autism in china

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http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/01/auti ... hina-.html

January 07, 2010

Autism and “Normal” in China.

By Cordelia Ross

I was aware that China was a traditional, collectivistic, developing country before I arrived here, but I had no idea what that would mean for people with autism and their families. Turns out, there is a very prominent effect of culture on the view and treatment of people with autism.

In China, there is no tolerance for anything “abnormal”.

At school, individuals’ unique talents are not sought out and encouraged. In fact, there is no such thing as “the individual”. Unlike in the United States, where personal interests and talents are discovered at an early age and nurtured, everyone in China is expected to perform at the same level. There is no special class for “math people” or “art people” or “music people”. Everybody must be equally good at math, at art, at music. Differences are frowned upon.

Which is why children with autism are not accepted into kindergartens or schools. If they can’t work in the classroom like the other students, they must not be in the classroom. If they stand out in any way, either by their appearance (students in China follow strict rules for uniforms, shoe color, even hairstyles) or their behavior, they are seen as a distraction to the other students and hinder their learning. Even the few special education schools that do exist in China cater to the hearing- and visually-impaired and those with intellectual disabilities; they lack the knowledge and skills to educate children with autism. Autism (孤独症, literally “the loneliness disease”) is still a new term in China, and there is very little awareness of the condition. Children with autism are therefore rejected from both the mainstream and special education system. Parents see this as a complete failure; without education, can their kids still become functioning members of society?

There is an important cultural element at play here. In China’s collectivistic culture, everyone must conform to the norm and contribute to society at large. Parents of autistic children believe that their children 1) don’t fit in, and 2) cannot contribute to society. But who is and what is really “normal”? And what exactly constitutes contribution to society? That’s another discussion in and of itself.

Because they cannot attend school, staying home becomes the only option for most children with autism in China, putting tremendous pressure on their parents. Fortunately, because extended families in China tend to live together, children with autism are often cared for by their grandparents. However, they may still lose all chances of developing any potential talents that they may have had. Furthermore, the Chinese government does not provide insurance or any form of assistance for the disabled. This is why parents are so intent on “normalizing” their children. Society does not accept their children’s stereotypies and atypical behaviors, so parents have difficulty accepting them as well.

I have been a volunteer at Stars & Rain for just over two months now. Founded in 1993, Stars & Rain was the very first autism center in China. It is unique in that instead of educating the children themselves, it educates their parents through an 11-week intensive training program. Because of the inadequate provision of care for autistic children in China, it would be impossible to directly educate more than a fraction of the autistic children in the country. To get around this problem, they focus on giving parents the skills to educate their own children.

Working at Stars & Rain has been an incredibly eye-opening experience, and I have met many inspiring children and teenagers, their teachers, and their families. I am looking forward to sharing my observations and their stories with you. Thank you, Age of Autism, for giving me this opportunity.

Cordelia Ross is a recent Middlebury College graduate with an interest in autism. She spent several months volunteering at the Beijing Stars & Rain Education Institute for Autism and had the opportunity to work with children with autism in China and listen to their families' stories.

Communist.

The reason there economy does so well is they evade human rights, social services and under pay their workers. It's hard for more ethical and compassionate countries to compete with them.

well it makes perfect sense.

every dollar u dont spend on the disabled can be used elsewhere.

I think they should go full-out at kill people off as soon as they retire. care for elderly is mega expensive and they are just leeching on society.

also when they are killed off, their savings become active money, helping the financial markets.


(a heavy dose of sarcasm has been used in this post)

A fascist monkey.

Even after experimenting with free markets all this time, western freedoms still have not accompanied capitalism into China. Maybe the way to make the Chinese more like ourselves is to aim at their hearts, rather than their pocketbooks.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

That seems very easy but is complicated. The same notion may be explored with everyone around you and everyone with everyone else which would end up spreading philosophically. Still the same fundamental problems will arise. The simple explanation of this complicated topic is not everyone is a hippie and hippies went wrong with the drugs.

Nathan Young

I think either we stop telling the rest of the world what to do and how to do it, or we should just go ahead and conquer the entire world already and quit dicking around.

Oh gosh every nation has their pride and arrogance. Let's all play checkers and for each game a nuclear weapon has to be decommissioned. I watched a movie last night about the national security and histology of nuclear weapons. The crazy little things.

Actually, I am aware that there is several schools in the Beijing area that are specifically for intelligent children.

Autism is a very diverse group of people.

My comment does not relate to Autism at all.

Oh then not really within context to the topic or current conversation. There are many schools around the world and within the U.S for smart people as well.

intelligent children WITH money.

China has a similar system to Japan when it comes to private schools. Only the very best and brightest are allowed in... if the parents can afford it. This has the effect of giving the kids the absolute best and most elitist education possible while staying amongst their own 'kind' (economically).

For those without money, the parents pretty much give their kid up to the military (in China)... so if the kid is doing calculus at age 5 they take them away and are raised by the state and 'put to work' for all purposes.

This is why so many Chinese families that aren't poor nor rich and whose kids aren't Einsteins but have good grades send them abroad to study.