Assessing the Quality of Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Northwestern Iran

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder described by problems in behavioral and social interactions, stereotyped interests, and repetitive actions. Although the quality of ASD services is one of the most important predictors of the effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation interventions, it has received no research attention in Iran. This study, therefore, aimed to explore the quality of ASD services in the Ardabil and East-Azerbaijan provinces of Iran.

The target population of this cross-sectional study included the parents of 2-14-years-old children with ASD. To collect the required data, a questionnaire consisting of four sections inquiring about demographic, diagnostic, and behavioral features as well as the quality of services was used. Service quality had four domains including participation in decisions, care coordination, continuity of care, and timeliness. Data were analyzed using SPSS-19.

According to the results, the participation in decisions with a mean score of 66.84 (41.21) had the highest score. Also, the total score of quality of services was 61.69 (30.32), suggesting that the quality of services delivered to children with ASD was moderate.

Although the service quality score was above the average, the gap between the current situation and the ideal situation was large; therefore, there was an urgent need for making interventions to improve the quality of services.