Duker Leah I Stein, Henwood Benjamin F, Bluthenthal Ricky N, Juhlin Emma, Polido José C, Cermak Sharon A
University of Southern California, Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, 1540 Alcazar St, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States.
University of Southern California, School of Social Work, 1150 S. Olive St, 1429, Los Angeles, CA 90015-2211, United States.
Res Autism Spectr Disord. 2017 Jul;39:63-72. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2017.03.002. Epub 2017 May 20.
Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience barriers to oral care in the dental office setting. The purpose of this study was to provide an increased understanding of these challenges experienced during oral care in the dental office by children with ASD.
This study was part of a larger mixed methods design and builds on quantitative results from a survey of parents of children with ASD ages 2-18 in which parents reported difficulties with access to care, sensory processing, and uncooperative behaviors. For this study, we conducted two, three hour, focus groups of parents of male children with ASD age 5-18 years in order to explore the survey results in greater depth. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using a template coding approach based on the three domains of office-based oral care challenges identified in the first phase (survey).
Several related themes emerged including: (1) : "Difficult to find the right dentist", (2) "All the sensory devices just make him so uncomfortable", (3) "It looked like they were torturing him", and (4) : "A mixed bag".
The qualitative findings from this study both confirmed our previous survey findings and expanded upon them. These findings can help professionals better understand the challenges experienced by children with ASD and their parents as well as help identify priorities for planning efforts to address the oral health-related needs of this population.
许多患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童在牙科诊所接受口腔护理时会遇到障碍。本研究的目的是加深对患有ASD的儿童在牙科诊所接受口腔护理时所经历的这些挑战的理解。
本研究是一个更大的混合方法设计的一部分，基于对2至18岁患有ASD儿童的家长进行的一项调查的定量结果，家长们报告了在获得护理、感觉处理和不合作行为方面存在困难。在本研究中，我们对5至18岁患有ASD的男性儿童的家长进行了两次为时三小时的焦点小组讨论，以便更深入地探讨调查结果。焦点小组的文字记录使用基于第一阶段（调查）确定的基于办公室的口腔护理挑战三个领域的模板编码方法进行分析。
出现了几个相关主题，包括：（1）“很难找到合适的牙医”，（2）“所有的感官设备都让他非常不舒服”，（3）“看起来他们在折磨他”，以及（4）“好坏参半”。
本研究的定性结果既证实了我们之前的调查结果，又对其进行了扩展。这些结果可以帮助专业人员更好地理解患有ASD的儿童及其家长所面临的挑战，并有助于确定规划工作的重点，以满足这一人群与口腔健康相关的需求。
