Saudi parents' perspectives of the factors influencing the quality of life of their children with autism spectrum disorder.
Saudi parents say daily child struggles and family support—not services or money—set their autistic child’s life quality.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Alhuzimi (2024) asked Saudi parents what shapes quality of life for their autistic child.
They used a short survey. Parents answered questions about daily struggles and the help they get from relatives, school, and clinics.
The sample was small. All families lived in Saudi Arabia.
What they found
Parents who had only one child with autism rated that child’s life quality higher.
Across the board, parents said two things matter most: how hard the child’s day is and how much backup the family receives.
Money, therapy type, or city size were not named as top drivers.
How this fits with other research
Davidovitch et al. (2018) warn that we still lack an autism-specific quality-of-life ruler. Their review of 14 studies says generic tools miss key details. Alhuzimi (2024) adds parent voices that could guide such a ruler.
Garagozzo et al. (2024) tracked autistic adults and found low quality of life stays low with age. The Saudi child data line up: without strong daily support, problems carry forward.
Greene et al. (2019) show sleep is the strongest later-life predictor. Saudi parents did not mention sleep, yet both studies point to daily-life factors rather than labels or IQ. The views blend, not clash.
Why it matters
You can ask parents two quick questions today: “What is hardest part of your child’s day?” and “Who helps you most?” Their answers will spotlight where to act first. Boost family support, simplify tough routines, and you may lift quality of life faster than adding new goals.
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Add two parent-rating items to your intake: “Toughest daily moment” and “Biggest helper” then target those areas first.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Research indicates that the deficits in social communication and the repetitive, restrictive behaviour of persons with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can pose challenges to their functioning in different Quality of Life (QoL) domains, leading to lower levels of life satisfaction. Evidence also indicates that various social and family factors, such as the support received in the community/environment and the composition of the family, could impact the QoL of persons with ASD. AIM: To study the factors influencing the QoL of children with ASD in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) by investigating the perspectives of their parents. METHOD: Questionnaires were completed by 110 parents who had a child with ASD. The questionnaire included the 96-item KidsLife-ASD scale to capture parents' perspectives regarding the difficulties experienced by their child, the ASD support received by their families, and the QoL of the child. The data obtained from the questionnaire were statistically analysed using IBM SPSS software. RESULTS: The difficulties experienced by children with ASD and aspects of the support (services and interventions, and challenges) they receive are factors that influence the QoL of children with ASD in the KSA. Moreover, the number of children in the family, the birth order of child with ASD, and the severity of ASD symptoms are factors that influence parents' perceptions of their children's difficulties, family ASD support, and the child's QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Saudi parents who have one child with ASD believed that the QoL of their child was high and confirmed that the difficulties experienced by the child and the support received by the family were factors which influenced the QoL of a child with ASD.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104799