•  
  •  
 

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background/aim: Teachers play an essential role in the early identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and associated difficulties in children. Increasing teachers’ knowledge of ASD can be helpful in identifying these children and making the necessary referrals. This study aimed to assess teachers’ knowledge and awareness of ASD and the factors affecting them.

Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among school counsellors. A total of 171 school counsellors were contacted; school visits were arranged by prior appointment, and the purpose of the study was explained. Data were collected using a questionnaire prepared by the researchers and the autism awareness scale (AAS).

Results: Most teachers had heard of the concept of ASD, but the concept of shadow teaching was less familiar. Women and those with lower perceived income levels had statistically significantly higher scores on the ASD awareness scale. Participants who had received ASD-related training or had individuals diagnosed with ASD in their environment had higher ASD scores. Women had statistically significantly higher scores than men in the subdimensions of “causes of autism”, “friendship relationships in autism”, and “basic elements in the intervention process in autism”.

Conclusion: This study shows that sex and previous contact with individuals diagnosed with ASD may contribute to intervention processes beyond autism identification. In particular, teachers need to be aware of early identification and referral to intervention programs in schools with pupils diagnosed with ASD. Teachers are likely to come into contact with individuals diagnosed with ASD in a variety of settings. It is, therefore, vital that they have sufficient knowledge and awareness of autism to be able to interact effectively with individuals diagnosed with ASD.

Author ORCID Identifier

HAMİT HARUN BAĞCI: 0000-0002-0762-193X

ABİDE AKSUNGUR: 0000-0002-8140-0289

GÜLSÜM ÖZTÜRK EMİRAL: 0000-0001-8781-4127

ERHAN ŞİMŞEK: 0000-0002-0473-7910

DOI

10.55730/1300-0144.6051

Keywords

Autism, autism spectrum disorder, awareness, knowledge, teacher

First Page

982

Last Page

991

Publisher

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Download

Share

COinS