Any ethnic Chinese here? Tell me about autism stigma

Post Reply New Topic

Hello all,

As part of my (special interest) studies, I am doing an assignment on the perception of autism in Chinese cultures and families.

One thing I keep coming across is references to stigma, in particular 'affiliate stigma' felt by the parents of autistic children. Apparently, there can be a tendency for parents to hide their child's autism diagnosis (or defer diagnosis) to avoid shame.

Possibly, parents expect to be blamed for not being able to teach their child how to behave according to societal norms and aspirations, such as: fitting in with the collective, showing respect to elders, excelling at academics. I've been reading that this may be due to the emphasis in Chinese culture on filial peity and Confucian moral codes.

If anyone here is ethnic Chinese, are you able to share your thoughts on stigma? Did your parents have difficulty in accepting your diagnosis? What are your/their experiences of autism stigma? Is there much understanding of autism spectrum conditions in Chinese communities?

It doesn't matter which country you live in, I am more interested in shared cultural and familial factors amongst ethnic Chinese.

There is no judgement here, and I will not use responses directly in my assignment, this is just for my interest and understanding. Feel free to voice alternative opinions or correct me if I am misunderstanding, or if my information is out of date.

I'm not Chinese -- but met plenty of ethnic Chinese and Chinese directly from Mainland China.

There was a belief within business circles that an offspring with intellectual disabilities is considered good luck -- sort of like a pass from misfortune and karma.

Thus an autistic with ID could be considered good luck.
But within my culture's resident Chinese descents, it extends to NDs and the disabled in general. Yet and yet -- they're hidden.

They're sort of good luck charms and idols -- sure, that seems wholesome to some but nothing to do with fighting dehumanization or disability rights, let alone awareness and understanding.


I don't know how well or unwell they treat undiagnosed NT passing autistics.
Likely not good due to the competitive cultures. And definately had been forced to mask one way or another.

I also not sure what their perceptions are towards the family with autistic family members since the culture is also family centered, all that face and social rep culture...

Because there are differences within regional and social statuses.
Poor ones don't want anything to do with a child that cannot contribute.
Rich ones or those who are well off can afford said lucky charm belief.

In autism specifically, I don't think the Chinese culture can comprehend the condition well. (Because, "self-enclosure disorder" -- really?)

And I do know they're just like the in the typical NT culture; looking down on the disabled.
With the same scorn or shame typical of eastern asian cultures.

Gained Number Post Count (1).
Lose Time (n).

Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.

I`m certainly not an expert on autism and China, but i suspect a few things:-

1. China`s main religion is Buddhism, they generally believe disability is a result of bad karma which arises from immoral actions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disabilit ... od%20karma.

2. US society & most of the west is about the power of the individual which leads to multiple political group identities, think LGBT, Black Lives, ND movement.

China like many other communist countries is about what is good for the collective society. This can be seen on their posters similar to the old Soviet ones depicting groups of individuals committed to a particular task, i.e factory or farm workers.

https://chineseposters.net/

So if something is regarded as a negative for the person, its likely to be seen as a negative for society and thus unlikely to be tolerated or at least promoted.

So political individual focused groups like in the west are likely to be seen as insubordinate and disruptive of the group goal.

In autism terms for this reason its unlikely the ND movement will influence the pathology side or medical research into cure / prevention as they would likely take the pragmatic view that all disabilities are a burden that should be prevented or cured.

However its likely Chinese society will encourage greater understanding of autism and maybe some accommodations , including autism employment as it fits in with what they see as the collective good of society & utilising their population to the maximum.

Hello, I am from mainland China.
There is shame in having an illness, and psychopaths are considered aggressive lunatics.So people with autism should avoid getting diagnosed, and doctors should avoid giving a diagnosis

Mild autism is seen as a form of large introversion.If he can achieve something academically as a result, it can be used as a kind of boasting capital: My child does not like to play and studies hard.
Severe autism is a family misfortune, and it's hard to get a good job.Although government subsidies may be provided, exclusion from the mainstream is inevitable.Family members would sigh and feel bad about the autistic person and then stop talking about him

Many thanks for the replies.

Belijojo, your response is in agreement with what I have been reading.

Not just in mainland China but in Taiwan and Hong Kong too, autism prevalence rates used to be very low because only the most severely affected and those with intellectual disability were getting diagnosed and others were hiding their autism to avoid stigma. I was shocked to learn that in Hong Kong there are no special schools specifically for autism and that the general schools are able to turn away autistic students, so parents have to avoid diagnoses to enable ther kids to get an education. Doctors can give a diagnosis of "autistic tendency", to avoid a firm autism diagnosis for the same reason.

My daughter-in-law's family is ethnic Chinese, and she has a cousin with the sort of disability that qualifies her for Special Olympics, in which she participates, and her aunt and uncle bring their daughter to family gatherings at which it is possible for everyone present to see that she is intellectually/neurologically disabled (sorry I don't know her exact disability). Just one data point though.

EDIT speaking of China, though, I believe this sort of stigma is typical of East Asian cultures. To my understanding, it's basically the same in Japan. No idea about Korea. Of course, both countries have produced media content featuring autistic characters, but I don't read to much into that with regard to everyday acceptance. In Japan, at least, I think it's common for people to consume content about things they would avoid at all cost IRL.

I think things may be changing in South Korea.

I've never been there, so can't be sure, but recent studies have shown sky-high rates of autism there.

And there've been a lot of good series out of Korea with autistic characters:

The Good Doctor (original series)
Move to Heaven
Extraordinary Attorney Wu

I have an acquaintance who is married a Singaporean Chinese and he was working as an expat in Singapore for a couple of decades. their only son is like my daughter, sort of moderate ASD. During primary school they pulled him out and bought him to Australia around the time he was 7 because of the bullying and ostracism he experienced and the lack of support from teachers who refused to accommodate him. the tiger moms condemned the couple as selfish for disrupting their own children's education and the teachers also suspended him constantly for just talking back. Singapore Chinese culture promotes educational excellence and looks down on disability (and yes, Chinese culture consider autism as some type of curse for past sins and that sought sort of crap).

Fellow Chinese here! My hometown is in Changsha, spent six years studying in Beijing(Which I’m diagnosed with Asperger’s there), and now is studying at an art school in the US.

Regarding to stigma in being on the spectrum, I would say it’s complicated——not all sunshine and rainbows but also not flatly “Chinese/Asian culture=stigmatization and oppression” way. Also, I’m just a single person, all people have different experiences, so don’t take my words as gospel.

I’ve always seemed as functioning “normally” growing up, people will even calling me “gifted” for how much my special interests and sensitive feelings make me study things deeply, and often being regarded as creative. But entering the stressful middle school where we are expected to do a lot of repetitive tests instead of anything open-minded, I got stressed out quickly and moved to international school in Beijing instead.

The international schools have a more open-ended education format similar to elite schools in the US, which I adapted a lot better. However I faced bullying during these years due to spend most of time in my head, and being a troublemaker generally. (I admit, immature me who craves attention, in order to make people talk with my special interest in whichever ways I could would do, is definitely a nuisance to deal with!)

Also, as my value system matures, I begin to see racism and prejudice within the lines of textbook and curriculum I’ve been in, which, unfortunately, was directly replicated from the west without many critical examinations. Navigating how to sit with these prejudiced information with no one else to talk to put an immense strain on my mental health, its effect lingers till this day.

I’ve been diagnosed with Asperger’s at a mental hospital during my 10th grade, along with anxiety disorders that persist ed since 6th grade. Sadly there’s still be a lot of stereotypes towards people on the spectrum, the doctors regard my low self-esteem and struggles with discovery of injustices in the world as “issues” that pills will cure, or immature periods I would grow out of(the pills did helped immensely to my anxiety disorder symptoms greatly), and think autistic individuals are self-centered, have a “rigid” line of thinking, unable to think critically as a normal person. My mom also takes this perspective on me, because she doesn’t know any better. This ”narrow-minded” construct hurts me immensely, since I always struggles to understand people around me and the world in most open-minded way possible, I would never want to associate myself with “narrow-mindedness.”

Thus even though I have been diagnosed, I’ve been very reluctant to actually take on this label, even to this day. It’s only till I read a few articles in the Medium recently talking autistics may actually have broader awareness and less bigotry than neurotypicals, did I start to take this label on myself seriously, because I identify with this more.

I feel these misunderstandings are all understandable, as I’ve read similar “narrow-minded” stereotypes existed in the US too. I feel my mother and the doctors who diagnosed me all have good intentions, I’ve yet to met anyone who yelled something like “you are autistic therefore you are disgusting” directly at me. My mother also joined with an aspergers community online with mostly parents talking about their children’s symptoms, and even met another autistic individual during my half-year sick leave to school. The relations last briefly, because they seemed to have issues and interests much more different than me, and I was trying all my might to get away from the Asperger’s label at that time.

Growing up, I never felt anyone truly understood what lies deep within me, even with my mom, after I shared all the truth of my struggles hiding behind a “talented” facade. My brain just have a different way of thinking other than rest, and I seldom make any long-lasting friends offline. My two dearest friends now are two people in an art fandom I am interested in since April this year, but it’s very likely I will lose connection to them after my areas of special interest shifts. I’m also likely to be asexual and aromantic, being 19 and never had any interest in dating, heck, even my characters never did anything romantic/sexual, which makes me an oddball amongst the entire shipping-heavy fandom spaces who fight against censor rules to post explicit arts.

I may not be looking for a true love’s kiss, but I’m always yearning for a few good friends or a welcoming community that could accept me in warts and all. I know this is hard to find, but this hope always stay in the back of my mind, as I’m moving forward aspiring for another day, with all the traumas and terrible self-esteem and frantic mood-swings, but also moments of joy. Being an art student makes me feel more at home, since artists are likely being more eccentric, norm-defying, and inclusive. I don’t know what it means for the future ahead, I could only go and see.

Hearing from the opinions from my mother, the doctors, and the online autistic community, they said Aspergers(or people on the spectrum generally)in China are less likely to be picked on for being focused and geeky——if your “special interest” is something academic, since we value academic achievement much more than sports and other things. However our education system are also much more rigid, values conformity instead of diversity. The standardized test thing, while being fair, also are very, very stressful(which hitter hard on me) many people now are just started to know and care about mental health and neurodivergence, but under-informed people and misunderstandings are abound. Like the two other replies, There are some who are unwilling to admit/diagnose for mental issues. But things are also getting better, awareness is growing, and governments are trying to implement policies that discourage unhelpful competing in education system, with mixed results.

I would say stigma definitely exists, and I’m definitely more privileged than many people for even being able to sidestep the public education system for something that fits my interests better, but it’s never one-dimensional.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, that is really interesting and helpful. Do you mind if I ask some more questions?

I do think that some of the information I have read on stigma may be out of date, and things may be changing rapidly, and your reply suggests that may be so.

One thing I found was that all the research papers were only talking about the parents of autistic children, and how hard it was for them, but very few researchers were trying to talk to autistic people themselves.

I was wondering, do people on the autism spectrum in China have any community (like here on Wrong Planet) and is there a neurodiversity movement there?