Autistic Peoples' Voices In China

Autism is a neurological disorder which affects around 1 in 59 children in the general population.In China,autism still is largely misunderstood and constructed differently than that in Western countries.The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the experiences and voices of autistic people in the context of the critical disability research paradigm.The theoretical framework for this study is critical disability research,which focuses on understanding the voices of people with disabilities.Considering the identity of the researcher being an autistic researcher,the research method adopted in this study is reflexive ethnography,which gives the researcher an insider's reflective perspective to the study.The study found that the voice of autistic individuals in China is still a non-political issue.The parents focus more on their child's academics as their goal is to make their autistic children attend ordinary schools.The practice between disability and educational policy is not consistent.Autism groups in China tend to hide their identity whereas Western autism groups have “autism pride”.The research concluded that autism groups in China should be given more attention as they should strive for the improvement of social policy and the social attitudes by acknowledging their autism identity.