A Survey of Lay Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Malaysia (Soal Selidik Pengetahuan Awam tentang Autism Spectrum Disorder di Malaysia)
http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/JSKM-2021-1901-06
- Author:
HUI MIN LOW
;
LAY WAH LEE
;
AZNAN CHE AHMAD
;
ENI ELIZA GHAZALI
;
PHAIK KAH TAN
;
ANN SIEN SUT LEE
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Autism spectrum disorder;
Malaysia;
lay knowledge;
social communication;
language
- From:Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences
2021;19(No.1):49-57
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Today, increasingly more people worldwide are aware about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, their actual
knowledge about ASD is yet unknown. The lack of knowledge about ASD is especially apparent among the lay people in
the community. In this study, the lay knowledge of ASD was investigated using a brief survey involving a community
sample in Malaysia. The survey findings revealed that the vast majority of the respondents could relate to ASD as a type
of learning disability. However, they were less familiar with the diagnostic features and remedial needs of ASD. They
also reported limited knowledge about the social communication and language deficits of ASD. Another noteworthy
finding was that the respondents reported different sources of obtaining ASD knowledge according to their demographic
profiles (namely age, gender, education and occupation), which correspondingly led to variability in the type of
knowledge they obtained. Together, the findings implied that content-specific ASD awareness programs through the right
channels are warranted for optimizing efficacy in knowledge transfer and minimizing redundancy in existing ASD
awareness campaigns. Increased lay knowledge on ASD will provide a public guardian ground for children with ASD to
ensure that the challenges faced by them can be identified at an early age for optimizing the remedial outcomes.
- Full text:14.2021my03711.pdf
