Assessment of knowledge,attitude and practices of parents having children with autism

Autism Disorder is a developmental disorder usually noticed among children within the first two or three years of their lives which have a profound impairment in social communication and social interaction and restricted and repetitive behavior. The study was aimed to: Assess knowledge, attitude and practices of parents having children with autism Design : A descriptive research design was utilized. Setting: the study was carried out in outpatient clinic of autism at Al-Abbassia hospital for mental health and addiction and Helwan hospital for psychiatric and mental health. Subjects: the study sample was 60 parents of children of children diagnosed with autism from both sexes. Tools: data was collected by using four tools; Tool (1) socio-demographic questionnaire for the characteristic of the children and their parents, Tool (2) parent's knowledge scale regarding autism disorder and Tool (3) Attitude scale of parents toward their children with autism, parents , Tool (4) practices scale regarding caring of children with autism. Results : the study results showed that. Nearly more than three quarters of the parents had unsatisfactory knowledge regarding their children disorder. Slightly more than three quarters of the parents had incompetent practices regarding their children with autism. Conclusion: the present study concluded that , more than three quarters of the parent had unsatisfactory knowledge and in competent practices regarding caring of their children. Also, there was statistically significant difference between total knowledge score and the parent's socio demographic characteristics. In addition to, there was a highly statistically significant difference between total knowledge scoreand total practices score of having children with autism. Recommendation: Conducting a continuous practical training and health educational programs for all members of the families having children with autism.