Culture of Disability Around the World Part 1

Vietnam is located in East and Southeast Asia and borders China, Laos and Cambodia. The population as of July 2017 was 96,160,163.  The primary language is Vietnamese with English favored as a second language.  The primary religion is Buddhism (CIA.gov).

ASD has only been recognized since the late 1990s.  It is estimated that there are 160,000 people living with ASD (Ha, Whittaker, A., Whittaker, M., & Roger, 2014).  The number of children diagnosed with ASD rose from 450 in 2008 to 1792 in 2010.

Only 66% of the population were receiving health insurance.  Patients’ lack of trust in the professional competencies of lower level health staff resulted in people going to a tertiary health facility for care which resulted in extreme overcrowding.  Little is known about ASD and how it is viewed within the social context of Vietnam, what services are available and how Vietnamese families cop with the disability (Ha, Whittaker, A., Whittaker, M., & Roger, 2014).

Parents of children with a disability feel sad, ashamed, and guilty because they interpret disability as karmic demerit.  Individuals with a disability are viewed as weak, dependent, vulnerable, inferior and a burden to the family as well as society.  Parents of children with ASD are viewed as irresponsible and failing as citizens to contribute to society through a quality child

References

The World Factbook, www.cia.gov, updated September 26, 2018

Living with autism spectrum disorder in Hanoi, Vietnam, Social Science & Medicine, Volume 120, November 2014, Pages 278-285, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.09.038