ABSTRACT
Autism is a known developmental disorder that is prevalent across the world. Saudi Arabia has largely beendisadvantaged with respect to evidence-based research on autism. The presence of limited research and studieson autism in Saudi Arabia has an impact on how pediatricians undertake their treatment interventions on childrenwith autism. This study assesses the awareness levels of Saudi pediatricians with regards to knowledge andattitudes towards autism among children. The degree of knowledge and attitudes displayed by the respondentshave a direct correlation with the level of care and treatment for autism. This study is thus a baseline case whichcan be used to inform future treatment interventions for autism. The study showed that male children were morelikely to be in the risk of being affected by autism which according to the analysis obtained from the chi squaregender was not a significance of likeliness of a child being affected by autism. Correlation was used to determinethe strength of the relationship between lack of eye contact as a result of autism causing communication disorder,a correlation of -0.132 which implied a weak negative relationship between the two variables. From the chisquare, a p value of 0.808 was obtained which indicated that there was insufficient statistical significance to theclaim that there was a difference between gender and long-life condition of autism.
ABSTRACT
Background: Late detection of permanent congenital and early and onset-hearing loss (PCEHL) severely affectslinguistic, cognitive, and educational development in children. Routine newborn hearing screening (NHS) hasprovided opportunities for children under the DHH category to be identified shortly after birth. Pediatricianshave the biggest role in undertaking the assessment and physical interventions on hearing among newborns.Methods: For this study, the participants who took part in the survey were Saudi pediatricians. The study designwas based on a cross-sectional approach where convenience sampling was adopted as a technique for datacollection. Questionnaires were used as the only tool for data collection. Results: From the study, the majority ofrespondents were male, registering up to 57.9%. From the survey, documenting the state of the NHS program inSaudi Arabia, it turns out that it is important to have a typical screening protocol, regarding the working nationalpolicy. Up to 47.7% of the respondents replied that hearing screening instigates parental concern and anxiety,contradicting other studies that assert the opposite. The respondents, however, articulated concerns aboutrequiring additional information on some of the particular details that are related to NHS. However, majority ofthem (44.4%) were confident in explaining the process to the parents of the newborns. Conclusion: The study canbe seen to shed light on the attitudes, existing knowledge, and practice levels amongst pediatricians in SaudiArabia. It shows that any NHS program is considered profitable if timely and appropriate referrals can be madeto ensure follow-ups.