ABSTRACT

The study focused on investigating the prevalence of enrolled children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) based on the diagnostic criteria of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) for subsequent planning of an intervention to enhance quality of life of children at Toba Tek Singh district of Faisalabad division of Punjab province of Pakistan. A self-developed questionnaire based on general qualitative questions and specific quantitative questions was used to collect data from the purposefully chosen 16 master degree special educationists dealing children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Thematic analysis and descriptive analysis enabled the researchers to interpret the results of the study across the general qualitative questions and specific quantitative questions respectively. The obtained results based on thematic analysis generally indicated no accurate acquaintance of 16 special educationists. The obtained results based on descriptive analysis specifically indicated lower percentages of responses over: a) rudiments of admission criteria for child/children with ASD; b) prevalence of enrolled children with ASD and c) placement availability and fitting context for child/children with ASD on a predetermined scale of measurement. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers concluded that the prevalence of the enrolled children with ASD is unknown and undiagnosed. Later, it was suggested that accurate acquaintance of special educationists with DSM-5 is necessary on one hand while obtaining diagnostic report based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and detailed implementation of Individuals with Disabilities education Act (IDEA) is of utmost importance for the concerned authorities of the institution to enroll a newly arrived child under autistic category for subsequent planning of an intervention to enhance quality of life of this segment of population on other hand. Keywords: Special education, autism spectrum disorder, diagnostic criteria, enrolled children, intervention, quality of education
Publication date: 1/1/21

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2021/January/MS_IJBPAS_2021_5302.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2021/10.1.5302