ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed neurobehavioral disorder among children. While ADHD in Western countries has long been recognized and increasingly diagnosed in recent years, there is a growing recognition of this disorder as a significant cross-cultural phenomenon. Saudi studies to date vary in their estimation of prevalence of ADHD, with overall prevalence estimated to be between 3.5% and 6.5%, while the worldwide prevalence of ADHD is 5.29%. This study uncovers the lived experience of parents with a child who has had an ADHD diagnosis in Saudi Arabia, and examines how their experiences can be recognized in relation to the multiple and competing discourses of ADHD that frame their daily lives. Which discourses do parents draw uponand reinforceas they describe their experiences of ADHD, and which discourses do they resist? This study carried out in-depth interviews with seven Saudi parents who have at least one child diagnosed with ADHD, or any of its subtypes, between the ages of two and 11. Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) is applied in analyzing parental ADHD discourses, uncovering how these parents made sense of ADHD pre-and post-diagnosis. Four main discourses emerged in the process: normal behavior (pre-diagnosis), supernatural/religious, medical, and social environment (post-diagnosis). This paper also emphasises that the causes of ADHD must be considered in the wider context of misconceptions and uncertainty among Saudi parents. All the participants in this research were influenced by a combination of discourses in their attempts to make sense of their children's symptoms.
Background: Hearing is an important sense that individuals depend on in their day-to-day activities. However, labeling and stigmatization can disturb the perceived self-esteem of a deaf person, particularly in a predominantly hearing environment. As such, this study explored the of deaf Saudi people’s perceived self-esteem.Methods: One hundred and one participants took part in the study and answered the questionnaire sent to each participant online. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23.Results: This study showed that about half of them felt proud to belong in the deaf community. In terms of their perceived self-esteem, they wish to have more self-respect although half of them strongly disagreed that they feel useless at times. Likewise, 50% of the study group felt the sense of belongingness as they interact with the hearing community. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between perceived self-esteem and age, gender, and having hearing loss at birth, regardless whether with oneself, or with deaf or hearing community. On the other hand, there is a significant difference in the degree of hearing when using hearing aid upon interaction with the deaf community and in the mode of communication with their parents.Conclusions: The use of hearing aid plays a great role in improving the communication skills of deaf people. Likewise, increased communication with their family, whether deaf or not, can potentially increase their self-worth. Introduction of deaf or hard of hearing role models and the use of other senses, such as sight and sensation, can be utilized to improve positive self-esteem.
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