Volume : 7, Issue : 11, November - 2018

UNDERSTANDING AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: A SURVEY STUDY AMONG REHABILITATION PROFESSIONALS

Nandita Chakrabarty, Dr. Sudha A.

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:&#10;auto;text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;&#10;line-height:200%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Rehabilitation professionals play a pivotal role in rehabilitation of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (hence forth ASD). As they are the direct service providers, they must possess a high<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>knowledge of different aspects of ASD. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp;</span>Present study employed survey method to find out the awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among rehabilitation. 100 special educators and 50 therapists who are working with the children with ASD were selected through purposive sampling method. Researchers developed a five point awareness rating scale consisting of six different domains for collecting the data. Collected data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Independent t test and one way ANOVA were used to test hypotheses. Result of the study indicated that most<span style="color:black;mso-themecolor:text1"> of the professionals&rsquo; posses average to high level of understanding of ASD (Special Educators 64% avg. and 20% high, Therapists 68% avg. and 18% high). It also reveals that </span>special educators and therapists do not differ in general awareness level about CWASD. Among special educators gender and qualification have influence in general awareness. On the contrary, experience plays significant role in general awareness among therapists. It was also found out that therapists are more aware about the existing assessment tools for CWASD In the awareness on existing assessment tools, significant difference between special educators and therapists was found and.<o:p></o:p></span></p>