Teachers' knowledge and perception towards children with an autism spectrum disorder

• Selvaganapathi G Seremban Prison, Malaysian Prison Department, Home Ministry, Malaysia
• Jinat Ahmed J, Mathialagan AG, Azra N, Kularaja k2, MHM Nazmul, KumaraswamyK, Thirupatharao V Department of Post-Graduate Studies, Perdana University, Malaysia
• Dinesh M SP Care Group, Health Care, Malaysia
• Harikrishnan T Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hospital Tunku Ampuan Rahimah, Ministry of Health, Malaysia.

Palabras clave: Autism, Knowledge, Attitude, ASD, self-efficacy.

Resumen

This study aims to assess teacher’s knowledge and perception towards children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was done by using convenient sampling. Respondents that fulfill the inclusion & exclusion criteria were sent online validated questionnaire, data were analyzed using SPSS. As a result, only a few of the respondents have good knowledge of autism, however, more have a positive attitude towards autism. In conclusion, we found that teachers did, in fact, recognize their own lack of knowledge of ASD and this awareness co-existed with an interest in increasing their knowledge and skills in this area.