"Maybe at birth there was an injury": drivers and implications of caretaker explanatory models of autistic characteristics in Kerala, India

Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry
Jennifer C Sarrett

Abstract

Explanatory models (EMs) are the way people explain the presence and meaning of an illness or disability and are reliant on and reflective of culturally specific values of normalcy, disability, health, and illness. EMs about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are particularly revealing because there is no known cause, and so people can explain this disability in ways more appropriate for and useful to them. This article presents caretaker EMs about children with autistic characteristics in Kerala, India. I argue that the reliance on biological, but not genetic, causal models is reflective of the state's high access to biomedical heath care. These EMs are used to deflect the stigma of 'bad blood' and reflect a nuanced relationship between stigma and biological EMs. Understanding how caretakers talk about ASD and related conditions is critical for anyone interested in engaging in crosscultural or international autism-related work.

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Citations

Apr 17, 2020·International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being·Monica PivettiClaudia Mancini
May 13, 2020·Child: Care, Health and Development·Shin Ying ChuChun Hong Gan
Jul 1, 2020·International Review of Psychiatry·Suravi Patra, Sujita Kumar Kar
Feb 4, 2016·Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry·Ellen BadonePeter Kien
May 21, 2016·Autism : the International Journal of Research and Practice·Michelle HeysElizabeth Pellicano
Jul 28, 2020·PloS One·Rano Zakirova-EngstrandLise Roll-Pettersson

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