SASS Staff
Publication details for Ms Helen Charnley
Hwang, S.K. & Charnley, H. (2010). Honourable Sacrifice: a visual ethnography of the family lives of Korean children with autistic siblings. Children and Society 24(6): 437-448.- Publication type: Journal papers: academic
- ISSN/ISBN: 0951-0605, 1099-0860
- DOI: 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2009.00228.x
- View online: Online version
- Durham research online: DRO record
Author(s) from Durham
Abstract
Literature on the siblings of disabled children has been dominated by western psychosocial theories that focus on stresses associated with being a 'young carer' or on children as active agents realising their 'rights' rather than as the victims of familial expectations. This article presents the findings of a visual ethnographic study exploring the lives of nine children living with an autistic sibling in South Korea (hereafter Korea). Despite personal challenges and family tensions, experiences of 'being' a sibling were strongly influenced by Confucian familist cultural values in which sacrifice plays a central role in achieving honourable and harmonious family life.