Multicultural issues in autism

The professional literature provides ample evidence that individuals with autism exhibit a myr-iad of unusual social, communication, and behavioral patterns of interactions that present chal-lenges 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 sur-rounding autism and multiculturalism, with the intent not to provide answers but to raise ques-tions 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 soci-eties in which some cultural groups are a minority within the dominant culture. We found dif-ferences 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. KEY WORDS: Autism; cross-cultural studies; etiology; incidence; genetics. The identification and treatment of individuals with autism have international roots. Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler used the term “autism ” in the early 1900s to describe individuals who exhibit fundamen-tal disturbances of contact with the social world. Two Austrian-born professionals in child psychiatry and pe-diatrics, Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger, respectively, suggested a new diagnostic category based on Bleuler’s conceptualization of autism, distinct from mental retardation and other psychiatric disorders. Today, Kanner’s autism is seen as a specific disorder separate from the broader range of autistic spectrum disorder