 'unperceptive' the slang terms in China for you are 205 (ret@rd), 2傻子 (ret@rd #2), 缺个筋 (lack a muscle i.e. lacking part of your brain) etc. There also exists much stronger involuntary commitment laws for folks who 'act out' or have meltdowns. They are dubbed "psychotic"(疯子) and people are really, really scared of mental illness (code term for schizophrenia) in adults.

AFAIK the vibe about autism in China (and most of Asia maybe?) is also a bit behind the western discourse, more pro-cure, segregated schools, child-focused. But it's getting better. Folks I know who grew up there and are un-dxed 'aspie-lite', had the same concerns as kids in the west - dating, jobs socializing etc. I don't know anyone who grew up in special ed in an Asian country, and that probably says a lot.

The advantages for an autistic in China are that if you homeschool your autistic kid, you don't need a "permission slip" from the gov't to do so. CPS will not take children away from aspie parents because there hardly is any CPS. People mostly ignore you outside of the occasional high school bully and are much less likely to "call the cops" if they see you acting odd. And if you have a rural family registration or any religious interest, you can live a self-sufficient life in the country and literally cut yourself off from civilization. Hermits have a legal status I believe, since they do exist in a reasonable quantity.

If you are a cutter / suicidal, you won't be put on any sort of 'watch', maybe arrested for disorderly conduct like a drunk would be. If it's not hurting others, it's not pathologized as much. And there really doesn't exist any health database that lists a psych record, that they can use to deny you a driver's license, professional license, or not hire you.

NTs are NTs no matter where you are. There is no autistic paradise on this earth, only on the wrong planet lol. But do travel if you can, talk to people, it is very interesting to see how different areas live.

I am not Asian but I do have an interest in Asian cultures, and I think the comparison is a really interesting one. One thing I think is worth noting about most Asian cultures is that they are more introvert-friendly than the west. Western culture idolises extroversion to such an extent that if you are not someone who enjoys socialising in groups of people then you are regarded as "weird" at best and "mentally ill" at worst. Young people are taken to psychiatrists because their parents are worried about a lack of socialising, when that is actually perfectly normal behaviour for the more introverted members of the population (not just people on the autistic spectrum) who find such things draining. On the other hand, countries like China and Japan don't seem to have the same views - it is considered normal or even preferable to be quiet, polite and studious rather than extroverted, and therefore perhaps people with mild autism may not be "flagged" so frequently. I have the impression that mild ASDs such as AS are not so prevalently diagnosed or understood in these areas, and perhaps that is one reason why.

I think the more rigid social structure has both advantages and disadvantages to the AS person. One is that, as you say, it is a little easier to understand in terms of being a set of rules. I know more about Japan, so I will use it as an example - in Japanese one specific type of language is used in formal situations or to a superior, and another type with peers, and this is not a difficult rule to remember on a logical basis. Socially, one must do things like bow to the other person in certain situations, not do certain things in public, etc. They tend to be fixed rules without exceptions which can be understood once they have been explained, unlike Western "rules", which are far more nebulous and context-driven and rely on the social intuition autistic people do not have. However, the disadvantage is that breaking the rules is both more obvious to others and also likely to be less tolerated. Japanese are generally tolerant of foreigners breaking their social rules but I can imagine they would be quite perturbed if a Japanese did it.

This is an interesting topic and I hope to see more discussion about it!

I am a chinese.I am at 30 years old.I live near shanghai.Sorry,I am not good at English. Aspie in China is also rejected ,discriminated. The job I keep the longest is 5 five years,because my uncle ofen gives cigaret to my superior. It is common in China.
The relationship is the most important ,other ability is insignificant .So I think aspie in China is harder than in the western countries.

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