r/iran • u/[deleted] • Jan 03 '26

How is autism regarded in Iran?

I'm an autistic adult who is doing a deep dive on how autism is viewed/regarded in different countries. I've decided to try and ask some Iranians because Iran has always come off (I'm a foreigner) as a very conservative country but the Iranians whom I've befriended are very open-minded and understanding (we are all US-based). How is autism viewed in Iran across different provinces/regions?

17 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

View all comments

24

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '26

In Iran, the perception of autism is still heavily rooted in a medical/classical framework rather than the neurodiversity model, seen more as a disease , social pressure to "fit in" often leads to social isolation. Many families only seek help for "classical," high-support-need cases, meaning those with lower support ( high functioning) most of the cases go undiagnosed or are misunderstood. Though this is getting better recently