Understanding Turkish-American families with children with autism: An informational website for mental health professionals in the United States

Autism is a significant, lifelong, neurological disorder that affects 1 in 150 children as young as three years of age in the United States. The disorder is characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication and repetitive or stereotyped behaviors and interests. Although there is a plethora of research and treatments available for children with autism in the United States, research on providing culturally sensitive treatments for autism appears to be limited. In this dissertation, mental health professionals in the United States were targeted to help them gain culturally relevant information about Turkish American parents of children with autism. The dissertation was presented as a website offering information about (a) the diagnostic criteria, assessment tools, prevalence, etiology and treatments of autism in the U.S. and Turkey, (b) similarities and differences in the role of family and religion in raising children with autism in American and Turkish families, (c) the family's reactions to the diagnosis of the disorder (d) their beliefs in the causes and treatments of autism, and (e) the cultural barriers impacting Turkish American families help-seeking behaviors for their children. The website was designed with colors from the Turkish flag. The feedback from ten anonymous mental health professionals, who viewed the website, were positive, as were comments about the layout, pictures and colors of the website. However, evaluators indicated that the information was fairly dense in how it was presented. They agreed with the importance of having informational websites similar to this project to assist mental health professionals in the U.S. become aware of the cultural differences in the field of autism. Informational websites that offer culturally relevant information within the health care system are limited. Thus, they can be valuable tools in assisting many professionals to acquire more knowledge and become more culturally sensitive in the United States where multiculturalism plays a significant role.