PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Amira T. Masri
AU  - Arwa K. Nasir
AU  - Aya G. Irshaid
AU  - Fatima Y. Irshaid
AU  - Farah K. Alomari
AU  - Faisal A. khatib
AU  - Abdelkarim A. Al-Qudah
AU  - Omar A. Nafi
AU  - Miral A. Almomani
AU  - Mahmoud A. Bashtawi
TI  - Autism services in low-resource areas
AID  - 10.17712/nsj.2023.2.20220098
DP  - 2023 Apr 01
TA  - Neurosciences Journal
PG  - 116--122
VI  - 28
IP  - 2
4099  - http://nsj.org.sa/content/28/2/116.short
4100  - http://nsj.org.sa/content/28/2/116.full
SO  - Neurosciences (Riyadh)2023 Apr 01; 28
AB  - Objectives: To explore access to intervention services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Jordan.Methods: We used prospective cross sectional design and survey methodology to collect information from the parents of a convenient sample of children with ASD aged 2.5-17 years and who attended pediatric neurology clinics in 3 different university affiliated hospitals in 3 geographic areas in Jordan from February to December 2018.Results: We interviewed parents of 274 children with ASD. One hundred ninety-six (71.5%) received rehabilitation services. The average age at first session was 3.9 years. The most common services received were behavioral therapy (182; 66.4%). The average weekly hours were highest for speech and behavioral therapy; 6.25 and 6.64 respectively. Private centers for developmental disabilities were the most commonly used followed by private centers for ASD. The most common barriers were costs (138; 58%) and transportation (88; 37.5%). Most parents (198; 72.3%) prefer to receive rehabilitation in a specialized center for autism, and most did not want to receive training to train their child themselves.Conclusion: Most children with ASD in Jordan have limited access to recommended autism services. The development of future interventions must consider the needs of those living in limited resource regions.