فاعلية خدمات التدخل المبكر للأطفال التوحديين

Abstract EN

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of an early intervention program for autistic children as perceived by parents and staff in the public and private institutions in Al Madina Al Munawarah.

To achieve the purpose of the study, the researchers designed a 55 - items questionnaire with six domains.

The study instrument was distributed to a random sample of working staff in hospitals, early intervention centers, and parents of autistic children (90 staff members, 76 parents).

The results of the study showed that parents’ evaluation of the medical domain ranked first, followed by the educational domain, and then supporting services, finally the psychological domain.

Staff members’ evaluation indicated behavioral domain ranked first, followed by educational domain, then supporting services domain and finally medical domain.

Significant differences were found in medical services attributed to gender, while no significant differences were found in the other domains.

No significant differences were found due to type of the institution, while significant differences were found in all domains, except for the medical domain and supporting services due to experience in favor of workers with experience (less than 7 years).

No significant gender differences were found in parents’ evaluation concerning the effectiveness of early intervention services, except for supporting services, in favor of females.

Significant differences were found between staff members and parents evaluation, in favor of parents in the medical, educational, social and supporting services domain and on the whole instrument, while no significant differences were found between staff members and parents evaluation in the psychological domain and the behavioral domain.

Several recommendations were suggested