Chinese parents and Autism?

Post Reply New Topic

I can not seem to elaborate to my parents that I have Autism even though it has been translated to them on the phone whilst I was in the mental hospital.

I have been diagnosed by a psychiatrist but my parents are still like, "You just have low IQ"

It's probably much easier to elaborate on your other problems and struggles, like depression or social anxiety. That's a bit more common and easy to understand. My parents are Chinese and they don't understand either. They both speak decent English, too and have been working in US for over 15 years. After all the information I sent them all they got was that I have a mental problem, which makes me "not normal". Whatever, I never hoped they'd understand anyway. That's the least of our problems in my messed up family. They can't even ask each other a simple question and get an answer most of the time. The communication is that bad.

I think there is a lot of bias against anything developmental and mental in Chinese culture. I'm Chinese as well and when I first raised the topic of Asperger's to my mum, she thought I was talking about "socially disturbed cripples".

It took a bit of discussion and showing her the official criteria for her to understand that it wasn't what I meant, and she somewhat came around to the idea.

I think there is a penchant in Chinese culture to see people who are not neurologically typical as either mentally deficient and/or dangerous.

I think those of you with parents from China are encountering this because I think in your parent's China, these types of issues boiled down to one of two things. You either can work, or can't work.

If you can work, then they don't understand what the problem is because you can do what is necessary to live. If you can't work, then, as the other person state, you must either be too stupid, or too crazy.

Your parents deeming you stupid seems to be their best attempt to show you compassion.

If you first made clear that you can work and eliminate that from the equation, and make it clear that you are not asking for accommodations from them and that you are just trying to explain to them why you are so strange, perhaps they would understand better.