UKZN Research Presented at American Speech Language Hearing Association Convention

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A paper based on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) research conducted in UKZN’s Discipline of Speech-Language Pathology by undergraduate students and authored by lecturers in the Discipline, was presented at the 2014 American Speech Language Hearing Association Convention in Florida in the United States.

Concerned that ASD is a severe, lifelong disorder with unknown causes, UKZN students Ms Summaya Gangat, Ms Noxolo Shange, Ms Kirsty Wheeler and Ms Vivian de Vries investigated the knowledge and explored the views on treatments of Durban-based parents of ASD children aged between five and nine years.

ASD is characterised by impairments in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and behaviour. Importantly, parents play a vital role in selecting treatments from the wide range available.

The young researchers found that of the 46 parents of children with ASD in the study, 53 percent rated treatments as unfamiliar or had only heard of the treatment. Only 13.4 percent of the parents said they had a practical understanding of the treatments. Out of all the treatments, parents rated their knowledge as being highest on Speech-Language Therapy (SLT), probably because SLT was offered at hospitals and schools, and because communication problems were core deficits in ASD.

The researchers said it was alarming that 68 percent of the parents stated they had difficulties accessing ASD treatment facilities and healthcare professionals. ‘The majority of parents perceived the treatments as being costly and 74 percent reported that they had a good relationship with their healthcare professional.’

Implications from the study included that there was a need for healthcare professionals to provide information about the various available ASD treatments to assist parents in accessing appropriate facilities as well as to recommend treatments supported by research. 

The study found that parents played a vital role in selecting treatments, which complicated issues for families and professionals due to the wide range available.

It was therefore was important to obtain the views of parents of children with ASD on the range of treatments that they had explored; how they ranked these treatments as well as the input they received from professionals in the field.

The supervisors said it was important for researchers from other countries to know what was happening in South Africa.

‘We have a unique contribution about autism treatments from the perspective of health and education in South Africa. In addition the cultural and linguistic diversity in South Africa presents both a challenge and an opportunity for research.’

Lunga Memela