EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF ONLINE TRAINING ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES IN SAUDI ARABIA: A PILOT MIXED-METHODS STUDY

Abstract

Professionals working with individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities in Saudi Arabia have identified limited professional development opportunities related to autism as a persistent challenge. They also report insufficient use of data to inform decisions regarding plans and instructions for autistic individuals. To address these needs, I culturally and linguistically adapted online training modules that cover strategies based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to address challenging behaviors exhibited by individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Originally designed for English-speaking caregivers, these training modules were adapted for Arabic-speaking caregivers and, in the current study, further adapted for professionals in the Saudi context, resulting in a total of seven training modules. I employed a convergent mixed-methods design to investigate the correlation between participants' knowledge and self-efficacy regarding ABA-based strategies, to assess the impact of the training modules on their knowledge and self-efficacy, and to evaluate the social validity of the training modules. I collected quantitative data using various scales to assess knowledge and self-efficacy, and gathered qualitative data via semi-structured interviews and a social validity questionnaire. The results indicate that the culturally and linguistically adapted online training modules had a positive impact on the participants' knowledge and self-efficacy and were perceived as socially valid, although participants identified areas for improvement. Limitations and implications for practice and future research are discussed.