Almasoud Hanan, Alqahtani Shouq
Special Education Department, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Res Dev Disabil. 2023 May;136:104492. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104492. Epub 2023 Mar 21.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong condition that requires autism-specific services. However, the quality of autism services in Saudi Arabia has rarely been examined. Therefore, exploring issues from the parents' perspective is crucial to improve the quality of life (QOL) outcomes for such a population. Semi-structured interviews were administered to nine parents of individuals with ASD, and thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Results showed that parents' experiences regarding the quality of autism services varied. In addition, the quality of autism services must be further developed to meet the diverse needs of individuals with ASD and their families, in line with the 2030 vision of Saudi Arabia, which prioritises the QOL of individuals with a disability and their families. This study highlighted some influencing factors of the quality of autism services and QOL of individuals with ASD and their families from the parents' perspective. This study concluded that further research is necessary to gain in-depth understanding of the influencing factors of the quality of national autism services. Overall, the reasons behind the diversity in experiences amongst parents of individuals with ASD regarding the quality of autism services must be further explored.
自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)是一种需要特定自闭症服务的终身疾病。然而,沙特阿拉伯自闭症服务的质量很少受到审视。因此,从家长的角度探讨问题对于改善这类人群的生活质量(QOL)结果至关重要。对九位患有ASD的个体的家长进行了半结构化访谈,并采用主题分析法进行数据分析。结果显示,家长对自闭症服务质量的体验各不相同。此外,根据沙特阿拉伯的2030愿景,自闭症服务质量必须进一步提升,以满足患有ASD的个体及其家庭的多样化需求,该愿景将残疾人士及其家庭的生活质量作为优先事项。本研究从家长的角度突出了一些影响自闭症服务质量以及患有ASD的个体及其家庭生活质量的因素。本研究得出结论,有必要进行进一步研究,以深入了解国家自闭症服务质量的影响因素。总体而言,必须进一步探究患有ASD的个体的家长在自闭症服务质量方面体验存在差异的背后原因。