Bağci Hamit Harun, Aksungur Abide, Öztürk Emiral Gülsüm, Şimşek Erhan
Republic of Turkiye Ministry of Health, General Directorate of Public Health, Ankara, Turkiye.
Altındağ District Health Directorate, Ankara, Turkiye.
Turk J Med Sci. 2025 Jun 26;55(4):982-991. doi: 10.55730/1300-0144.6051. eCollection 2025.
BACKGROUND/AIM: Teachers play an essential role in the early identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and associated difficulties in children. Increasing teachers' knowledge of ASD can be helpful in identifying these children and making the necessary referrals. This study aimed to assess teachers' knowledge and awareness of ASD and the factors affecting them.
This is a cross-sectional study conducted among school counsellors. A total of 171 school counsellors were contacted; school visits were arranged by prior appointment, and the purpose of the study was explained. Data were collected using a questionnaire prepared by the researchers and the autism awareness scale (AAS).
Most teachers had heard of the concept of ASD, but the concept of shadow teaching was less familiar. Women and those with lower perceived income levels had statistically significantly higher scores on the ASD awareness scale. Participants who had received ASD-related training or had individuals diagnosed with ASD in their environment had higher ASD scores. Women had statistically significantly higher scores than men in the subdimensions of "causes of autism", "friendship relationships in autism", and "basic elements in the intervention process in autism".
This study shows that sex and previous contact with individuals diagnosed with ASD may contribute to intervention processes beyond autism identification. In particular, teachers need to be aware of early identification and referral to intervention programs in schools with pupils diagnosed with ASD. Teachers are likely to come into contact with individuals diagnosed with ASD in a variety of settings. It is, therefore, vital that they have sufficient knowledge and awareness of autism to be able to interact effectively with individuals diagnosed with ASD.
背景/目的：教师在儿童自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）及相关问题的早期识别中起着至关重要的作用。增加教师对ASD的了解有助于识别这些儿童并进行必要的转诊。本研究旨在评估教师对ASD的了解和认识以及影响他们的因素。
这是一项针对学校辅导员开展的横断面研究。共联系了171名学校辅导员；通过提前预约安排了学校走访，并解释了研究目的。使用研究人员编制的问卷和自闭症认知量表（AAS）收集数据。
大多数教师听说过ASD的概念，但对影子教学的概念不太熟悉。女性和那些认为收入水平较低的教师在ASD认知量表上的得分在统计学上显著更高。接受过与ASD相关培训或周围环境中有被诊断为ASD的个体的参与者，其ASD得分更高。在“自闭症的成因”“自闭症中的友谊关系”以及“自闭症干预过程中的基本要素”等子维度上，女性的得分在统计学上显著高于男性。
本研究表明，性别以及之前与被诊断为ASD的个体接触可能有助于自闭症识别之外的干预过程。特别是，教师需要意识到在有被诊断为ASD学生的学校中进行早期识别并转诊至干预项目。教师很可能在各种环境中接触到被诊断为ASD的个体。因此，他们对自闭症有足够的了解和认识，以便能够与被诊断为ASD的个体进行有效互动至关重要。
