African-American Aspies

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Dude are you white or black or what?
Not all black families act that way. The ways you described actually describe a variety of different ethnicities that could possibly act that way. Why you think all black ones is beyond me.
Did the OP have to be specific and specify where the Black American family originally came from? Was if a part of Africa, or the Islands?

Your almost sounding like an ignorant racist.
I know many black American families who do not treat their mentally ill or Autisitic relatives with abuse and beatings.

You sound like a racist.
You obviously don't know a vast majority of Black folks.
Well i do and my family does and i can assure you that acceptance is what you'll find in the USA nowadays.
Many are members of NAMI (National Alliance of the Mentally Ill) and join groups such as Familya to support their mentally ill relatives.

I'm not saying what you listed is impossible. It's possible in a family, race is irrelevent.
To say that black families are so ignorant as you discribe is obviously racist and disgusting an opinion of you. Where did you get this from watching tv?

What you said is offensive against Black Americans.

I'm a mixed race guy -- my dad's side of the family is from Sierra Leone, and my mom's side is mixed between both Black American and White. So, I guess you could say I'm 75% Black.

Some of these ring true for me and some of these don't. Numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 ring particularly true on my dad's side of the family.

1. I've always been a very picky eater, and you can understand why this would upset many of my family members who grew up in poverty in West Africa and definitely couldn't afford to be picky growing up. Luckily I do like a lot of traditional African foods, so it was never really a severe problem. Whenever I didn't like something, it was usually met with lite teasing but nothing too bad usually, just annoying. The teasing would usually revolve around me being such an "American boy" or a "White man".

2. I threw a lot of tantrums as a kid, which made my older aunts and uncles look down at and ridicule me. Felt pretty bad.

4. The usual; being told to sit still, cut that out, etc. But I suspect that's more of a general NT adult thing, not just a Black thing.

6/8. I loathed this, especially because I was always demonized for it. Shyness and social anxiety was considered rude and disrespectful. If I wanted to go up to my room, it was decided that it was because I didn't like the people who were visiting. Again, this might just be an extravert/NT thing.

7. "White people stuff." This always infuriated me, because by saying this they were basically debasing not only me but themselves and an entire race of people. I never understood how they could say this without hating themselves a bit. They said it jokingly, but still.

~~~

I should note, though, that most of this flack came from my extended family, not my immediate one. My dad is a very smart and hard-working man who liked to read, stay informed, and attended one of the best universities in the country and is now a physician. He encouraged my nerdy tendencies and often defended me from my less forgiving aunts, uncles and cousins. Although despite all that, I don't think he fully understand or appreciates how I struggle in some aspects of life, and didn't even tell me I had AS until a few weeks ago. Would have been nice to know before I totally bombed my first year of college.

My mom (mixed race) is just as weird if not weirder than me, so we get along well.

And thankfully, I was always given a bunch of privacy and freedom to explore. Good lord, I might have gone crazy if I didn't have at least that.

*minor grammar edits were made to this post

Last edited by scarp on 19 Jan 2013, 4:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I stand corrected. I was just venting what it felt like for me growing up a mixed black & Asian & gay & intellectual & extremely lonely & bullied person in an intolerant religious black community.

Last edited by redrobin62 on 19 Jan 2013, 3:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Interesting...

Also, there are a few other things to bear in mind.

1. As someone else said, for whatever reason, mental disorders generally don't seem to be "on the radar" for a lot of Black families I know. People with an ASD are more likely to be considered peculiar at best, or rude, disrespectful and picky at worst.

Even my dad, a physician and otherwise smart guy, doesn't really seem to "believe" in milder mental conditions like Autism, ADHD and so on. He sees them as something to overcome without special treatment. One thing he said a little while ago worried me; something along the lines of, "When someone comes in to me with depression, I don't send them to a psychiatrist -- I treat them." I didn't say anything, but that made me frustrated. First of all, he doesn't seem to understand depression -- certainly not mine. So the fact that people who need help are coming to him and he's basically giving them a pep talk and sending them away bothers me.

2. I've noticed that certain behaviors are treated differently when they occur in White people vs. when they occur in minority races. Blacks and Hispanics in general seemed to be more likely described as lazy, stupid, disrespectful or just delinquent. The possibility of them struggling mentally doesn't seem to be brought up as quickly. Other children, on the other hand, usually get more sympathy and understanding. Teachers, professionals, etc, seem to approach them with more of an open mind.

It's just what I've observed growing up in the US. I don't mean it to sound accusatory or racially charged, and I certainly don't mean to undermine the struggles of many White children who don't get diagnosed. It's just a sucky situation all around.

Well I think you are correct.
The extremly low number of black kids getting dx with ASD in the US can just be possible when both factors come together you mentioned:
1) Family who doesn't "believe" in mental/developmental disorders
2) Society who doesn't care that much, because of racial issues

I didn't read all of the posts here so sorry if I'm repeating something that has been said already. I grew up in, and currently live in, a predominately a black community but I am not black. IMO opinion one of the reasons that black people seem to be under diagnosed is because eccentricities are much more tolerated in black communities. This is only one factor, but I strongly believe under diagnosis is mostly a reflection of the inequality black people still face in todays society.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt106250.html

I don't know if I have anything new to add to this thread other than the fact that I was raised by West African parents and am a first generation American. I think the serious lack of understanding of autism among Africans coupled with being the child of immigrants made it especially tricky to deal with this disorder (can we say disorder here?). I think there was an expectation of Africans being happy gregarious people that was totally against my nature and probably disappointed and confused my family a bit. However I do have a brother who has full on autism, he's nonverbal and totally dependant on others for care. Maybe my parents couldn't deal with two kids with " disabilities". Any that's my two cents.

Hi, I think you may have over reacted to the previous poster's 'attempt' at humor. I didn't find his comments racist although they may show a lack of good taste. Part of the reason for this thread may be relevant is that there is currently a 'perception' that differences such as homosexuality are not tolerated in the AA community (I am picking this up from reading articles and not from personal experience). This may be feeding a associated perception that AA culture may not tolerate autistic behavior (tantrums and shouting back at parents due to poor executive control) and shut it out of their community. I think the real reason is socioeconomic where the cost of diagnosis and treatment may be out of the reach of many AAs.

Sorry for the intrusion, but I love that you just said that. One day my daughter was talking about a girl in her class and I wasn't sure who it was so I asked her "Is that the black girl?" She looked at me with the most quizzical look of incredulity and said "What do you mean 'black'? No people are black, mommy! But her skin is a beautiful shade of brown."

In the part of the country where I live, I think immigrant children are underdiagnosed, and many of them happen to be black. I have seen kids that I am fairly sure fall on the spectrum, but I do not believe they are getting support or have a diagnosis, so there may either be lack of knowledge on the parents' part or some cultural norm against seeking help.

"African-American" Aspie standing by.

I my opinion it should apply with all families not just African American families is primarily an American family thing families have to consider! Also side note LonelyIsland is African American but regardless she seems to be doing rather well.Aspergers happens to everyone it knows no race!

I am half white and half creole (mixed with asian).

i had the opportunity to meet a woman who was working with an aspie community in africa. i grilled her with questions about aspies in africa, but the only major difference is community funding. basically, if alllll disorders are underfunded then ASDs will not be prioritised either. but she said there is no difference in treatment or awareness, it's just a matter of trying to get the same early interventions that we struggle to get for our kids in the western/northern world.