Characteristics of Agencies Providing Support Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Vietnam

Abstract

As in virtually all countries, in Vietnam there has been a general trend towards apparent increased rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To address the needs of families and children with ASD, many agencies providing support services have been opened throughout Vietnam over the last two decades. Although agencies in general appear to strive to provide good quality service, the actual quality of operations is unknown. The present article collected and analyzed secondary data from 68 agencies across Vietnam from different information sources, using the nine criteria published by Tran, Weiss, and Pham (in press) [1] and Nguyen, Hoang, Nguyen, Pham, and Tran (2017) [2] to evaluate agency quality. Results of this review suggest that a significant number of centers do not have appropriate legal status, are not following basic ethical standards, are using non-evidence based intervention methods, and are unclear in regards to the intervention procedures or intervention plans they use. Although the current study has a number of limitations, it provides important initial information regarding the current status of ASD services in Vietnam.

“Pray to all four directions”: a qualitative study of syncretic care seeking by Vietnamese families for their children with autism spectrum disorder

“…In the context of Vietnam, where there are not yet nation-wide clinical guidelines for intervention services and no government agency oversight of ASD services, intervention centers provide various services, and make claims about their scope and effectiveness without any accredited oversight and quality assurance [36]. Although advocacy for evidence-based intervention is starting to help support parents in their decisions surrounding interventions, most parents continue to rely on their own perceptions about the possible effectiveness of the intervention (mostly based on word of mouth, and anecdotes), the availability of services and costs.…”

“…Affected families are solely responsible for seeking appropriate intervention services and paying for these services including nonevidence-based treatments [33][34][35]. Children with ASD in Vietnam also experience a shortage of assessment and intervention services, especially children living outside of big cities, and many of the intervention services available are questionable in terms of quality [35,36]. In addition, there is a lack of early identification, early intervention services, community-based rehabilitation and health care services for children with disabilities in Vietnam.…”

Research Article The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in Nghe An province, Vietnam

“…The development of diagnostic protocols adapted to social requirements and economically affordable treatment methods is especially urgent. (Tran and Weiss, 2018). At present, in Vietnam, is no oversight of ASD services.…”

Inclusive Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Elementary Schools in Vietnam: The Current Situation and Solutions

“…Research on ASD in Vietnam has been conducted on various topics with most publications written in Vietnamese. Some research publications in English on ASD in Vietnam exist, including research on early identification and intervention services (Tran et al, 2015), family difficulties , and the operating standards of the agencies (Tran & Weiss, 2018). Publications in Vietnamese were found to be much more diverse, ranging from community knowledge and awareness, identification and intervention, and operations of agencies.…”