Q&A

Q&A: “do you happen to know of resources about autism in the Japanese community…?”

anonymous said:

Hi I’m sorry if this is worded weird or not a good question but do you happen to know of resources about autism in the Japanese community and/or the US Japanese community? I’ve been having trouble finding any.

hi, anon. sorry for the delay in replying.

i’m afraid that i won’t be of much help to you on the topic of autism (自閉症 / jiheishou) in Japan or within the Japanese-American community. if you can read Japanese or are looking for information to pass on to someone who can, the Autism Society of Japan’s website is probably as good a place as any to start?

i can say, however, that having taught in Japanese schools for 7 years, i’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that much like that organization’s ridiculous, late 90′s, cookie-cutter website design and content, general resources and even just public awareness of anything related to neurodiversity in Japan is very, veerrry much behind America– which isn’t to say that America is great, but simply to say that things in Japan are just That Bad even comparison with America. there have been countless number of times where i’ve found myself in difficult situations wishing i could offer resources to a homeroom teacher, so-called “special ed” teacher or even a parent because they were at an utter loss regarding how to help a student / their own child and i seemed to be more aware of certain things than they were just by me an autistic (among other things) sister.

there have been occasions when someone has used the word アスペルガー (asuperugaa / Asperger’s) or 発達障害 (hattatsu shougai / developmental disorder) when referring to a student who shows signs of autism– which suggests that there may be more awareness regarding those things than autism specifically. perhaps broadening your search to include Asperger’s and developmental disorders in general may help you find something useful. this site (again, only if you can read Japanese) may also be a place to start.

best wishes, anon.

YouTuber and Blogger, Vesper is an American expat currently living in Japan.

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