Challenges of Autism to Parents of Sick Children

Running head: CHALLENGES OF AUTISM TO PARENTS OF SICK CHILDREN 1
Research Proposal on the Challenges and the Coping Styles of Parents of Children Diagnosed
with Autism: A perspective from Abu Dhabi, UAE
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CHALLENGES OF AUTISM TO PARENTS OF SICK CHILDREN 2
Research Proposal on the Challenges and the Coping Styles of Parents of Children
Diagnosed with Autism: A perspective from Abu Dhabi, UAE
Introduction
Autism spectrum disorder involves a set of various conditions that are related and affect
communication, behavior and social interaction among the victims. The effect of the disorder
ranges from mild to severe. In most cases, the sickness is seen from early childhood and
progresses into adulthood (Khamis, 2007, p.853). Though the disorder raises challenges
especially to caregivers, guardians and parents, most autistic victims have unique and high gifts
in specific fields. Some of the problems that parents experience include having to cope with
certain behaviors among the autistic children (Kelly, et al. 2018, p.7). These include
inappropriate invading or touching other people’s property and space, being highly honest about
the appearance of people, spinning around or flapping of hands, extreme displays, affect or
opposite and having fascination from particular items. Systematic attempts in UAE to educate
autistic children started in 1980s (Tseng, et al. 2017, p.613). Educating children with disabilities
was a matter of interest to advocates and policy makers in the country. Government sources
indicate that more than 2000 students are receiving programed special education in more than 20
centers under the ministries of social welfare and labor (Dukmak, and Aburezeq, 2012, p.127). In
most cases, parents feel stressed up and may not be able to cope while their personal lives and
health fall under risk. This becomes important for parents to have the needs for their children
addressed in time.
The number of autistic children in UAE (United Arab Emirates) continues to raise
eyebrows due to its increasing nature. The issue causes tremendous challenges to the parents and
caregivers of such children. However studies show that children who receive early interventions

CHALLENGES OF AUTISM TO PARENTS OF SICK CHILDREN 3
show better outcome based on the functionality than the ones experiencing no intervention
(Thomas, 2017, p.98). This makes it critical to have the disorder diagnosed in good time to
improve functionality. Professionals and caregivers pay a key role in early diagnostic and
identification process of children. Early intervention and diagnosis improves the quality of
service that autistic children gets and increases the likelihood of having favorable outcomes. A
common problem that the professionals face involves a case whereby as the cases of autistic
children increases, the victims end up becoming more vulnerable to lack of diagnosis, over
diagnosis, or misdiagnosis altogether. The issue continues to draw attention of WHO (world
health organization) who have confirmed that many autistic children remain mislabeled or
unidentified as suffering from the disorder all over the world (Nahad, 2015, p.143). This aspect
means that unidentified victims fail to get timely attention and intervention that they require.
Thus the issue of autism diagnosis and early intervention also raises attention from many studies
globally.
The diagnosis instruments get continually amended and revised to increase the level of
reliability and accuracy. Studies show that the attention that is given to the procedures of
diagnosis results to significant progress. Still there are needs that have to be met in the process of
early diagnosis and detection of autistic people. The concerned authorities and nations all over
the world continue working together with the WHO towards achieving diagnostic procedures
that are better (Fteiha, and Bustami, 2018, p. 135). This cooperation puts focus on adopting
better practices and sharing information about autism diagnosis. Based on this, the UAE has not
been left behind and works towards the improvement of the services in the nation through the
ministries of health, education and social affairs. This proposal falls within personal and
professional interest realm. There are various challenges that the teachers and parents of students

CHALLENGES OF AUTISM TO PARENTS OF SICK CHILDREN 4
suffering from autism have been facing from the past (Tseng, et al. 2017, p.613). These parties
lack the access to important information regarding the nature of early identification procedures
and autism diagnosis. The challenge has caused delays for diagnosis of the sickness among the
affected children or students. The parents have faced some considerable level of disappointment
and confusion during and after the diagnosis process of their children (Bhuptani, 2017, p.51).
Moreover, despite having centers specialized in teaching autistic children, not all of them,
necessarily offer services of autism diagnosis. Misdiagnosis or lack of diagnosis negatively
affects the child’s social life, academic performance, and student placement. This is in addition
to the challenging effects on their communities and families both outside and inside the school
set up. At the same time, there lacks adequate number of professionals who have sufficient
qualification and experience in the diagnosis of autism in UAE, compared to the cases of
children who require appropriate diagnosis (Fteiha, and Bustami, 2018, p. 135). These are some
of the challenges that make this study proposal important in Abu Dhabi.
Problem statement and proposal purpose
The number of autistic children in UAE and especially Abu Dhabi continues increasing.
This increase in autism conditions creates a responsibility among parents and caregivers to
enhance early diagnosis and intervention procedures of the sickness to make it more affordable,
faster, reliable and accurate (Carpenter, Happé, and Egerton, 2019, p.34). The proposal aims at
providing an in-depth evaluation of the current challenges that parents of autistic children face in
relation to diagnosis procedures and care towards overcoming the sickness in UAE. It is meant to
explore the processes that parents follow towards achieving a diagnosis from the initial stage
abnormalities to the final stage of diagnosis from caregivers and professionals (Fteiha, and
Bustami, 2018, p. 135). The proposal focus on the lived experiences among parents of autistic