Impact of cultural perceptions on diagnosis of autism

There is very little existing research about the perceptions and understanding of the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in families from different ethnic communities, and how they view difficulties in social behaviour, one of the defining characteristics of the disorder. This phenomenological research was set out to discover if there are any differences in the value given to different social behaviours amongst parents of children with ASD from four ethnic backgrounds (White British, South Asian, Afro-Caribbean and Somali), living in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the sixty three parents and thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Findings show that there are some differences between parents from the four ethnic backgrounds, and also between fathers and mothers from the same ethnic background in the value associated with the core difficulties in social behaviour. This preliminary study highlights issues to consider when providing appropriate interventions, setting up relevant educational goals for children with ASD, and offering support to their families.