Autism Stigma's among Nigrean emigre's in Wales

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"I've had people offer me products to 'kill the autism' - bleach, salts, supplements."

For Yvonne Odukwe, a Nigerian living in Newport, community stigma around her daughter's autism is a barrier - but it's only half of a "double whammy".

She and others say black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people can also face poor engagement from authorities.

The Welsh Government said its national autism team "regularly engages with BAME communities" among other steps.

"It's a double layer," said Yvonne, mother of 19-year-old Jasmine.

"I'm fighting the mainstream and then I'm also fighting my community because they're not accepting me and, in many cases, blaming and shaming me."

Yvonne, a mother-of-three, said that like many parents of autistic children, she'd had to fight to get Jasmine support, but many parents from backgrounds like hers must also overcome a code of secrecy in the community.

"There's that fear and unease - something we don't know, we don't accept," she said.

"So because of that, there's the stigma. You don't talk about autism, it's kind of like a shame to even admit that you have a child with autism."

Yvonne said she had heard stories in relation to different Asian and African communities where autism was attributed to witchcraft, curses or bad parenting.

"I had a friend who had a son with autism and she was asked to bring the boy home so that they can do an exorcism," she said.

"It's not seen as a condition, it's more like someone's done something to you or you've done something wrong."

"We are coming from communities where there's a blame game," she said.

"So, for some of us that want to get the services, we have to maybe hide. You want the services but you don't want to shout it from the rooftops.

"Now, when I go out to get the services, I look around - I'm the only person of colour in the room. It takes someone with courage to want to sit it out and some people at the door, they go back."

The National Autistic Society says its research suggests it can be harder for people from BAME backgrounds to get a diagnosis and support.

School census figures show that in Wales' mainstream schools only 8.4% of pupils aged five and over who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are from BAME communities, whereas 11.8% of all pupils identify as BAME.

However, the rate is higher in special schools, where only 10.6% of all pupils identify as BAME and yet 11.8% of pupils diagnosed with ASD come from those communities.

Dr Chris Papadopoulos, a public health lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire who has done research into the stigma of autism, said there was "emerging evidence" BAME people faced longer waits for diagnoses and support than white populations.

Firstly, the services aren't particularly culturally competent," he said.

"Often, they misunderstand how to communicate with these particular ethnic minorities and therefore, as a result, these communities often don't trust the services and don't want to access them."

On the other hand, he said, there was often a problem with knowledge among some groups.

Dr Papadopoulos said there was evidence some communities' perceptions of autism helped foster stigma, secrecy and isolation.

"Some are more likely to see autism as a result of a past sin in a past life and that therefore needs purging or curing, and other communities see it as something that should be feared and perhaps associated with danger; and other communities are a little bit ahead of the game and view it a bit more as a difference as opposed to a problem," he added.

Dr Papadopoulos said he had heard examples of autistic children being subjected to "very dangerous treatments".