Understanding Parent's Knowledge and Perception About Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the City of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has shown a dramatic rise in the past few years. It is one of the most common chronic neurodevelopmental disorders with strong genetic basis. As patients’ outcomes are implicated by their parents’ knowledge and perception about ASD. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and perception of childhood autism among parents in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methodology This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that targeted all parents with at least one child in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2020. An electronic self-administered questionnaire was distributed online. A total of 413 participants were included. To describe our study participants, we used frequencies for the categorical variables. Chi-square test was used to determine the presence of associations. Results A total of 413 respondents were included, most of them were females. The mean age of the sample was (41±11.35). After assessing the knowledge about ASD among our sample of patients, most of the participants showed good level of knowledge asthe majority were able to identify ASDs’ early symptoms and believe that early identification of the disease will improve the therapeutic outcome. The perception was also acceptable in our sample since more than half of the participants were able to define ASD and were aware of the possibility of early diagnosis. It was also remarkable that most of the participants in our sample were able to identify the features of a child with ASD. Conclusion The study demonstrates an acceptable fund of knowledge and perception among parents regarding facts and myths about ASD among parents in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Males answered better in both sections covering knowledge and perception about ASD. We also found out that the level of education had a significant positive influence on the level of knowledge and perception.