Indian GPs and ASD

In my neck of the woods it's a case of find a GP who isn't Indian. The numbers must be so few that one could count them on their fingers.

It's a well known fact that young south Asians in Britain are attracted to studying medicine (the human body), and it's commonplace for their parents to push them to into becoming doctors, but it's rare for a south Asian to choose to study psychology (the human mind). Just visit a university and you will find about 2 out 3 students studying medicine are south Asian but the students studying psychology are almost exclusively white and British.

The south Asian community also happens to be behind the curve (for a multitude of reasons including those that are cultural or religious) when it comes to ASD than the white British middle class are. A significant proportion of south Asian medicine students attended private schools which often do not recognise ASD or want any children there with ASD.

Has anybody given any thought to the effects of this on getting a diagnosis of ASD via a GP? In general, GPs (of all races and backgrounds) are behind the curve when it comes to ASD but when cultural factors are brought into the picture it adds a new dimension. Trying to encourage more young Asians to study psychology will be like trying to encourage them to study classics - which is a subject they show virtually no interest in studying.

Parents
  • The only psy-not-quite-sure-what-exactly-he-was I felt did understand me was Indian or Pakistani, I've also briefly seen another consultant of a similar origin briefly, too short to tell if she understood me but they certainly do exist. Not saying your observation about students' preferences is wrong but I would expect this to change with time. Apparently mental health problems were something many Asians wouldn't really talk about (said a mental health advisor at uni - she saw many students who described their problems in a very physical way, as tummy ache or something) but this is certainly changing.

    On the other hand, the GP who told me an AS test is not available for adults through the NHS (and who actually sits on the board that decides in each individual case whether they fund it) could not have been more British...

Reply
  • The only psy-not-quite-sure-what-exactly-he-was I felt did understand me was Indian or Pakistani, I've also briefly seen another consultant of a similar origin briefly, too short to tell if she understood me but they certainly do exist. Not saying your observation about students' preferences is wrong but I would expect this to change with time. Apparently mental health problems were something many Asians wouldn't really talk about (said a mental health advisor at uni - she saw many students who described their problems in a very physical way, as tummy ache or something) but this is certainly changing.

    On the other hand, the GP who told me an AS test is not available for adults through the NHS (and who actually sits on the board that decides in each individual case whether they fund it) could not have been more British...

Children
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