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. 2024 Dec 19;24(1):825.
doi: 10.1186/s12887-024-05322-9.

Factors that inhibit the social involvement of children with autism: perspectives of parents in the Cape Coast metropolis

Mawulorm Akpeke  1 , Wonder Agbemavi  2 , Kenneth Setorwu Adde  3
Affiliations

Factors that inhibit the social involvement of children with autism: perspectives of parents in the Cape Coast metropolis

Mawulorm Akpeke et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Many countries, including Ghana, continue to face challenges concerning the social involvement of persons with disabilities such as autism. This study investigated the factors that inhibit the social involvement of children with autism in the Cape Coast Metropolis.

Methods: The study was conducted in the Cape Coast metropolis. A qualitative interpretivism approach was used. Twenty-three participants were recruited for the study using purposive sampling. An in-depth interview guide was employed for data collection, and thematic analysis was used.

Results: We found that most autistic children do not get the opportunity to be involved in social activities due to their autistic features, socio-cultural and their parents' financial status. The findings also showed that the inability of children with autism to speak fluently and sit for long without being aggressive prevents their inclusion in social activities. However, older children with autism were considered more for activities in the metropolis than those within the younger ages. Financial constraint was a common challenge that prevented some parents from bringing up their children with autism in ways that would make them considerable for social roles.

Conclusion: Factors such as autistic features, sociocultural and financial constraints inhibited the social involvement of children with autism. Underlining these barriers is the issue of inadequate knowledge of autism and financial barriers for parents of children with autism. We, therefore, recommended that the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health to intensify advocacy programs targeted at educating the public on autism to reduce discrimination.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Children; Intellectual disability; Parents; Social involvement.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval: Ethical clearance was received from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Cape Coast (UCC/IRB/A/2016/791). Permission to conduct the study was also obtained from the Department of Population and Health at the University of Cape Coast. The informed consent was obtained from all the participants. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual Framework adapted from the Social Model of Disability (Oliver, 1983) and Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Socio-ecological model of the family
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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