Reporting of Cultural Factors in Autism Research Publications in Sweden: Application of the GAP-REACH Checklist

Interventions addressing challenging behaviours in Arab children and adults with intellectual disabilities and/or autism: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Arabs with intellectual disabilities and/or autism may exhibit challenging behaviour that affects them and their caregivers. Early, appropriate intervention may reduce these effects. This review synthesised and critically appraised challenging behaviour intervention research for this population.

METHODS

All published empirical research on challenging behaviour interventions for Arabs with intellectual disabilities and/or autism was included. In September 2022, 15 English and Arabic databases yielded 5282 search records. Studies were appraised using the MMAT. Review findings were narratively synthesised.

RESULTS

The 79 included studies (n = 1243 participants) varied in design, intervention, and evaluation method. Only 12.6% of interventions were well-designed and reported. Arab interventions primarily targeted children, were applied collectively on small samples, lacked individualised assessment, and were based on an inconsistent understanding of challenging behaviour.

CONCLUSION

The evidence base on interventions for Arabs with intellectual disabilities and/or autism and challenging behaviour needs strengthening. Attention should be given to culturally relevant adaptations.

Patterns in reporting and participant inclusion related to race and ethnicity in autism intervention literature: Data from a large-scale systematic review of evidence-based practices

LAY ABSTRACT

Researchers who study autism-related interventions do a poor job reporting data related to the race and ethnicity of autistic individuals who participate in their studies, and of those who do report these data, the participants are overwhelmingly White. This is problematic for many reasons, as we know little about how interventions are meeting the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse populations, and we assume that interventions are effective for all when they have been developed and validated primarily with and for White children. This study examined the reporting patterns of autism intervention researchers whose work was included in a large-scale systematic review of the intervention literature published between 1990 and 2017. We found that only 25% of studies (out of 1,013 included in the review) included data related to the race and ethnicity of their participants, with minimal change in reporting patterns across the years. In studies with reported data, White participants had the highest rate of participation, with a large gap between the next highest rates of participation among Hispanic/Latino, Black, and Asian participants. Other race and ethnicity groups had very low representation. This study includes additional analyses which examine how the reporting patterns and the inclusion of racially and ethnically diverse participants varies across study types, interventions, and outcome areas. Reporting this data is merely a starting point to begin to address the many disparities in autism-related healthcare, education, and research practices, and this article includes broader implications and next steps to ensure the field becomes more equitable and inclusive.

Needs of Grandparents of Preschool-Aged Children with ASD in Sweden

Little is known about needs of grandparents of young children with autism in family and community settings. This study investigated perceived needs of grandparents of preschool-aged children diagnosed with ASD in the cultural context of Sweden. Participants were 120 grandparents of children enrolled into autism intervention programs provided by the public disability services in Stockholm. The Grandparents' Needs Survey and the SDQ Impact supplement were used to collect data. Grandparents expressed most needs in topic areas of information and childcare. No significant relations were found between grandparents' demographics and perceptions of needs; grandparents' needs were predicted by their perceived burden. The findings provide insight into understanding of grandparents' needs essential for planning and provision of quality family-centered early intervention services.