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Perceptions of the Professionals and Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders About Autism Services; A Qualitative Study

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Abstract

In this qualitative study, we aimed to explore the challenges of providing services and supports for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families from the perceptions of professionals and parents of children with ASD. We classified the results of the study into three key categories including shortcomings in the management of children with ASD; shortcomings of supportive programs and facilities for children with ASD and their families; and organizational challenges in providing services for these children. We analyzed data using the content analysis method. The results showed that there is a wide range of challenges in providing sufficient and high-quality services for children with ASD and empowerment programs for their parents.

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Abbreviations

ASD:

Autism spectrum disorders

FGD:

Focus Group Discussions

LMICs:

Low- and middle-income countries

COREQ:

Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research

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Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge parents of children with ASD and professionals in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, autism centers, and the autism school for their kind contributions in implementation of this study.

Funding

This study was funded by School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran (Grant Number 59847). Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Shabnam Iezadi.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tabriz health services management research center, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Kamal Gholipour

  2. HEB School of Business & Administration, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Akbar Ghiasi

  3. Research Center of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Hassan Shahrokhi

  4. Maragheh University of Medical Science, Maragheh, Iran

    Zeinab Dadashi & Simin Javanmard

  5. District 1 Karaj, Ministry of Education, Karaj, Iran

    Seyyed Hasan Tabatabaei

  6. Hospital Management Research Center, Health Management Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Shabnam Iezadi

Authors
  1. Kamal Gholipour
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  2. Akbar Ghiasi
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  3. Hassan Shahrokhi
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  4. Zeinab Dadashi
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  5. Simin Javanmard
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  6. Seyyed Hasan Tabatabaei
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  7. Shabnam Iezadi
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Contributions

All authors contributed to designing the study and preparing the research proposal. KG, HS, ZD, SJ, SHT, and SI contributed to data collection and participant recruitment. SJ, ZD, and SHT transcribed the voice records. KG, AG, HS, and SI contributed to data analysis. SI, AG, and KG drafted the manuscript. All authors commented on the manuscript and approved it. All authors read the manuscript and confirmed the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shabnam Iezadi.

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The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Gholipour, K., Ghiasi, A., Shahrokhi, H. et al. Perceptions of the Professionals and Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders About Autism Services; A Qualitative Study. J Autism Dev Disord 53, 96–109 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05388-9

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