Kids on the Autism Spectrum in Thailand

A child writes whilst a woman watches them.
Photo by Yan Krukau from Pexels

 


By Jaqueline Deeon

 

When I think of my grandson, Tim, my heart fills with love but also wants to break into a thousand pieces. He has autism and life is so different for him, and for us too.

 

Tim is a Filipino-South African and we’re an expat family living in Thailand. He initially lived with his mom, aunties, and grandmother in the Philippines while his dad worked here in Thailand. The situation was not ideal for them as a family, and I was overjoyed when his mom decided they would move here to be with my son, and of course with me too.

 

Ritalin made Tim more aware of his surroundings and able to converse and make eye contact, but by the afternoon, the effects would wear off and all the emotions the medication suppressed would come tumbling out. This made his pacing and stimming—self-stimulatory behaviors that involve repetitive movements or sounds such as flapping one's arms or rocking back and forth (1)—extremely pronounced, even leading to aggressive behavior.

 

In the US, the prevalence of autism in children has risen significantly. In 2000, 6.7 per 1,000 children were diagnosed with autism, and by 2020 it was 27.6 per 1000. In Thailand in 2018, there were an estimated 180,000 children with autism, or 15 children per 1,000 under the age of 15 had the condition. It’s clear then that autism affects a significant number of children in both countries (2,3).

 

I was under the misguided impression that with Thailand’s brilliant medical services there would be good support for kids with autism. How wrong I was.

 

There was barely any space in schools for kids on the autism spectrum in southern Thailand. Schools with “special needs facilities” claimed they would not be able to handle a “farang” child due to the language barrier. Despite visiting numerous schools, Tim ultimately had to go back to live with his other granny in the Philippines, where schools have support systems to help him. It quickly became clear that the support available for autistic children in Thailand can be very different to that in expats’ home countries, and this can leave expat parents feeling unsupported and frustrated, and children without the care and intervention they deserve.

 

Brenda Shepherd, an inclusive education teacher and mother of an autistic child based in Bangkok says, “These kids do function better in schools that offer smaller classes, as children on the spectrum often get overstimulated in big, rowdier school settings.” She adds, “There is [currently] a huge need for intervention in schools in Thailand, not just for Thai kids but for foreign kids too. Teachers, classroom assistants, managers all need to go through personal development training in this regard. Counsellors and additional materials are needed to support students with autism, and for some schools and educational institutions this may seem like an insurmountable task.” Clearly a lot needs to be done to improve provisions for autistic children.

 

It has been heartening to learn about an informal organization in Bangkok called Beyond the Spectrum that was founded two years ago by high school student Athip Twinvitoo, who has a brother with autism (4). He hosted the first Run Together For Autism in Thailand and donated the proceeds to the Mahidol University’s Clinical Services and Early Childhood Development Center in the hope that families in rural areas would receive the same level of support that his brother and their family have had from the institute (5). 

 

I hope that in the future, initiatives like this will encourage more institutions and the medical fraternity to show a true interest in people with autism in Thailand.

 

References

  1. Rudy, LJ. (2024) Examples of stimming, verywellhealth. verywellhealth.com/what-is-stimming-in-autism-260034
  2. Richter, F. (2024) The rising prevalence of autism, Statista. statista.com/chart/29630/identified-prevalence-of-autism-spectrum-disorder-in-the-us/ 
  3. Sunakarach, K. & Kessomboon, P. (2018) Validity and reliability of the Thai version of the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist: a two-phase diagnostic accuracy study, F1000RESEARCH. f1000research.com/articles/7-538 
  4. Chaiyong, S. (2024) Promoting inclusivity, Bangkok Post. bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/2850246/promoting-inclusivity 
  5. Mahidolclinic.com, (n.d) Thai home-based autism intervention model. mahidolclinic.com/thai-model.html 

 

About the Author

Writer and editor Jaqueline Deeon has lived in South-East Asia for 12 years. She is married to a local artist from Khanom. She has written a book about the pink dolphins and hawksbill turtles in the area to educate young children learning to read and hopes her stories will encourage them to grow up to be responsible earth citizens with a love for nature. You can find her in her tea shop, Auntie Moon’s Tea: facebook.com/AuntieMoonsTea.