Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Exploring Some Perspectives Of Saudi ESL Teachers On Teaching Students With ASD.(King's College London, 2024-09) Alsunaid, Rahma; Puig-Mayenco, EloiThere is currently limited research on autistic children growing up in multilingual environments, even though nearly half of the world's population speaks multiple languages. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) involve significant challenges in communication and language skills, and for this, expert advice is sought by many parents of ASD children over whether or not their child should learn both languages in a bilingual setting. This study explored Saudi teachers' perspectives on teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to young students with ASD, and the effective strategies and difficulties they encounter. The participants in the study were eight ESL teachers from two private schools with international curriculum in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. They were interviewed following a qualitative approach. The results indicated that using teaching strategies like visual aids, modelling, and repetition in ESL instruction can effectively enhance the language and social skills of children with autism. Teachers did observe that, despite the difficulties in developing effective teaching strategies, children with ASD are highly capable of learning new languages. Furthermore, the study highlights different methods that teachers can employ to help children acquire and expand their English learning. The study also indicates the importance of parents working together with the teachers for successful language acquisition. Lastly, to gain a deeper understanding of the whole teaching experience that meet ESL teachers when teaching Saudi ASD students, the study also recommends suggestions for further future research.14 0Item Restricted The Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Male and Female Public Education Teachers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.(Nottingham Trent University, 0024-07) Alobaidi, Batool; Dillon, GayleThis study investigated teachers' knowledge of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and examined what factors influenced the knowledge that teachers had. In Saudi Arabia, ASD is common but often diagnosed late (Hayat et al., 2019). This highlights the need to assess teachers' ASD knowledge, as they are well-positioned to notice signs of ASD. Understanding teachers' awareness can guide targeted training programs, improving early detection and support for students with ASD. Participants included 197 male and female teachers from public schools who completed the Autism Spectrum Knowledge Scale-General Population (ASKSG, 2019) and the Knowledge about Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW, 2008) scale. The findings revealed that participants demonstrated an average level of knowledge across both scales, scoring below average on the ASKSG but above average on the KCAHW, suggesting a potential gap in understanding ASD. Teachers with prior contact with individuals with ASD spectrum exhibited significantly higher ASD knowledge compared to those without such exposure, underscoring the impact of firsthand experience. Contrary to expectations, no significant differences in ASD knowledge were found based on gender, teaching experience, or school level taught between all educational levels, be it primary, secondary, or high school. The results aligned with previous regional studies (Alharbi et al.,2021; Otaif et al.,2019) documenting weak to moderate ASD knowledge among Saudi Arabian educators. Due to the findings from previous studies in Saudi Arabia until this study, which find that teachers' ASD knowledge has not improved, the study accentuates the pressing need for intensified and reinvigorated ASD training initiatives tailored to teachers, emphasising immersive, experiential learning modalities. By addressing the identified knowledge gaps and recognized limitations, further research efforts can help to provide a comprehensive understanding of teachers' knowledge of ASD. These studies will help to develop comprehensive and tailored programs to provide teachers with the knowledge needed to support children with ASD best.8 0Item Restricted Regulation of excitation and inhibition in early stages of neuronal differentiation and arborisation(King's College London, 2024) Jelani, Rose; Stolp, HelenNeurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), schizophrenia (SCZ) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), have been extensively linked to early-life excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) imbalances. These imbalances are particularly associated with alterations in the GABAergic inhibitory system. Numerous studies in neurodevelopmental research have reported a decreased expression of cortical GABAergic interneurons, which are responsible for releasing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), in patients with NDDs. However, the precise mechanisms underlying this reduction in GABAergic interneurons remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of early-life prolonged GABA-a receptor activation on cortical GABAergic interneuron development in mice. Muscimol, a GABA-a receptor agonist, was injected intraperitoneally (0.5 mg/kg) to mice on post-natal days 3 to 5 (P3-P5). At P10, we employed immunohistochemistry and imaging analyses to assess three distinct GABAergic interneuron populations in the somatosensory cortex: parvalbumin-expressing (PV+), somatostatin-expressing (SST+), and calretinin-expressing (CR+). Our main results revealed a significant increase in PV+ interneuron density (cells/layer) within cortical layer V following muscimol treatment. Additionally, non-significant but consistent trends towards elevation were observed for all interneuron population densities (cells/mm²). These findings suggest that early-life GABA circuit disruption may initially increase GABAergic interneuron expression, potentially offering insight into the trajectory leading to the eventual decrease observed in NDDs. While limited by sample size, this research contributes to understanding the developmental processes that may lead to GABAergic deficits in NDDs. Further research with larger samples and longitudinal designs is needed to elucidate the long-term impacts of early GABAergic perturbations on interneuron populations and their potential relevance to NDD pathology.12 0Item Restricted Examining the Challenges and Strategies for Mothers of Children with ASD in Saudi Arabia through an Autoethnography and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.(Saudi Digital Library, 2023-12-03) Aljuaid, Mashael; Heather, ColemanThe purpose of this autoethnography and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by mothers of children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia and the strategies they use to address these challenges. In addition, explore the feelings and meanings associated with these challenges and strategies. The study focused on Saudi mothers of children with ASD to align with my lived experience as a researcher and full member of this community. This study used my autoethnography writing as a mother of a child with ASD and online interviews with six Saudi mothers raising a child with ASD. The study found that mothers and I faced a range of challenges, including dissatisfaction with some diagnosis services provided to children with ASD, insufficient information, anger because lack of support, feeling lonely and isolated from society, and feelings of fear and worries. However, mothers and I also reported using various coping strategies, including spirituality, social media, and our own knowledge and self-learning are the key to our strength and success.20 0Item Restricted The Impact of Repeated Reading Intervention on Oral Reading Fluency For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia(2023-06-08) AlNaji, Ahmed; Green, BridgetThe prevalence rate of learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen concurrently with their inclusion into public schools in Saudi Arabia. Being in schools, they face academic challenges, particularly in reading. This increased rate evokes the importance of implementing valuable strategies to keep up the academic skills of those students. These students require Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs), which have been demonstrated crucial for their reading development. Nevertheless, limited research has been done on examining the efficacy of EBPs used to enhance the reading skills of learners with ASD, especially their Oral Reading Fluency (ORF). This study used an effective approach to enhance ORF in ASD students. Repeated Reading (RR) intervention involves learners rereading the passage until they attain a specific level of ORF. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effectiveness of RR intervention in improving ORF among learners with ASD in Saudi Arabia. Three students diagnosed with ASD participated in this study in Saudi elementary public schools using a single-subject design, multiple baselines across participants, to determine the efficiency of RR instruction on ORF. The results of this study were positive in improving ORF by increasing the correct words and decreasing the errors as the past studies mentioned. The intervention maintained ORF's impact over time after the intervention was removed.26 0