Evaluating the impact of online training addressing challenging behaviors of children with autism and other developmental disabilities in Saudi Arabia: A pilot mixed-methods study

Professionals working with individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities in Saudi Arabia have identified limited professional development opportunities related to autism as a persistent challenge. They also report insufficient use of data to inform decisions regarding plans and instructions for autistic individuals. To address these needs, I culturally and linguistically adapted online training modules that cover strategies based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to address challenging behaviors exhibited by individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Originally designed for English-speaking caregivers, these training modules were adapted for Arabic-speaking caregivers and, in the current study, further adapted for professionals in the Saudi context, resulting in a total of seven training modules. I employed a convergent mixed-methods design to investigate the correlation between participants' knowledge and self-efficacy regarding ABA-based strategies, to assess the impact of the training modules on their knowledge and self-efficacy, and to evaluate the social validity of the training modules. I collected quantitative data using various scales to assess knowledge and self-efficacy, and gathered qualitative data via semi-structured interviews and a social validity questionnaire. The results indicate that the culturally and linguistically adapted online training modules had a positive impact on the participants' knowledge and self-efficacy and were perceived as socially valid, although participants identified areas for improvement. Limitations and implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Alqunaysi, Rayan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Meadan-Kaplansky, Hedda
• Ostrosky, Michaelene
• Xia, Yan
• Lee, James

• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Online Training
• Professional Development, Challenging Behavior, Special Education
• Saudi Arabia

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Rayan Alqunaysi

Language dc:language

eng, en

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127447

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F127447