Unheard but Uncompromising: Quiet Politics and Parental Resistance Among Chinese Immigrant Families of Autistic Children in the U.S
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Background: Chinese immigrant families of autistic children in the United States face intersecting barriers related to language, culture, immigration, and fragmented service systems. Yet little is known about how Chinese immigrant parents engage in advocacy or how such efforts relate to disability and human rights. Methods: This qualitative study draws on in-depth interviews with fourteen Chinese immigrant parents of autistic children across multiple U.S. regions. Data were triangulated with analyses of publicly recorded advocacy events and parent-produced textual materials. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to examine motivations for advocacy, advocacy practices, and structural, linguistic, and cultural constraints. Results: Advocacy rarely emerged as an intentional or identity-driven pursuit. Instead, parents were compelled into advocacy through institutional exclusion, service denial, and unmet care needs. Parents engaged in diverse forms of advocacy, including migration, negotiation within institutions, information translation, community-building, and grassroots organizational leadership. Cultural norms shaped advocacy strategies, producing quiet, relational, and collective forms of action often overlooked in dominant rights-based models. Conclusions: Interpreted through a disability justice lens, parental advocacy functions as burdened and unequally distributed labor compensating for systemic failures. Findings underscore the need for institutional reforms that reduce reliance on families’ capacity to fight for access, dignity, and care.
Source: Societies
DOI: 10.3390/soc16040108
Authors: Yue Xu, Liya Lin, Yu-Shiuan Sun
Language: English
Subfield: Safety Research
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,689
OpenAlex ID: W7140791813