Parental perspectives on autism services in Saudi Arabia: Decade comparison (2011-2021).
Saudi parents still fight the same autism-service battles in 2021 that they fought in 2011.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Almasoud et al. (2023) asked Saudi parents how autism services changed from 2011 to 2021.
They used the same survey at both time points so answers could be lined up year-to-year.
Parents rated access, quality, and unmet needs for diagnosis, therapy, and school support.
What they found
Most 2011 problems were still there in 2021—long waits, high costs, and too few trained staff.
A few bright spots showed up: slightly easier access to diagnosis and a bit more parent knowledge.
Overall, the system moved forward only a small step; big gaps feel frozen in place.
How this fits with other research
Almasoud et al. (2023) extends their own 2023 qualitative work that linked poor services to lower family quality of life. The survey now proves the pain is long-term, not just a bad month.
Dudley et al. (2019) previewed this in a review of Arab-vs-US families. They warned that Arab parents face extra money stress and thinner service nets. The new decade data show those warnings were spot-on.
Mansell et al. (2004) saw UK parents upset by slow services nineteen years ago. The same complaints in Saudi 2021 reveal that parent frustration crosses borders and decades.
Why it matters
Time alone does not fix autism-service gaps. If you train staff, open new slots, or tweak funding, track parent feedback every year. Use short surveys like Hanan’s to spot stalls early and show stakeholders hard numbers that change is—or isn’t—happening.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add two parent-rating questions to your intake form and re-check the scores every six months to see if service changes really help.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
In 2004, Saudi Arabia began providing services to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families. There are no studies-based on the researchers' knowledge-that have aimed to measure the improvement of services provided since 2004. Therefore, this study sought to determine the extent to which services for individuals with ASD have improved from the perspective of parents. The level of improvement was determined by comparing the two time periods (2011 and 2021). This is the first study in the country to assess parental perspectives on this topic at two time points. A questionnaire was administered to 118 parents/caregivers of children with ASD. The questions were designed to determine parents' perceptions of the quality of support received from public services, level of community awareness concerning ASD, and factors influencing the support required to care for their children. The results established that some of the problems faced in 2011 were still present in 2021, and highlighted improvements in 2021.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104485