Cultural dimensions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are relatively unexplored in the research literature. The current study is a systematic scoping review describing social, educational, and psychological research focused on individuals with ASD and their family members in Arab countries and cultures. Seventy studies met eligibility criteria. Most of the studies were from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. Most of the identified research addressed three major domains: the prevalence of ASD and diagnosis issues, the experiences and outcomes for Arab caregivers of individuals with ASD, and social and communication behaviour of Arab individuals with ASD. There were significant gaps in research evidence base, including research on interventions and on ASD services. Overall, the included research was appraised as being of weak quality.

Post-secondary education (PSE) is an important option in the educational and employment paths of students with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, PSE for young adults with ID is not in wide use across the world. Different issues might affect the geographical spread of PSE programmes. Some of these are related to the attitudes, expectations and/or funding for those programmes. In this systematic review, the PSE experiences of different stakeholder groups (young adults with ID, their parents, PSE staff and students without a disability) were examined by reviewing findings across 22 studies that investigated PSE for students with ID. This examination encompassed attitudes and motivation to engage with PSE, as well as stakeholders' perceived barriers and facilitators in accessing and remaining in the three PSE models (separate, inclusive and mixed). Students with ID and their parents were the stakeholder groups least represented in the available evidence. Findings suggested that most stakeholder groups reported positive experiences of PSE derived mostly from gains in social skills and independence. Several barriers to accessing PSE were reported by each group, namely physical and academic barriers by students with ID, an understanding of the PSE system by their parents, and the lack of training by PSE staff. Evidence from the present review seems to indicate that inclusive PSE models were associated with a more positive experience across stakeholder groups.

Mathematics is one of the core school subjects in the UK and an emphasis is placed on developing pupils' mathematical competencies throughout all key stages. Despite that, the attainment of students with disabilities in mathematics remains low. The current study explored ways in which the Teaching Early Numeracy to children with Developmental Disabilities (TEN-DD) programme could be implemented by teaching staff in a special school in the UK to improve the numeracy skills of students with autism. Adaptations to the delivery of the programme were made during the study as a result of continued collaboration with the participating school. The findings suggest that it may be feasible to implement the TEN-DD programme using a school staff delivery model and it may help learners improve their early numeracy skills. Practical aspects of TEN-DD's implementation highlighted the need to incorporate more systematic adaptations for minimally verbal students, as well as for learners who might need additional training with prerequisite skills.

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Research on the experiences of Arab families of children with autism living in non-Arab countries is scarce. A survey investigated the support needs, psychological distress, and parental relationships of Arab parents (n = 100) of children with autism living in the United Kingdom (UK). The survey consisted of five main questionnaires: a demographic questionnaire, the GO4KIDDS Brief Adaptive Scale, the Family Needs Survey, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Descriptive analysis indicated that the most frequently identified support needs were information, community services, and explaining to others. Parents reported high levels of psychological distress, a high level of parental relationship satisfaction with their spouse, and few parental disagreements about their child with autism. Regression analyses showed that increased child behavior problems predicted more total family needs. Higher levels of child prosocial behavior, the better health status of parents, and a larger number of children in the family were associated with lower levels of parental psychological distress. A longer time living in the UK was associated with more parental disagreement over issues related to the child with ASD. Reducing child behavior problems and increasing child prosocial behavior may be important targets for support and intervention to improve outcomes for Arab parents of autistic children.

Research on teaching mathematics to children with autism spectrum disorder using parents as mediators is limited. The purpose of the present study was to carry out an initial evaluation of an adapted numeracy programme with three children with autism spectrum disorder from Arabic families in the UK by training and supporting their parents to deliver the intervention over the course of an 8-week period. The three children's mathematical ability (on a standardised assessment) improved over the course of the intervention. Parents also described positive experiences of their training and of using the curriculum, especially mentioning how much their children had progressed in their understanding of mathematics. The study data show promising results and provide initial evidence that the adapted numeracy programme can be adapted for a home context and for teaching in Arabic.