“There is always pressure”: Using discourse analysis to understand parents’ experiences of autism services in Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face strong
and complex feelings in accessing autism services, due to their
inaccessibility, poor quality, and financial cost. In order to enhance
these services, and improve the life satisfaction and quality of
families who have children with ASD, more research is needed to
understand parents‟ emotions, satisfaction, and dissatisfaction with
autism services. As such, this qualitative study uses deductive and
inductive discourse analysis to examine data collected from parents
of ASD children in Saudi Arabia. The findings show that parents
have more negative feelings towards autism services than positive. It
is thus suggested that policy makers take effective action to improve
diagnostic services and the quality of autism services, to reduce
stressors on caregivers, and improve their life satisfaction and
quality.
Abstract
Abstract
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face strong
and complex feelings in accessing autism services, due to their
inaccessibility,…