RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Sociodemographic, clinical characteristics, and service utilization of young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at a research center in Saudi Arabia
JF Saudi Medical Journal
JO Saudi Med J
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 878
OP 885
DO 10.15537/smj.2021.42.8.20210297
VO 42
IS 8
A1 Abdullah M. Alotaibi
A1 Katelyn A. Craig
A1 Taghreed M. Alshareef
A1 Elham S. AlQathmi
A1 Sarah M. Aman
A1 Hesham M. Aldhalaan
A1 Cheryl L. Oandasan
YR 2021
UL http://smj.org.sa/content/42/8/878.abstract
AB Objectives: To assess how clinical services are accessed and utilized by young children with suspected autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and identifying factors that prevent the early identification of developmental concerns and diagnosis.Methods: This retrospective study examined the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of a convenience sample of children diagnosed with ASD at the Center for Autism Research, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 2016 and 2018. The characteristics of ASD assessment and intervention service use were examined. Additionally, we examined the association between sociodemographic, clinical, and service use variables with the child’s age at the time of the parent’s initial concern and first ASD diagnosis, and the time from first concern to diagnosis.Results: Out of 127 cases, 67 were diagnosed with ASD (mean: 46.88 months, SD: 18.88, median: 42.00, range, 19-93). Most ASD cases had one previous assessment (n=28, 41.8%). Higher sibling numbers were associated with a later age of first concern (p=0.0278). Applied behavior analysis service utilization was associated with later age of first ASD diagnosis (p=0.0336) and longer time to ASD diagnosis (p=0.0301).Conclusion: Larger sample size is needed to further investigate whether these findings are representative of the national experience. Community-based intervention outcome studies should assess the quality of services being provided.