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Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the elements of culture and tradition that affect perceptions and expectations of Somali refugee mothers regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study consisted of 25 participant; mothers, children and service providers from Refugee Family Assistance Program's Parent As Teachers program through focus groups, participatory observation and face-to-face-interviews. Results of the study indicated that these mothers perceived ASD to be a new concept and a result of a combination of stringent vaccination administration, the environment, and processed food. Some even referred to the evil-eye. Mothers also indicated that their expectations for treatment were low because service providers failed to understand their culture and as a result were unable to communicate with them both literally and figuratively. They do not expected this situation to change until or unless they returned to Somalia, where their child (ren) can have excess to more sun light, organic foods and relaxed vaccination standards. While on the other hand services providers identified failure to understand the etiology of ASD, education, socioeconomic status, family/community support and language as primary barriers to early diagnoses, retention and overall treatment success. Their expectations of the future were hopeful, in spite of recent increase in diagnosis rates, indicating that health promotion and education were effective tools to impact change.
Keywords: Autism, perceptions, culture, tradition, Somalia
Introduction
In recent years, research has found that children from non-English speaking families are more likely to receive a late diagnosis than children from English speaking families. With the increased number of diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among American born Somali children it is important to understand what affects this is having on the community and what if anything can be done. There are a number of different barriers that immigrants and refugees face upon arrival into a new country, primary among them is access to healthcare (1). Numerous studies have examined the effects of raising children with ASD in many other communities, researchers have concluded that raising children in a new cultural setting presents greater challenges in and of itself but as immigrants with the absence of kinship and familial networks, it is far more difficult (2).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - National Center for...