Educational Strategies Assessment of Autism Center and Related Disorders in Erbil, KRG, Iraq
1Sawsan S. Al-Rawi, 2Zahra Wali Majed, 3Bakhcha Qasim Hama, 4Shaima Ibrahim Fakhir
Biology Department, Faculty of Education, Tishk International University, Erbil, KRG/ Iraq
ABSTRACT
Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) need special care and education. Autistic centers provide autistic children a nurturing environment supplied with several educational strategies including behavioral, discrete trial training, music, and communication therapy. In Kurdistan region, there are more than 20 autism-designed centers. This study is investigating the teaching strategies, treatment, quality of autistic centers in Erbil city and the parents’ perception of their services. Five autistic centers were chosen randomly and evaluated for their teaching strategies and services based on the number of classes, students in each class, lessons, games used in teaching, teachers’ qualifications, and centers services. Also, 10 parents were interviewed to evaluate their satisfaction level about the types of treatment and social training in centers. The results show that the number of classes in these centers ranges between 12 to18 classes with 5 to 10 students in each class. The centers offer many services, such as transportations, physicians, nurses, and qualified teachers with a degree of general education. As for the educational strategies, these centers have school-based therapy using behavioral intervention or modification, occupational, social skills training, physical, music, speech, and language therapy daily. In addition, medication was offered for the children, as 20% of the children use sleep medication, 10% use anxieties, 70% didn’t use any medicine, with only 20% of children use medicine once per week, and 20% used daily. The centers held regular parents’ meeting once or twice monthly, and the parents were satisfied with their child development, safety, and contentment at the center especially as their child behaviors improved notably. This indicates that these centers offer good services that help improving the child’s skill to meet his needs. In addition, it plays an essential role in the development of these children to help them become healthy normal individuals in the society.
Keywords: Education, Strategies, Autism, Disorders, Centers, Child.
Doi: 10.23918/vesal2022a54