Mental Health

Biography

Biography: Tramy Nguyen

Abstract

In the United States, there is a major disparity between White and minority families regarding autism spectrum disorder (ASD) identification and diagnosis. Children from minority families tend to receive ASD diagnoses at later ages than those from White families. Potential barriers to the identification of autism within underrepresented communities may include stigma regarding autism that is especially prevalent within the older generations of these communities. It is important to understand the conceptualizations held by the older generations because these perspectives will offer insight into the unique challenges that ethnic minority families experience with having a child with an autism diagnosis. The purpose of this descriptive case study is to thematically analyze qualitative data from an interview in order to explore the experiences of the interviewee with stigma that she encountered from the older Filipino community. Stigma was utilized as a code, a theme, as well as a central topic within the study. The results indicate that the stigma experienced by the interviewee was related to the themes of cultural and generational differences. However, it is imperative to note that the interviewee’s expereinces are unique to her, and they may also be the result of cultural blending. Future studies may expand on this study by including multiple participants in order to understand stigma within these underrepresented ethnic minority communities.