Parents’ perceptions of raising children with autism spectrum disorders in the United States and Arab countries: A comparative review

Abstract

Four databases were searched to identify studies published by Arab researchers on parents’ perceptions of autism spectrum disorder and studies conducted by US researchers and published in systematic reviews of this topic. The electronic search resulted in 14 studies published by Arab researchers and 55 studies published by US researchers. The results showed that autism spectrum disorder has many of the same effects on Arab and American families. Six major areas were identified in the results. Financial difficulties associated with raising children with autism spectrum disorder were mentioned more in Arab studies than in US studies. Arab studies had more emphasis on gender than US studies. The results related to quality of life of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Arab studies were equivocal. US studies included comparisons with families without a child with autism spectrum disorder, and addressed factors that were associated with quality of life indicators. More health, educational, and social services were available in United States than in Arab countries, but some frustration was reported by US parents in obtaining appropriate services in some studies. A higher percentage of Arab studies mentioned the role of religious faith than US studies. Finally, social stigma was evidenced in both cultures, but not much research was available.

Covid-19 Salgınının Otizm Spektrum Bozukluğu Olan Bireylere Etkisi ve Ailelerinin Başetme Stratejileri İle Uzaktan Eğitime Yönelik Görüşleri Üzerine Nitel Bir Çalışma

“…Our findings are consonant with research evidence that access to educational activities for children with ASD and their consistency depends on socio-cultural, economic, and individual factors (Barry et al, 2020;Dawson et al, 2010;Khateeb et al, 2019), and that parental beliefs and attitudes are likely to affect their education. This study also provides evidence of such an effect in extraordinary circumstances, such as a pandemic.…”

Annual Research Review: Achieving universal health coverage for young children with autism spectrum disorder in low‐ and middle‐income countries: a review of reviews

“…Many studies contained reports from parents (predominantly mothers) of feelings of self‐blame, depression, and an adverse impact on life satisfaction (Ilias et al, 2018; Liao, Lei, & Li, 2019; Nuri, Batorowicz, & Aldersey, 2019; Scherer, Verhey, & Kuper, 2019). A review of studies from the Middle East comprise, by contrast, a majority of fathers as respondents, and reflected more stress related to financial pressures (Al Khateeb, Kaczmarek, & Al Hadidi, 2019). The large impact of economic factors on family quality of life also emerged as a finding from a review on families with a child living with a disability in the Global South (Hunt & Watermeyer, 2017).…”

“…Another key roadblock is the lack of autism or disability‐specific rights legislation or, in countries where disability‐specific laws were in place, an absence of support for the implementation of these policies (Bakare et al, 2019). This is compounded by low levels of awareness of autism even within the health system, in both frontline healthcare workers and professionals, with very limited opportunities for training (Al Khateeb et al, 2019; de Leeuw et al, 2020; Shorey et al, 2020; Wang, Hedley, Bury, & Barbaro, 2020), resulting in a lack of any established models of developmental surveillance. In LAMIC, the lack of a right to UHC leads to financial burden on families, since most autism services are privately accessed and result in prohibitive out of pocket expenses (Bakare et al, 2019; Hunt & Watermeyer, 2017; de Leeuw et al, 2020).…”

“…This contrasts with the core principles of equity and financial risk protection inherent in UHC. This lack of financial support for services, respite care or long‐term care, are directly related to the stress that families experience (Al Khateeb et al, 2019; Ilias et al, 2018) and often drive families into more precarious financial positions. For countries that have signed up to various declarations including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disability, it is important that policies are harmonized to actualize these commitments.…”

The primary caregiver’s stress: its correlation with the chronological and diagnostic age of children with autism spectrum disorder

“…Moreover, it has been observed that primary caregivers, especially the mothers, get frustrated due to unawareness of behavioral issues appearing in child with ASD at the age of 2 years than a healthy child. 12 After careful review of the literature regarding the impacts of ASD on primary caregivers, it has been found that no such correlational study has been conducted in Pakistan. Currently, primary caregivers are facing stressful psychological issues, such as stress due to maladaptive behaviors of their autistic child, misdiagnosis, and improper access to healthcare facilities.…”