Cross-Cultural Social Interaction and Asperger's

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Who here has had experience in living, working or studying in a cultural context different than the one they grew up in, and how do you think having Asperger's hindered or helped in adapting to that new culture?

Some possible questions to consider:

1. How do you deal with the disruption of routines?
2. How easy is it to learn a new language, along with new non-verbal cues?
3. How easy is it for an Aspie to "code-switch" between two cultures (for instance, acting "Greek" when living and working in Greece, and acting "American" when home on furlough?)
-and/or-
How do bicultural Aspies manage having to learn two sets of social rules simultaneously?
4. What have you learned in that multicultural experience that you have been able to apply to your life and development as an autistic person?

Welcome to WP!

I lived and worked in four different continents.

I am not sure that it either helped or hindered, other than facilitating the learning of language for me.



I live by routines but have no anxiety when they are disrupted. After moving, I develop new routines without even trying .


Learning a new language is easy for me, but I am very gifted. I made no conscious effort to learn non-verbal cues, and they don't really concern me. I was paid for my intellect, not knowing non-verbal cues. I do believe that social deficits are often chalked up to mere linguistic or cultural differences, which is an advantage.



I would be unable to "code-switch" between two cultures even if I wanted to. I have no acting talent whatsoever.



Living in a foreign culture and learning the language expands the mind wonderfully, and also keeps a busy brain occupied (more fulfilling than spending time on WP ). As for autism; I was an autist then and I am still an autist now.

Cross cultural differences can mask our AS traits, especially if you are in a country where they speak a different language. We aren't weird then, we are "exotic".

I suppose I'll go a little into my own experience as well:

I have a B.A. in Intercultural Studies, and part of the degree requirement was a semester-long study abroad program, which I chose to spend in Israel/Palestine.

All-in-all, it was a positive experience because the Middle Eastern culture is one of my interests, so I knew what behavior to expect, especially in regard to interaction between men and women. In general, the pressure is less because people won't just assume that you know the rules of etiquette and will actually explain them to you, in a way that I wish NTs here in America would do for me! And the locals are generally very patient when you make the occasional faux pas, assuming that it is because you are a foreigner.

Perhaps the biggest difficulty I had when I was there was when I spent four days sight-seeing in Cairo, which, let me say, is not the place to go if you get sensory overload! It's a very crowded, and very LOUD city, and were it not for the friendliness of the Egyptian people, which was amazing and awesome, it would have not been a positive experience.

BTW, Middle Eastern culture is high-context, meaning that their communication style relies heavily on subtle implication and indirectness, which may have created some communication problems for me if I was more immersed in the culture than I was. I'm hoping to get more involved when I go back there for my Master's Degree in a few years so I can explore this further. Even NTs from a low-context culture can have difficulty "reading between the lines", so-to-speak, as someone with AS, I would imagine it would be even more difficult for myself.

I grew up in a very different culture before I moved to US at the age of 19.

It is actually a great thing for people with Asperger's. When I talk to strangers for long periods of time, they often become uncomfortable because my non-verbal expressions are a bit off. I can almost see their brains looking for a logical explanation of what they perceive as a weird behavior. Then, after realizing that I speak with an accent, they always ask: "Oh, where are you from?" And, suddenly they are comfortable again because they have an explanation for whatever incongruety they sensed.

Learning the language is not difficult, but it is very difficult to learn various nuances, intonations and sounds. I am completely tone-deaf, so it's even harder for me. I'll always have an accent. But, I have no problem communicating both socially or professionally. I can even deliver a 40-minute speech in front of a large audience.

Interestingly enough, when I go back to my country of birth, I get exactly the same reception. People get uncomfortable, ask where I'm from and even compliment that I learned to speak their language very,very well. Often, I leave it at that...

Cairo especially at Eid... the end of Ramadan.......super sensory overload.... the population is much greater than usual as many people return to visit families etc. Loads of noise, colour, smells that are overwhelming!


The people are very friendly..... it is part of the teachings of Islam to show hospitality to "guests" and "guests" are visitors from another place.



There is an assumption that difference in behaviour and manner of communucation is a product of being a "foreigner"....... I always felt it much easier to be myself... without being highly scrutinised...... in a country that doesn't have English as the mother tongue.

In fact I actively sort out people from other cultures to mix with as I'm very interested in Cultures, languages etc. However, the role I played was one that I find very comfortable.... that of the Observer. Legitimately alone, and non verbal within"company".


Some cultures use quite unsubtle hand gestures that, when one becomes familiar with the more commonly used and pronounced gestures actually assist understanding..... however inflection is very tricky.... a statement or question?! !


I lived in Greece for quite some time and despite learning the language and more pronounced body language I still found it difficult to understand intent, committment to an engagement, offers of directions, jokes etc. Sincerity can be difficult to assess.
My partner is Greek so when we lived in Melbourne we spent considerable time in "Greece" where anyone who didn't speak Greek was considered a "foreigner" despite being 5th generation Aussie and they being immigrants. So living within one's own country can also be a living in another country experience. Much of my "weirdness" has been considered as part of being an Australian by people of non English language based cultures.

BUT.... there can become a time when difference is not excused..... when it is considered that as part of that culture ( adopted by marriage) one should conform.......PROBLEMS.......! !! !

I still feel more "liberated" .... free to be myself if I'm truly an "outsider"..... My "social predicament" was real, legitimate in such circumstances.

Culture is extremely complex.... much more than language, food, religion..... I've found that there are layers upon layers of socio-cultural conditioning that is the product of aeons .
I guess that is why I've always viewed life through a somewhat historical lens.


Yes! I'm rambling on, caught up in one of my pet interests!

I agree with this. I don't really experience "culture shock" because to me, even my own culture feels confusing. I don't know if this is relevant to your question, but when I was a kid, most of my friends were kids who had come to the US from other countries. I think I got along better with immigrant kids because they felt like outsiders and so did I. As for languages, I find them very difficult but I am told that I'm good at getting accents down. I still remember a Japanese person telling me my accent in Japanese was perfect, I was so flattered!

Cross-cultural differences do help mask AS, but being a foreigner also makes you even more of an outsider. So for brief visits AS is probably an advantage, but for longer periods it's probably a disadvantage.