Autism and Communication Skills: Perspectives of Special Education Teachers in Saudi Arabia.

The experiences of special education teachers in Saudi Arabia are quite different from the experiences of their counterparts from other countries as they work in a unique culture and educational system. The educational system in Saudi Arabia is gender segregated, and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Ed...

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Published in:Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders Vol. 56; no. 3; pp. 1211 - 1227
Main Authors: Alqunaysi, Rayan, Meadan, Hedda
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Springer Nature Mar2026
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar2026
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      pub: Springer Nature
      place: New York, New York
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        atl: Autism and Communication Skills: Perspectives of Special Education Teachers in Saudi Arabia.
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        au:
          Alqunaysi, Rayan
          Meadan, Hedda
        affil: https://ror.org/04jt46d36 Department of Special Education, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia
      sug:
        subj:
          Autism Spectrum Disorder Education
          Communication Skills
          Education, Special
          Teachers Psychosocial Factors
          Faculty Attitudes
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Adult
          Saudi Arabia
          Qualitative Studies
          Educational Status
          Professional-Family Relations
          Interprofessional Relations
          Professional Practice, Evidence-Based
          Program Evaluation
          Thematic Analysis
          Exploratory Research
          Semi-Structured Interview
          Audiorecording
          Videorecording
          Videoconferencing
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: The experiences of special education teachers in Saudi Arabia are quite different from the experiences of their counterparts from other countries as they work in a unique culture and educational system. The educational system in Saudi Arabia is gender segregated, and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education (MoE) provides an equal budget, salaries, and subsidies and implements the same policies and uses the same curriculum regardless of the location, size of the city, or the number of students. This country's unique characteristics may influence special education teachers' experiences, which raises the need to investigate and understand the experiences of Saudi special education teachers. We sought to understand the experiences of special education teachers in Saudi Arabia, focusing on teaching communication skills to autistic students. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 Saudi special education teachers to gain deeper insights into the experiences of these teachers within the Saudi context. The themes that emerged from the interviews revolved around evaluating and teaching communication skills, the role of the Saudi MoE, and the perceived challenges and needs related to teaching communication skills. Building on our findings, we propose a set of recommendations for special education teachers and the Saudi MoE.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
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        research
        tables/charts
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    language: English
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