Autism and Disability in China
Helen McCabe has studied education for children with autism in China since 1992. Her interest was sparked while she was studying Chinese and East Asian Studies in China and she volunteered at a children’s mental health center in Nanjing, where she was introduced to individuals with autism and a physician who specialized in the complex developmental disability. Since then, much of her career has been dedicated to working with people with autism, understanding the disability and educating caregivers and professionals.
Her work has included teaching children with autism using methods of Applied Behavior Analysis and Discrete Trial Teaching. She has discussed these methods on educational TV shows in China, in interviews with international reporters, with Chinese teachers’ groups and support groups for families, and when called upon individually by families.
Particularly in China, parents are looking for answers because of the shortage of schools for children with autism. Even at some of the few special education schools, teachers are often not trained to teach children with autism, she says. Over the past decade, McCabe has shared her findings primarily through teacher training and public lectures open to parents and professionals. There is a lack of general knowledge about this disability in China, and the parents who care for children with it have many fundamental questions. They do not understand the disorder, need moral support, lessons in behavior management and general teaching strategies, McCabe says. In the end, she hopes to give parents increased skills, knowledge, and also confidence.
At Hobart and William Smith Colleges, McCabe hopes to inspire future teachers and researchers. She teaches classes in Understanding Autism, Disability in China, and Disability, Family and Society, as well as courses introducing students both to China and to special education in general. She plans to publish a book on her research about families and civil society organizations in China, and will continue to spend a few months in China each year, conducting research and giving lectures.
McCabe in the News:
Interview opportunities and additional background information may be requested through the Office of Communications, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York. Phone: (315) 781-3540. After business hours, Communications staff members are accessible through contact information on their answering machine at that number.
Helen McCabe, an assistant professor of education at HWS since 2004, holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University, where she studied special education and international/comparative education. She also holds a master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College, both in East Asian Studies.
In 2005, she was selected by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations for its new Public Intellectuals program. This program provides fellows with access to policymakers, civil society, business and other leaders in China and the United States, and is a professional development opportunity for the new generation of China scholars in the United States.
McCabe is the author of “Effective Teacher Training at the Autism Institute in the People’s Republic of China” published in Teacher Education and Special Education (in press). She also co-wrote “Disability Education in the People’s Republic of China: Tradition, Reform and Outlook” (Shen, McCabe, & Chi, in press), published in International Reader of Disability Studies edited by Gabel & Danforth (Peter Lang press). She is also the author of “China: NGOs and education for children with autism,” that appears in M. Sutton & R. Arnove, (Eds.), Civil society or shadow state: State/NGO relations in education, published by Information Age Publishing (2004). She also wrote “The beginnings of inclusion in the People’s Republic of China,” that appears in Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (2003). She is the co-author of “Cultural issues and service provision in rural areas: People’s Republic of China,” that appeared in Early Intervention: Practices from Around the World, Baltimore: Brookes (2003) and "From Mother to Disability Professional: Role Change, Resilience, and Rewards" in Journal of Early Intervention, (2007).
She recently published "Parent Advocacy in the Face of Adversity: Autism and Families in the People’s Republic of China" in Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (2007).
Her professional affiliations include the Council for Exceptional Children,
Association for Asian Studies, Comparative and International Education Society and
TASH, an international association that works toward building inclusive communities through research, education and advocacy.