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Knowledge and Attitudes toward Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia

Aims: The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not easy as there is no direct test that exists to establish such a diagnosis. Increasing community and healthcare professional knowledge of the ASD spectrum is crucial because it will encourage parents of ASD children to seek screening and di...

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Autores principales: Alyami, Hamad S., Naser, Abdallah Y., Alyami, Mohammad H., Alharethi, Salem H., Alyami, Abdullah M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8950846/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35329335
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063648
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author Alyami, Hamad S.
Naser, Abdallah Y.
Alyami, Mohammad H.
Alharethi, Salem H.
Alyami, Abdullah M.
author_facet Alyami, Hamad S.
Naser, Abdallah Y.
Alyami, Mohammad H.
Alharethi, Salem H.
Alyami, Abdullah M.
author_sort Alyami, Hamad S.
collection PubMed
description Aims: The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not easy as there is no direct test that exists to establish such a diagnosis. Increasing community and healthcare professional knowledge of the ASD spectrum is crucial because it will encourage parents of ASD children to seek screening and diagnosis from a specialist, allowing for better early detection and treatment. This study explored the knowledge of the general population in Saudi Arabia regarding ASD and assessed variables associated with an accurate understanding of ASD. Methods: A total of 769 participants were involved in this cross-sectional study, which was conducted in Saudi Arabia between November 2021 and February 2022 using an online survey tool to explore the knowledge of the general population in Saudi Arabia regarding typical child development and ASD. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors affecting participants’ knowledge of autism. Results: Overall, the study participants showed a weak level of knowledge about autism with a mean score of 5.9 (SD: 3.1), comprising 34.7% of the total maximum obtainable score. Participants with a middle income category of 5000–7500 SR are less likely to be knowledgeable about autism compared to others (OR: 0.60 (95% CI: 0.39–0.92)) (p-value = 0.020). Conclusion: The participants in our study showed limited knowledge about autism. Government funds should be made available to facilitate educational services for ASD children. More funding and resources should be allocated by the government to provide assistance for children with special needs, and changes in public facilities are required to meet the demands of ASD patients. Through an informed educational effort, various media platforms should assist in improving the community’s understanding of ASD and their attitude toward ASD patients. Educational campaigns should focus on enhancing the public’s knowledge about ASD treatment and etiology.
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spelling pubmed-89508462022-03-26 Knowledge and Attitudes toward Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia Alyami, Hamad S. Naser, Abdallah Y. Alyami, Mohammad H. Alharethi, Salem H. Alyami, Abdullah M. Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Aims: The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not easy as there is no direct test that exists to establish such a diagnosis. Increasing community and healthcare professional knowledge of the ASD spectrum is crucial because it will encourage parents of ASD children to seek screening and diagnosis from a specialist, allowing for better early detection and treatment. This study explored the knowledge of the general population in Saudi Arabia regarding ASD and assessed variables associated with an accurate understanding of ASD. Methods: A total of 769 participants were involved in this cross-sectional study, which was conducted in Saudi Arabia between November 2021 and February 2022 using an online survey tool to explore the knowledge of the general population in Saudi Arabia regarding typical child development and ASD. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors affecting participants’ knowledge of autism. Results: Overall, the study participants showed a weak level of knowledge about autism with a mean score of 5.9 (SD: 3.1), comprising 34.7% of the total maximum obtainable score. Participants with a middle income category of 5000–7500 SR are less likely to be knowledgeable about autism compared to others (OR: 0.60 (95% CI: 0.39–0.92)) (p-value = 0.020). Conclusion: The participants in our study showed limited knowledge about autism. Government funds should be made available to facilitate educational services for ASD children. More funding and resources should be allocated by the government to provide assistance for children with special needs, and changes in public facilities are required to meet the demands of ASD patients. Through an informed educational effort, various media platforms should assist in improving the community’s understanding of ASD and their attitude toward ASD patients. Educational campaigns should focus on enhancing the public’s knowledge about ASD treatment and etiology. MDPI 2022-03-19 /pmc/articles/PMC8950846/ /pubmed/35329335 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063648 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Alyami, Hamad S.
Naser, Abdallah Y.
Alyami, Mohammad H.
Alharethi, Salem H.
Alyami, Abdullah M.
Knowledge and Attitudes toward Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia
title Knowledge and Attitudes toward Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia
title_full Knowledge and Attitudes toward Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia
title_fullStr Knowledge and Attitudes toward Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia
title_full_unstemmed Knowledge and Attitudes toward Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia
title_short Knowledge and Attitudes toward Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia
title_sort knowledge and attitudes toward autism spectrum disorder in saudi arabia
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8950846/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35329335
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063648
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