I'm not sure if this fits in this subreddit, but I just thought I'd warn others interested in them. They genuinely had no information about my autism besides "high functioning autism" and decided I wasn't fit for their medium intensity school lol. Currently applying to ISI instead.
by tom333444
31 comments
Just to clarify, I have no problems with pair work and my autism is so so subtle most people don’t even notice it’s there.
I’m gonna give to a tip, autistic person to autistic person. Japan is not the West. You can’t just disclose autism Willy-nilly. Keep it secret. Reveal it to friends if you like! But don’t tell schools or employers unless you want the boot.
Isn’t that illegal as f*ck?
apply again.. don’t tell them about being autistic
Language schools accept students with disabilities all the time. Are you sure there wasn’t anything else on your application indicating that the work would be difficult for you? It might not be a good habit to default to thinking it’s malicious intent
They are probably thinking you are unable to have basic function as an adult at all. Mental illness/disability of any kind is best kept a secret in Japan.
Can’t you make a appeal? And describe them your status in greater detail. I’m guessing some office worker didn’t understand what “high functioning” means. On the other hand, if they didn’t even bother to ask if you are really are limited, perhaps you shouldn’t bother too.
from an outsider’s perspective many of Japan’s cultural and social norms seem super autism coded anyway – so I’m guessing lots of autistic people blend in there better and if there’s ever a ‘diagnosis’ that’s probably understood by most Japanese people to be a very severe thing
this is just complete speculation though
What is the point of disclosing a “disability” if it doesn’t create any big issues in your day to day life?
I get a lot of shit from people around for being “obviously autistic” but I’m never going to volunteer that information or seek any sort of diagnosis purely because that’s like begging people to discriminate against you.
Their loss. A school that can’t deal with or doesn’t understand autism would probably just waste your time.
tell them it was an accident and you weren’t autistic and you misclicked or something
A thing to know in mind is that when applying for education/employment, “disabilities” are lethal, even if it’s extremely subtle. Asian communities have rooted biases towards different kinds of physical or mental challenge. Supplying information about your challenges is almost never a good thing to do. People might not notice that you are autistic throughout your entire diploma/career, but if you give the information first, you may face rejections after rejections
Level 1 here: Japan isn’t a safe country to talk openly about autism. Just now they’re discovering about AHDH and starting to be open to it. Do never say you’re an autistic if you wanna get accepted by a school, and only be open about it to people that you know 100% for sure that will be open and will understand it fully when you talk to them.
And sincerely, think straight about the decision of coming. If interactions are still extremely hard for you, you should give some thought on the fact that literally no one here is gonna be open to you immediately. You’re gonna be put to the test!
Edit: for some damn reason, the auto-correction changed “autism” for “racism” lol
Japan doesn’t have a disability protection or similar. Never disclose any illnesses to Japanese schools or potential jobs.
As someone who used to live in Japan and used to teach kids English. I will say one thing, Japanese people aren’t as open as the West about disabilities. It’s not a shame thing or anything like that, it’s more the case of it’s a personal and private thing.
In my classes, I did have neurodivergent kids and parents did tell us but there’s no point in broadcasting it to other kids and parents. I literally had one mum have her son join a class of mine, kept her sons disability between us because she wanted him to experience some sort of normality – without being treated different.
Furthermore, I think a lot of people forget that Japan isn’t the West – they have their own culture, social norms and for heavens sake, it doesn’t mean they’re lower than the West. Quite frankly the West lags behind Japan on a lot of things.
So here’s a different perspective: the rejection could very well be not because of YOU, OP. But because THEY feel that they aren’t equipped enough to help you with your needs.
The mega rart
I taught English in Japan for a time and now teach Japanese in America.
An autistic Japanese student has the benefit of being a Japanese citizen and therefore enjoys certain protections (granted I was working at levels where education was compulsory). Being in Japan, the students could also be interviewed and have Japanese doctors and parents vouch for them.
The school you’re applying to is also private and for-profit. They can certainly deny you entry, as much as it sucks. I’m sure they’re doing this with what they believe is the best of intentions. I’m also aware that autism (and many, many other disabilities) presents differently from person to person. You could 100% be able to participate while that other student couldn’t. I really wish they did more follow up to inform their decision.
That said, the schools I was teaching in were progressive – plenty of books about teaching students with disabilities, information about LGBT people, etc.. Japan is (slowly) getting better at these things.
Oh I hey I went to this school. Kind of a shame as the teachers are really good there but admin can be a bit of a pain
Take their advice in the email to heart.
I study at ALA, you are lucky they rejected you. Classes are hot mess, students won’t stop chatting with each other and a friend of mine in school is I think undiagnosed autistic person and during the class he’d have panic attacks and such because how loud it is. He’d get sensory overload. I have ADHD and same happens to me too.
Also I know the student they are talking about because he was a classmate of my friend and he was causing so much problem they had to drop him. They are just afraid of going through the same problem again.
I’ve applied to Okayama and decided to disclose it despite having reservations—I figured if I didn’t get accepted, I’d apply somewhere else and keep it a secret. But they were surprisingly nice about it—they just needed a doctor’s note to ensure I was in good health and if I needed any accommodations (I asked if it would be possible to have class materials shared with me after class in case I missed anything—that way I can study them at home).
Asian cultures in general are very different about mental health and developmental issues compared to the West, so you’ll never really know what kind of reaction you’ll get. Other than the school and healthcare professionals, it’s not really something I plan to share as openly as I do here in Canada.
Good luck with other schools!
You should be happy you got a thoughtful reply and explanation, vs a standardized rejection. Find a program that meets your needs is all… they did you a favor as they cannot accommodate your needs.
In Japanese, autism is 自閉症, which literally means “shut-in syndrome”. If you say this to a Japanese person, they’re going to picture the most extreme end of the spectrum, someone who really cannot verbally communicate. The spectrum as it is understood in the West has not made its way to the general Japanese consciousness.
If you are relatively high functioning, can read the air a bit, and are fairly charming, the cultural gap in Japan can actually be a benefit to people on the spectrum. People will overlook your strange points and brush them off as “foreigners be weird” instead of “this specific person is weird”. It’s still not easy to adapt, but a lot of the other long-term residents that I’ve met (some of whom are very obviously on the spectrum) have used this to their advantage. Everyone goes through culture shock here, so it actually evens the playing field in a sense. It’s not just you being confused about social interactions, for once.
So it’s probably not necessary to state that the reason you’re different or need certain adjuments is because of autism – just say what you need without justifying it further. Let it be written off as a “gaijin doing gaijin things”. It makes life way easier. Speaking from experience.
There’s probably more to it but it does seem like a generalization over one autistic student. I know disabilities are not that well recognized in Asia in general, and it’s hard enough as is in the West since people still face discrimination etc. But I respect that you disclosed it, I am left thinking if they’re aware that autism is on the spectrum? if yours is subtle like you mentioned, you may just be the high functioning type – in which case, more than capable of doing pair work etc.
Why would you tell anyone about that?
someone else already said this, but i’m gonna say it again, if you’re high functioning, don’t disclose your autism to schools. barely anyone knows what autism is, so shit like this happens. i’m autistic and no one knows except for my parents (obviously), some of my relatives and my closest friends.
I always struggled with conversation and teamwork but I don’t disclose and it was never pointed out as a problem. If you disclose it then they become like this for no reason tbh. I’m sorry I don’t have much advice.
Can’t disclose that stuff over here in Japan. Sorry, I’d move on to another school and apply without disclosing that info.
Yeah next time lie to protect yourself
Declaring your autism is asking to be discriminated. This is exactly how it works.
Please give yourself a fair chance by not doing this again.
In some countries they might not even let you sign any contracts or legally represent yourself.
Sorry this happened but I would also consider this dodging a bullet. The school isn’t equipped to handle accommodating students with disabilities and definitely would’ve made your time there stressful and overwhelming.