East Asian American Parents of Children with Autism: a Scoping Review

The number of Asian American children with autism is steadily increasing. Previous research reports that parents of children with autism experience higher stress compared with parents of typically developing children. Immigrant families of children with autism are particularly vulnerable to poor access to healthcare, social services, information, and other supports. This scoping review examined the current literature focused on East Asian American families raising children with autism, with an emphasis on study characteristics and overall findings. We identified nine articles that reported on the caregiving experiences of this population. Our review revealed that extant studies focused on East Asian families used limited research methods and small samples. The studies we reviewed found variations in the ways in which East Asian parents understand autism, navigate services, access available community and family supports, and experience stress.