Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Developmental Disabilities in the Arab World

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World

  • 38 Accesses

Abstract

Disability and developmental disabilities in the Arab world can be viewed from different perspectives and bearing in mind the ultra-conservative tribal culture in the region. These disabilities were once considered a stigma not only for the person with disability but also for the entire family. This chapter describes various disabilities and rights of the disabled with developmental deficiencies in the Arab region. The Arab region is also known as MENA (Middle East and North African region) and consists of 20 countries.

Theoretical reviews and comparative data are analyzed to (1) determine common problems faced by persons with disabilities, (2) the evolution of developmental disability issues in the Arab region, and (3) suggest a response by governments and the public in devising strategies and legislations for better integrating disabled persons in society. This study includes an analysis of developmental disabilities, inclusion of persons with disabilities, and providing them with care and equal opportunities in employment and better acceptance in Arab societies. A deep theoretical and empirical compilation of the secondary resources available on developmental disabilities in the Arab world determined that although all countries in the region started their efforts to better integrate and include persons with disabilities in all walks of life, these goals are still from being achieved. A systematic review by Alkhateeb et al. (Res Dev Disabil 49–50:60–75, 2016) indicates that this is an under-researched area and that greater efforts are needed by academics and practitioners to investigate the issue of developmental disabilities in the Arab world.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abu-Hamour B, Muhaidat M (2014) Parents’ attitudes towards inclusion of students with autism in Jordan. Int J Incl Educ 18(6):567–579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Al Gelban KS (2009) Prevalence of psychological symptoms in Saudi secondary school girls in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Ann Saudi Med 29(4):275–279

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Farsi OA, Al-Farsi YM, Al-Sharbati MM, Al-Adawi S (2016) Stress, anxiety, and depression among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Oman: a case–control study. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 12(1):1943–1951

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Hussein Society for the Habilitation/Rehabilitation of the Physically Challenged (n.d.) Jordan’s law for the welfare of disabled persons for the year 1993. Retrieved June 30, 2020, from http://www.alhusseinrehab.org.jo/index.asp

  • Al-Khalaf A, Dempsey I, Dally K (2014) The effect of an education program for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder in Jordan. Int J Adv Counsell 36(2):175–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alkhateeb JM, Hadidi MS, Alkhateeb AJ (2016) Inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in Arab countries: a review of the research literature from 1990 to 2014. Res Dev Disabil 49–50:60–75

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Lawati S (2011) Mentally disabled children in the Middle East and their integration into society. Middle East Health Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.middleeasthealthmag.com/jul2011/feature5.htm

  • Almansour MA, Alateeq MA, Alzahrani MK, Algeffari MA, Alhomaidan HT (2013) Depression and anxiety among parents and caregivers of autistic spectral disorder children. Neurosciences 18(1):58–63

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alqabba F, Siddiqui AA, FreahAlshammary JA, Alateeq N, Rathore HA (2019) Evidence-based approach to cope with dental anxiety and fear amongst children, especially those with disabilities through sensory adaptive dental environment. Saudi J Oral Dent Res 4(1):5–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Thani H (2006) Disability in the Arab region: current situation and prospects. J Disabil Int Dev 3:4–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker-Ericzén MJ, Brookman-Frazee L, Stahmer A (2005) Stress levels and adaptability in parents of toddlers with and without autism spectrum disorders. Res Pract Persons Severe Disabil 30(4):194–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry-Kravis E, Raspa M, Loggin-Hester L, Bishop E, Holiday D, Bailey DB Jr (2010) Seizures in fragile X syndrome: characteristics and comorbid diagnoses. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil 115(6):461–472

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Biederman J, Faraone SV, Keenan K, Knee D, Tsuang MT (1990) Family-genetic and psychosocial risk factors in DSM-III attention deficit disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 29(4):526–533

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borowska-Beszta B (2012) Niepełnosprawność w kontekstachkulturowychiteoretycznych. OficynaWyd. Impuls, Kraków

    Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2006) Morocco report on human rights practices-2005. Retrieved July 24, 2020 from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61695.htm

  • CDC (2020) What is ADHD? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020 [cited 24 June 2020]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/facts.html

  • Chen MH, Wei HT, Chen LC, Su TP, Bai YM, Hsu JW, Huang KL, Chang WH, Chen TJ, Chen YS (2015) Autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and psychiatric comorbidities: a nationwide study. Res Autism Spect Dis 10:1–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciaccio C, Fontana L, Milani D, Tabano S, Miozzo M, Esposito S (2017) Fragile X syndrome: a review of clinical and molecular diagnoses. Ital J Pediatr 43(1):39

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Corah NL (1969) Development of a dental anxiety scale. J Dent Res 48(4):596

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crabtree SA, Williams R (2013) Ethical implications for research into inclusive education in Arab societies: reflections on the politicization of the personalized research experience. Int Soc Work 56(2):148–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodd LW (2004) Supporting the siblings of young children with disabilities. Br J Spec Educ 31(1):41–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eapen V, Ai-Sabosy M, Saeed M, Sabri S (2004) Child psychiatric disorders in a primary care Arab population. Int J Psychiatr Med 34(1):51–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eapen V, Mabrouk AA, Zoubeidi T, Sabri S, Yousef S, Al-Ketbi J, Al-Kyomi T, Jakka ME (2009) Epidemiological study of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among school children in the United Arab Emirates. Hamdan Med J 2(3):119–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia and the League of Arab States (2014) Disability in the Arab region: An Overview. Retrieved from https://www.unescwa.or/ite/ww.unescwa.or/ile/age_attachment/isability_in_the_arab_region-_an_overview_-_en_1.pdf. Google Scholar

  • Eissa Saad MA, Borowska-Beszta B (2019) Disability in the Arab world: a comparative analysis within culture. Int J Psycho-Educ Sci 8(2):29–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Elsabbagh M, Divan G, Koh YJ, Kim YS, Kauchali S, Marcín C, Montiel-Nava C, Patel V, Paula CS, Wang C, Yasamy MT (2012) Global prevalence of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. Autism Res 5(3):160–179

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Farah LG, Fayyad JA, Eapen V, Cassir Y, Salamoun MM, Tabet CC, Mneimneh ZN, Karam EG (2009) ADHD in the Arab world: a review of epidemiologic studies. J Atten Disord 13(3): 211–222

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farrugia D (2009) Exploring stigma: medical knowledge and the stigmatisation of parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Sociol Health Illn 31(7):1011–1027

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fido A, Al Saad S (2013) Psychological effects of parenting children with autism prospective study in Kuwait. Open J Psychiatry 3:5–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisman S, Wolf L, Ellison D, Freeman T (2000) A longitudinal study of siblings of children with chronic disabilities. Can J Psychiatr 45(4):369–375

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman S, Moskowitz JT (2000) Stress, positive emotion, and coping. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 9(4):115–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fombonne E (2001) Is there an epidemic of autism? Pediatrics 107(2):411–412

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ford T, Goodman R, Meltzer H (2003) The British child and adolescent mental health survey 1999: the prevalence of DSM-IV disorders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 42(10): 1203–1211

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garnefski N, Kraaij V (2009) Cognitive coping and psychological adjustment in different types of stressful life events. Individ Differ Res 7(3):168–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Garnefski N, Kraaij V, Spinhoven P (2002) Manual for the use of the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire. DATEC, Leiderdorp

    Google Scholar 

  • Garnefski N, Boon S, Kraaij V (2003) Relationships between cognitive strategies of adolescents and depressive symptomatology across different types of life event. J Youth Adolesc 32(6):401–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gharaibeh N (2009) Disability in Arab societies. In: Marshall CA, Kendall E, Banks ME, Gover RMS (eds) Disabilities: insights from across fields and around the world. Praeger Publishers, Westport, pp 63–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Gold N (1993) Depression and social adjustment in siblings of boys with autism. J Autism Dev Disord 23(1):147–163

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gray DE (2002) ‘Everybody just freezes. Everybody is just embarrassed’: felt and enacted stigma among parents of children with high functioning autism. Sociol Health Illn 24(6):734–749

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hadidi MS, Al Khateeb JM (2015) Special education in Arab countries: current challenges. Int J Disabil Dev Educ 62(5):518–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagerman RJ, Hagerman P (2016) Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome–features, mechanisms and management. Nat Rev Neurol 12(7):403–412

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hakim G, Jaganjac N (2005) A note on disability issues in the Middle East and North Africa. Human Development Department. Retrieved from World Bank database [37275]

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartley SL, Barker ET, Seltzer MM, Floyd F, Greenberg J, Orsmond G, Bolt D (2010) The relative risk and timing of divorce in families of children with an autism spectrum disorder. J Fam Psychol 24(4):449–457

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Heflinger CA, Shaw V, Higa-McMillan C, Lunn L, Brannan AM (2015) Patterns of child mental health service delivery in a public system: rural children and the role of rural residence. J Behav Health Serv Res 42(3):292–309

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter J, Rivero-Arias O, Angelov A, Kim E, Fotheringham I, Leal J (2014) Epidemiology of fragile X syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Med Genet A 164(7): 1648–1658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim I, Ismail MF (2018) Muslims with disabilities: psychosocial reforms from an Islamic perspective. J Disabil Relig 22(1):1–4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Institute of Medicine (2001) Neurological, psychiatric, and developmental disorders: meeting the challenge in the developing world. National Academy Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • International Labor Office (2004) Sudan country profile: employment of people with disabilities: the impact of legislation (East Africa). Retrieved June 26, 2020 from http://www-ilo-mirror.cornell.edu/public/english/employment/skills/disability/download/cpsudan.pdf

  • Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) (2002) Country profile on disability: Arab Republic of Egypt. Retrieved July 26, 2020, from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DISABILITY/Resources/Regions/MENA/JICA_Egypt.pdf

  • Kassebaum N, Kyu HH, Zoeckler L, Olsen HE, Thomas K, Pinho C, Bhutta ZA, Dandona L, Ferrari A, Ghiwot TT, Hay SI (2017) Child and adolescent health from 1990 to 2015: findings from the global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors 2015 study. JAMA Pediatr 171(6):573–592

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kleinknecht RA, Klepac RK, Alexander LD (1973) Origins and characteristics of fear of dentistry. JADA 86(4):842–848

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kulbaka J (2012) Niepełnosprawni. Z dziejówszkolnictwaspecjalnego. Wydawnictwo APS, Warszawa

    Google Scholar 

  • Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs (n.d.) Law No. 220/2000, Retrieved July 26, 2020, from full Arabic text available at the Ministry’s website at http://www.socialaffairs.gov.lb/Files/HandicapLawAR.pdf

  • Maalouf FT, Alamiri B, Atweh S, Becker AE, Cheour M, Darwish H, Ghandour LA, Ghuloum S, Hamze M, Karam E, Khoury B (2019) Mental health research in the Arab region: challenges and call for action. Lancet Psychiatry 6(11):961–966

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mandleco B, Olsen SF, Dyches T, Marshall E (2003) The relationship between family and sibling functioning in families raising a child with a disability. J Fam Nurs 9(4):365–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manor-Binyamini I, Abu-Ajaj O (2012) Coping of siblings of children with developmental disabilities in the Bedouin community. Res Dev Disabil 33(3):825–831

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maulik PK, Darmstadt GL (2007) Childhood disability in low-and middle-income countries: overview of screening, prevention, services, legislation, and epidemiology. Pediatrics 120(Suppl 1):S1–S55

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCoy DC, Peet ED, Ezzati M, Danaei G, Black MM, Sudfeld CR, Fawzi W, Fink G (2016) Early childhood developmental status in low-and middle-income countries: national, regional, and global prevalence estimates using predictive modeling. PLoS Med 13(6):e1002034

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • McGoldrick M, Giordano J, Garcia-Preto N (eds) (2005) Ethnicity and family therapy. Guilford Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Mirkin B (2010) Population levels, trends and policies in the Arab region: challenges and opportunities. United Nations Development Program, Arab Human Development Report, Research Paper Series. Retrieved from http://www.arab-hdr.org/publications/other/ahdrps/paper01-en.pdf

  • Mostafa A (2011) Addressing autism in the Arab world. NatureMiddle East http://www.nature.com/nmiddleeast/2011/012345/full/nmiddleeast.2011.147.html

  • Newton T, Asimakopoulou K, Daly B, Scambler S, Scott S (2012) The management of dental anxiety: time for a sense of proportion? Br Dent J 213(6):271–274

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson M, Griggs D, Visbeck M (2016) Policy: map the interactions between Sustainable Development Goals. Nature 534(7607):320–322

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Niu M, Han Y, Dy AB, Du J, Jin H, Qin J, Zhang J, Li Q, Hagerman RJ (2017) Autism symptoms in fragile X syndrome. J Child Neurol 32(10):903–909

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olusanya BO (2005) State of the world’s children: life beyond survival. Arch Dis Child 90(3): 317–318

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Olusanya BO, Davis AC, Wertlieb D, Boo NY, Nair MK, Halpern R, Kuper H, Breinbauer C, De Vries PJ, Gladstone M, Halfon N (2018) Developmental disabilities among children younger than 5 years in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet Glob Health 6(10):e1100–e1121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips DA, Shonkoff JP (eds) (2000) From neurons to neighborhoods: the science of early childhood development. National Academies Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Pliszka SR (2000) Patterns of psychiatric comorbidity with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 9(3):525–540

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rowland AS, Lesesne CA, Abramowitz AJ (2002) The epidemiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a public health view. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev 8(3):162–170

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin H, Zimmerman S, Katz RB (1989) Phonological knowledge and naming ability in children with reading disability. Read Writ 1(4):393–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sayre R, Devercelli AE, Neuman MJ, Wodon Q (2015) Investing in early childhood development: review of the World Bank’s recent experience. World Bank Group, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro M, Melmed RN, Sgan-Cohen HD, Eli I, Parush S (2007) Behavioural and physiological effect of dental environment sensory adaptation on children’s dental anxiety. Eur J Oral Sci 115(6):479–483

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weber AS, City E (2012) Inclusive education in the gulf cooperation council. J Educ Instruct Stud World 2(2):85–97

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO (2019) Autism spectrum disorders. World Health Organization. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/autism-spectrum-disorders

  • World Bank (n.d.) Palestinian disability law. Retrieved June 21, 2020 from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DISABILITY/Resources/Regions/MENA/PalestinianDisLaw.pdf

  • World Health Organization (2012) Developmental difficulties in early childhood: prevention, early identification, assessment and intervention in low-and middle-income countries: a review. https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/documents/development_difficulties_early_childhood/en/

  • World Health Organization, World Bank (2011) World report on disability. WHO, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • You D, Hug L, Ejdemyr S, Idele P, Hogan D, Mathers C, Gerland P, New JR, Alkema L (2015) Global, regional, and national levels and trends in under-5 mortality between 1990 and 2015, with scenario-based projections to 2030: a systematic analysis by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. Lancet 386(10010):2275–2286

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zablotsky B, Black LI, Maenner MJ, Schieve LA, Danielson ML, Bitsko RH, Blumberg SJ, Kogan MD, Boyle CA (2019) Prevalence and trends of developmental disabilities among children in the United States: 2009–2017. Pediatrics 144(4):e20190811

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management & MIS, College of Business Administration, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

    Muhammad Ilyas

  2. Division of Dental Public Health, Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

    Ammar Ahmed Siddiqui

  3. Private Dental Practice, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Eman Afroze

  4. College of Dentistry, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

    Abdulmjeed Sadoon Al-Enizy

  5. Orthodontic Division, Preventive Dentistry Department, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka, Al Jouf, Saudi Arabia

    Mohammad Khursheed Alam

Authors
  1. Muhammad Ilyas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ammar Ahmed Siddiqui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Eman Afroze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Abdulmjeed Sadoon Al-Enizy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mohammad Khursheed Alam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Pharmacology Therapeutics, University of British Colombia Dept. Pharmacology Therapeutics, VANCOUVER, BC, Canada

    Ismail Laher

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Community Medicine, Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, Jordan

    Yousef Saleh Khader

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Ilyas, M., Siddiqui, A.A., Afroze, E., Al-Enizy, A.S., Alam, M.K. (2021). Developmental Disabilities in the Arab World. In: Laher, I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_88-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_88-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74365-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74365-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation