Challenges and Barriers Faced by Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Socialization: A Case Study of Sargodha City

Abstract

The main symptom of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the inability to communicate and interact socially, which is considered a persistent issue in this disorder and leads to the inability of children to develop peer relationships and effectively engage in social settings. Despite the fact that the socialization issues related to ASD are widely reported in international research, there is a lack of empirical evidence in the particular background on Pakistan, especially in the local communities. The research objectives of the given study are: To analyze the significant socialization difficulties that children with Autism Spectrum Disorder undergo in Sargodha. To determine the social, educational and cultural barriers that can limit effective interaction between peers and social participation of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Sargodha City. To determine how family support, school environment and community attitudes affect the social development and inclusion of children with Autism Spectrum Disability in Sargodha City. In research, the term universe is used to refer to the entire set of components of interest to a study such as individuals, organizational or events on which data may be derived. In this research, geographical and human variables were both taken into consideration to delimit the universe validly and reliably as well as guaranteeing reliability and validity of the results obtained. The last simple random sampling method was used to choose 120 respondents among the NGOs and special education centers parents, teachers and caregivers. The structured questionnaire constructed by the researchers was used to collect primary data in the form of self-administered questionnaires consisting of 48 statements to be rated on a five-point Likert scale between the two extremes Untrue and Constantly True. To obtain the secondary data, academic books, peer-reviewed journals, dissertations, government reports, and online databases were utilized to provide background and backup information to the primary research. The analysis of quantitative data was performed on SPSS Version 22, and descriptive statistics and percentages were evaluated to reveal the patterns and trends. To make things easy to understand and compare variables, data were provided in a form of text, tables, and graphs in form of bar charts, pie charts, and histograms.