"As Long as There's a Glimmer of Hope, I'm Willing to Try": The Moral Experiences of Parental Pursuit for Autism Therapy in Urban China.

Abstract

In today's China, countless parents embark on a journey of moral peril in search of treatment for their children with autism, navigating a bustling yet chaotic market of therapies. Based on 13 months of fieldwork in the Pearl River Delta, this study examines how the boom of China's autism therapy industry has plunged parents, who are relentlessly striving for their children's futures, into deeper vulnerability. I view the "ethics of trying" as parental enactment of their moral agency in seeking therapy and reveal how it serves as a moral engine for the industry's growth in the early 21st century, as well as how it leads to moral tragedies for parents as new norms of therapeutic choice emerge with government and professional guidance compelling them to make optimal therapeutic choices within a critical developmental window. Although parental efforts to avoid "agent-regret" can paradoxically lead to significant remorse, the moral tragedy they encounter can also prompt reflection and reevaluation of their approach to their child's condition.