Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Multicultural Issues in Autism

  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The professional literature provides ample evidence that individuals with autism exhibit a myriad of unusual social, communication, and behavioral patterns of interactions that present challenges to their families and service providers. However, there is a dearth of quality works on multicultural issues regarding autistic spectrum disorders. In this article, we explore issues surrounding autism and multiculturalism, with the intent not to provide answers but to raise questions for further examination. We focus our discussions on two primary issues: autism within cultural groups and multicultural family adaptation based on the framework of pluralistic societies in which some cultural groups are a minority within the dominant culture. We found differences in prevalence rates across races for autism and little information regarding how multicultural families adapt to raising a child with autism. Further, students with multicultural backgrounds and autism are challenged on at least four dimensions: communication, social skills, behavioral repertoires, and culture. Future research in these areas is clearly warranted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Reference

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

  • Autism Society of America. (2000). What is autism? Advocate: The newsletter of the Autism Society of America, 33, 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, D. B., Skinner, D., Rodriguez, P., Gut, D., & Correa, V. (1999). Awareness, use, and satisfaction with services for Latino parents of young children with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 65, 367-381.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, T., DeLuca, D. A., & Allen, R. W. (1996). Families of children with disabilities: Positive adaptation across the lifecycle. Social Work in Education, 18, 31-44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bettelheim, B. (1967). The empty fortress: Infantile autism and the birth of the self. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blacher, J., Lopez, S., Shapiro, J., & Fusco, J. (1997). Contributions to depression in Latino mothers with and without children with retardation: Implications for caregiving. Family Relations, 46, 325-334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bristol, M. M. (1984). Family resources and successful adaptation to autistic children. In E. Schopler & G. B. Mesibov (Eds.), The effects of autism on the family (pp. 289-310). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. (1989). Current trends: Rubella vaccination during pregnancy-United States, 1971-1988. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 38, 289-293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chess, S. (1971). Autism in children with congenital rubella. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1, 33-47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connors, J. L., & Donnellan, A. M. (1998). Walk in beauty: Western perspectives on disability and Navajo family/cultural resilience. In H. I. McCubbin, E. A. Thompson, A. I. Thompson, & J. E. Fromer (Eds.), Resiliency in Native American and immigrant families (pp. 159-182). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daley, T. C., & Sigman, M. D. (2002). Diagnostic conceptualization of autism among Indian psychiatrists, psychologists, and pediatricians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 32, 12-23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fombonne, E. (1998). Epidemiological surveys of autism. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), Autism and pervasive developmental disorders (pp. 32-63). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fombonne, E., Simmons, H., Ford, T., Meltzer, H., & Goodman, R. (2001). Prevalence of developmental disorders in the British nationwide survey of child mental health. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 820-827.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillberg, C., Steffenburg, G., Börjesson, B., Andersson, L. (1987). Infantile autism in children with immigrant parents: A populationbased study from Göteborg, Sweden. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 856-858.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillberg, C., Steffenburg, S., & Schaumann, H. (1991). Is autism more common now than ten years ago? British Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 403-409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gleberzon, B. J., & Rosenberg-Gleberzon, A. L. (2001). On autism: Its prevalence, diagnosis, causes, and treatment. Topics in Clinical Chiropractic, 8, 42-57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, R., & Richards, H. (1995). Child and adolescent psychiatric presentations of second-generation Afro-Caribbeans in Britain. British Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 362-369.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez, V., Brusca-Vega, R., & Yawkey, T. (1997). Assessment and instruction of culturally and linguistically diverse students with or at-risk of learning problems. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, B. E., Sack, W. H., & Pabrum, A. (1981). A review of child psychiatric epidemiology with special reference to American Indian and Alaska Native children. White Cloud Journal, 2, 22-36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217-250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1971). Follow-up study of eleven autistic children originally reported in 1943. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1, 119-145.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCubbin, H. I., McCubbin, M. A., Thompson, A. I., & Thompson, E. A. (1998). Resiliency in ethnic families: A conceptual model for predicting family adjustment and adaptation. In H. I. McCubbin, E. A. Thompson, A. I. Thompson, & J. E. Fromer (Eds.), Resiliency in Native American and immigrant families (pp. 3-48). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism. Committee on Educational Interventions for Children with Autism. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism. Committee on Educational Interventions for Children with Autism. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obiakor, F. E. (1994). The eight step multicultural approach: Learning and teaching with a smile. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obiakor, F. E. (1999). Teacher expectations of minority exceptional learners: Impact on “accuracy” of self-concepts. Exceptional Children, 66, 39-53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obiakor, F. E. (2001). It even happens in “good” schools: Responding to cultural diversity in today's classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obiakor, F. E., & Wilder, L. K. (In press). Issues, practices, and solutions in transitioning ethnically diverse learners with emotional/behavioral disorders. In E. Cheney (Ed.), Transition of students with emotional or behavioral disorders from school to community: Current approaches for positive outcomes (CCBD monograph). Arlington, VA: Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders.

  • Olsen, S., Marshall, E. S., Mandleco, B., Allred, K. W., Dyches, T. T., & Sansom, N. (1999). Support, communication, and hardiness in families with children with disabilities. Journal of Family Nursing, 5, 275-291.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Shea, D. J., O'Shea, L. J., Algozzine, R., & Hammitte, D. J. (2001). Families and teachers of individuals with disabilities. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, J., Edwards, A., Edwards, M., Pandit, B. S., Sungum-Paliwal, S. R., & Whitehouse, B. S. (2000). Changes in the incidence of childhood autism and other autistic spectrum disorders in preschool children from two areas of the West Midlands, U.K. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 42, 624-628.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prizant, B. (1996). Brief Report: Communication, language, social, & emotional development. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 173-178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pruchno, R., Patrick, J. H., & Burant, C. J. (1997). African American and White mothers of adults with chronic disabilities: Caregiving burden and satisfaction. Family Relations, 46, 335-346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raghavan, C., Weisner, T. S., & Patel, D. (1999). The adaptive project of parenting: South Asian families with children with developmental delays. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 34, 281-292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall, P., & Parker, J. (1999). Supporting the families of children with autism. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rimland, B. P. (1964). Infantile autism. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodier, P. (2000). The early origins of autism. Scientific American, 282, 56-63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers-Dulan, J., & Blacher, J. (1995). African American families, religion, and disability: A conceptual framework. Mental Retardation, 33, 226-238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanua, V. D. (1981a). Autism, childhood schizophrenia and culture: A critical review of the literature. Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review, 18, 165-181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanua, V. D. (1981b). Cultural changes and psychopathology in children: With special reference to infantile autism. Acta Paedopsychiat, 47, 133-142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanua, V. D. (1984). Is infantile autism a universal phenomenon? An open question. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 30, 163-177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. (1999). Childhood disability and the family. In V. L. Schwean & D. H. Saklofske (Eds.), Handbook of psychosocial characteristics of exceptional children (pp. 111-131). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, D., Bailey, D. B., Correa, V., & Rodriguez, P. (1999). Narrating self and disability: Latino mothers' construction of identities vis-a-vis their child with special needs. Exceptional Children, 65, 481-495.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szatmari, P., & Jones, M. B. (1998). Genetic epidemiology of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (pp. 109-129). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanguay, P. E. (2000). Pervasive developmental disorders: A 10-year review. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1079-1095.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanoue, Y., Oda, S., Asano, F., & Kawashima, K. (1988). Epidemiology of infantile autism in Southern Ibaraki, Japan: Differences in prevalence in birth cohorts. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 18, 155-166.

    Google Scholar 

  • United States Census Bureau. (2001). Resident population estimates of the United States by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: April 1, 1990 to July 1, 1999, with short-term prediction to November 1, 2000. Retrieved June 6, 2002, from http://eire.census.gov/ popest/archives/national/nation3/intfile3-1.txt

  • United States Department of Education (2001). Twenty-second annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author.

  • United States Department of Education (2002). Twenty-third annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author.

  • Utley, C. A., & Obiakor, F. E. (2001). Special education, multicultural education, and school reform: Components of quality for learners with mild disabilities. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Volkmar, F. R., & Lloyd, C. (1998). Diagnosis and definition of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), Autism and pervasive developmental disorders (pp. 1-31). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilder, L. K., Jackson, A. P., & Smith, T. B. (2001). Secondary transition of multicultural learners: Lessons from the Navajo Native American experience. Preventing School Failure, 45, 119-124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L. (1980). Childhood autism and social class: A question of selection? British Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 410-417.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L., & Attwood, A. (1987). Syndromes of autism and atypical development. In D. J. Cohen & A. M. Donnellan (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (pp. 3-19). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ysseldyke, J. E., Algozzine, B., & Thurlow, M. L. (2000). Critical issues in special education. (3rd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

    Tina Taylor Dyches, Lynn K. Wilder & Richard R. Sudweeks

  2. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

    Festus E. Obiakor

  3. University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina

    Bob Algozzine

Authors
  1. Tina Taylor Dyches
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lynn K. Wilder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Richard R. Sudweeks
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Festus E. Obiakor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bob Algozzine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dyches, T.T., Wilder, L.K., Sudweeks, R.R. et al. Multicultural Issues in Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 34, 211–222 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADD.0000022611.80478.73

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADD.0000022611.80478.73

Search

Navigation