Autism in Taiwan and Thailand: Influences of Culture
Issued Date
2024-01-01
Resource Type
eISSN
11782021
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85203717129
Journal Title
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
Volume
20
Start Page
1523
End Page
1538
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment Vol.20 (2024) , 1523-1538
Suggested Citation
Westby C., Chen K.M., Cheng L., Jithavech P., Maroonroge S. Autism in Taiwan and Thailand: Influences of Culture. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment Vol.20 (2024) , 1523-1538. 1538. doi:10.2147/NDT.S462864 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/101281
Title
Autism in Taiwan and Thailand: Influences of Culture
Author(s)
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
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.