What are South Asian parents' experiences of their child's Autistic Spectrum Disorder diagnosis process

• Main Author: Thaung, Hannah Kyaw
• Published: University of Surrey 2014
• Subjects: 616.85882
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.600161

Aim: A wealth of literature has contributed to our understanding of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However most of this research has been carried out with white families and there is a paucity of research documenting ethnic minority families' experiences of ASD. The current study attempted to address this limitation in the research. The aim of the study was to explore South Asian parents' experiences of their child's Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis process. Method: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse data from interviews with 8 parents (5 families) who had a child diagnosed with ASD. Parents were recruited from schools, child and adolescent mental health services, local authority child services, mosques and support groups. Results: Four super-ordinate themes were developed from the analysis. These included the early search for support, meeting the family: the extended family's rejection of ASD, a tug of war: finding a safe person and place in services and the struggle to maintain cultural links. Conclusions: The findings suggest that in addition to common challenges reported by all families during their child's ASD diagnosis process, South Asian families face unique challenges that arise due to specific cultural factors (e.g. language, cultural and religious beliefs). One of the key findings of the research is the loss of culture South Asian parents experience as a result of the ASD diagnosis. A range of implications for clinical practice that arise from the results are also described.