Challenges encountered by 17 autistic young adults in Hong Kong

Abstract

The self‐portrayals of 17 young persons with autism spectrum disorder reveal the challenges encountered by them, including study problems, inter‐personal relationships, being bullied by classmates at school, discrimination by the public in general and teachers, social workers, and peers in particular, obstacles to post secondary education, difficulties in securing and maintaining employment, psychological distress, and so on. This may indicate ineffective inclusive education and practice even though the government has injected a significant quantity of resources to implement inclusive education in Hong Kong. Clearly, more can be done by the government to help them overcome these challenges, especially regarding the issues of bullying at school and transition from school to work. Of course, the subjective self‐portrayals of youngsters on the spectrum in limited numbers can never allow us to view the whole picture. However, the book opens up a means for us to better understand them. Hopefully, it can trigger more concerns from the public, especially the government officials, and more research from scholars in Hong Kong.