Understanding autism in Saudi Arabia: A qualitative analysis of the community and cultural context

Abstract

Healthcare providers mostly have formal understanding about causes and treatments of autism. Parents of children with autism, on the other hand, obtain contradictory information from multiple formal and informal sources. The objective of the current study is to evaluate qualitatively the beliefs of parents of children with autism in Saudi Arabia. A purposive sampling method for recruiting typical sample was applied. Parents were selected from King Fahad Medical City and a semi-structured interview format was used to interview them. This study approached 85 Saudi parents of children with autism and 47 of them were interviewed. Several causes of autism were reported. A vaccine was the most causative sources reported. Some parents feel guilty that they caused their children's autism. Others believed that nonmedical or cultural reasons such as evil eye and black magic could cause autism. Few parents reported using alternative medical intervention, such as diet program and hyperbaric oxygen therapy to heal their children from autism. Cultural and informal interventions dominated. It is recommended that professionals should be aware and sensitive to these different beliefs and provide proper multidisciplinary interventions including behavioral and educational interventions. The results of the current study emphasise the needs to improve the teaching about autism among the medical schools and for all pediatricians and health care professionals in order to improve health care and quality of life in children with autism.