Perspectives and Experiences of Arab Caregivers of Nonvocal Children with ASD and IDD Who Engage in Challenging Behavior

This study aims to address a gap in the field of parent-implemented interventions, specifically the need for more research focusing on the unique needs, perspectives, and experiences of caregivers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the perspectives and experiences of caregivers from Arab backgrounds, living in the US, of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who are minimally vocal/nonvocal and engage in challenging behavior in terms of coaching/training and the implementation of interventions such as applied behavior analysis (ABA). Of particular significance is the importance of culturally adapted interventions and coaching for such families.

The eligibility criteria will be: a) child is 2-17 years old, b) child has a prognosis or diagnosis of ASD/IDD, c) child is considered minimally vocal/nonvocal (i.e., fewer than ~5 functional words), d) child engages in challenging behavior (i.e., aggression, self-injury, property destruction, etc.), e) child has at least one caregiver from an Arab background (i.e., ethnically from an Arab country), f) family currently lives in the United States, and g) caregiver can speak and understand English or Arabic.

Participants will 1) complete a demographic questionnaire and 2) participate in an online interview that will last approximately 1 hour.

While there are no direct benefits to participants, information collected from the interviews will allow us as researchers to gain a deeper understanding of their unique perspectives and experiences on this particular topic. In turn, this will allow us to share and disseminate findings through multiple means, such as reports, articles, peer-reviewed journal articles, and practitioner papers.