Papers by Nizar H Bagadood
American Journal of Health Behavior, 2025
Objectives: In this study, we investigate the implementation of positive behavior support (PBS) f... more Objectives: In this study, we investigate the implementation of positive behavior support (PBS) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the current practices and expectations of specialists. With a prevalence rate of 1 in 40 children diagnosed with ASD in Riyadh, the research highlights the critical need for effective behavior support strategies. Methods: Utilizing a qualitative approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 ASD specialists at the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders. To achieve data saturation, we applied a purposive sample of 12 child specialists with ASD. We analyzed data using thematic analysis. Results: Practitioners lack formal knowledge of PBS despite applying its principles. Participants emphasized the importance of proactive measures, individualized interventions, and collaboration among families and professionals. Conclusion: Enhanced training and community awareness of PBS are essential for improving outcomes for children with ASD, alongside recommendations for further research to better understand and implement PBS in the region. Greater awareness of PBS among families who have children with ASD is needed. We recommend drawing the attention of directors of centers handling ASD to advocate for further research on the use of PBS for children with ASD.
King Salman Centre for Disability Research, Journal of Disability Research, 2024
This study aims to examine the reality of housing and hospitality services for people with intell... more This study aims to examine the reality of housing and hospitality services for people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, and to identify the positive and negative aspects of these services from the perspective of their families and caregivers. The study implemented a mixed-methods approach and an explanatory sequential design. The questionnaire and the semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The results showed that housing and hospitality experience is closely linked to the provision of materials, practice, and the sharing of experiences. The results also indicate positive changes in the care provided to people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, including weekly reports and nutritional programmes. However, some negative changes in progress levels, intervention types, and dissatisfaction among people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders also emerged. Based on these findings, this study proposes several recommendations, the most important of which are the need to provide the necessary tools and resources for each category of disability, and to conduct intensive training courses for special needs caregivers to increase their effectiveness.
International Journal of Educational Research Open
This study explores bullying targeting students with intellectual disability, specifically the ex... more This study explores bullying targeting students with intellectual disability, specifically the extent to which they are subjected to bullying during their intermediate school years. Utilizing students' personal experiences, it identifies the patterns of bullying behavior to which they are exposed by their neurotypical peers, and its repercussions. The study employs a qualitative approach with eight female student participants with intellectual disability enrolled in intermediate stage special classes attached to inclusive schools. The research finds that all of the participants experienced bullying during their time in intermediate school. The most prominent forms of which were physical and verbal bullying. The study reports that the bullying the students were subjected to by their neurotypical peers caused embarrassment, tears, anger, nervousness, feelings of oppression, withdrawal, and a preference for associating others with a disability, rather than their neurotypical peers. The study's participants suggested ways to minimize bullying, including the promotion of neurotypical students' respect and appreciation for their peers with a disability, and recommended that administrators, teachers, counsellors, and parents play an active role in guiding neurotypical students to respect and value students with intellectual disability.
Maǧallaẗ Al-Tarbiyyaẗ Al-H̲āṣaẗ wa Al-Tā’hīl (Print), Nov 1, 2020
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty generalizing learned behavior to ... more Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty generalizing learned behavior to varied environments with independence. Self-management for students with ASD is important both as a management tool and as a means to enhance students' quality of life by empowering them to control their own behavior. This paper reviews the effects of self-management as a positive intervention used to improve the social, behavioral, and academic performance of children diagnosed with ASD from early childhood through high school.
Current Psychology, Feb 21, 2023
Drinking motives have been identified as important predictors of alcohol consumption. Similarly, ... more Drinking motives have been identified as important predictors of alcohol consumption. Similarly, the degree of readiness to change (RTC) can predict behavioral changes when drinking alcohol. However, the link between drinking motives and RTC has not been explored in previous research. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the four drinking motives (coping, enhancement, social, conformity) can predict the three stages of RTC (precontemplation, contemplation and action) in relation to alcohol consumption. Two hundred and fifty-two undergraduates' students completed an online self-assessment survey on Qualtrics that assessed motives for alcohol use, drinking behavior, and RTC. Hierarchical regressions showed that among the four specific drinking motives, coping motives significantly predicted all three stages of RTC; conformity motives positively predicted the action stage of change; social motives negatively predicted the precontemplation and action stages of change; enhancement motives were not significant in predicting RTC stages. These results indicate that the three RTC levels can be predicted by coping, social, and conformity motives, but not by enhancement motives. Additionally, given the importance of coping motives, it might be useful to address and include healthier coping mechanisms as part of clinical interventions and prevention methods to circumvent unsafe drinking behaviors independent of a single RTC stage.
International Journal of Educational Research Open (IJEDRO), 2023
This study explores bullying targeting students with intellectual disability, specifically the ex... more This study explores bullying targeting students with intellectual disability, specifically the extent to which they are subjected to bullying during their intermediate school years. Utilizing students' personal experiences, it identifies the patterns of bullying behavior to which they are exposed by their neurotypical peers, and its repercussions. The study employs a qualitative approach with eight female student participants with intellectual disability enrolled in intermediate stage special classes attached to inclusive schools. The research finds that all of the participants experienced bullying during their time in intermediate school. The most prominent forms of which were physical and verbal bullying. The study reports that the bullying the students were subjected to by their neurotypical peers caused embarrassment, tears, anger, nervousness, feelings of oppression, withdrawal, and a preference for associating others with a disability, rather than their neurotypical peers. The study's participants suggested ways to minimize bullying, including the promotion of neurotypical students' respect and appreciation for their peers with a disability, and recommended that administrators, teachers, counsellors, and parents play an active role in guiding neurotypical students to respect and value students with intellectual disability.
International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 2023
This study identifies the criteria for selecting effective electronic applications for students w... more This study identifies the criteria for selecting effective electronic applications for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition, it establishes the views of teachers in Saudi Arabia concerning the issues associated with the employment of these applications during lessons. The study employed the qualitative approach, with data collected by means of semi-structured interviews with nine teachers (male and female) of students with ASD, and thematic analysis utilised to analyse the data. The study revealed that the teachers generally held a positive view of electronic applications for use with students with ASD. The selection criteria for the applications under consideration consisted of: firstly, their acknowledgement of diversity; secondly, that they supported the educational process; thirdly, that they took individual differences into account; and fourthly, their level of acceptance by students. In addition, the research identified a number of issues associated with electronic applications, including students with ASD and their families and teachers. This study recommends that the Saudi Ministry of Education should develop factsheets focusing on effective educational applications for students with ASD, in addition to offering workshops and training for both families and teachers. Moreover, it encourages designers to create electronic applications capable of matching the characteristics of students with ASD, alongside supporting the Arabic language, and serving a number of further areas.
Journal of Positive School Psychology, 2022
Although there exists a substantial volume of international research which places particular impo... more Although there exists a substantial volume of international research which places particular importance on the concept of a multidisciplinary team approach, collaboration within these teams has been patchy. Unfortunately, many special education teachers still struggle in the classroom due to the lack of understanding this approach and a lack of institutional support.. In Saudi Arabia there has been acknowledgement of the need to include the multidisciplinary team approach in special education settings, however, implementation has been sparse. Towards understanding poor implementation and use of this approach in Saudi Arabia this paper investigates the issues and understanding of a multidisciplinary team approach, including perceived benefits in a special education setting in Saudi Arabia in both public and private settings.. A qualitative case study was conducted via semi-structured interviews with key respondents in public and private education setting in Saudi Arabia. The findings underscored that there is a significant level of understanding of the benefits and the need for institutions to support a multidisciplinary team approach. Accordingly, there are a number of significant implications for the future implementation and practice of multidisciplinary collaboration in the context of Saudi special education settings.
Discover Psychology
Despite the fact that children with disabilities generally have been shown to be at a greater ris... more Despite the fact that children with disabilities generally have been shown to be at a greater risk of bullying, which include physical attacks and threats, being picked on and teased and verbal abuse, there is still a need to understand bullying of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the strategies used by parents to support them in tackling this issue. This study aims to investigate the type and level of occurrence of bullying and parental support for children aged five with ASD who suffer from bullying. This study used both quantitative and qualitative analysis; a questionnaire, distributed to mothers of children with ASD, adopted from the Bullying for ASD Survey developed by Chen and Schwartz (Focus Autism Other Dev Disabil 27(4):200–212, 2012) measured types and frequency of bullying and parental support. An open-ended question was added to the survey to enable parents to write about the ways in which their child was bullied and the ways in which they supported thei...
Discover Psychology , 2022
Despite the fact that children with disabilities generally have been shown to be at a greater ris... more Despite the fact that children with disabilities generally have been shown to be at a greater risk of bullying, which include physical attacks and threats, being picked on and teased and verbal abuse, there is still a need to understand bullying of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the strategies used by parents to support them in tackling this issue. This study aims to investigate the type and level of occurrence of bullying and parental support for children aged five with ASD who suffer from bullying. This study used both quantitative and qualitative analysis; a questionnaire, distributed to mothers of children with ASD, adopted from the Bullying for ASD Survey developed by Chen and Schwartz (Focus Autism Other Dev Disabil 27(4):200-212, 2012) measured types and frequency of bullying and parental support. An open-ended question was added to the survey to enable parents to write about the ways in which their child was bullied and the ways in which they supported their child. The results showed that while children suffered from all types of bullying, especially being picked on, being excluded and called names. Parental support showed a higher prevalence of involving peers and teachers for the prevention of bullying as well as avoiding strategies which included avoiding bullies and none of the mothers encouraged their children to stand up to bullies.
International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 2022
Whilst there has been a growing interest in children's welfare in recent years, there has been a ... more Whilst there has been a growing interest in children's welfare in recent years, there has been a lack of consideration for those with special needs or health conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Both children with ASD and neurotypical children may be affected by low self-esteem, poor physical condition, or psychological distress at school, which can affect their quality of life. It is therefore important for children and young people to have their quality of life measured and understood. While, for the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, there has been the translation of health-related quality of life tools, there is a need to ensure their validity compared to the original English language versions. In light of this need, this paper presents the development and application of the KIDSCREEN-52 method to measure the quality of life for children with ASD and neurotypical children in schools in Saudi Arabia. A quantitative approach was employed to achieve the development of the method consisting of instrument translation and the standardized assessment of the quality of life for Saudi pupils. This developed method was found to independently and analytically assess the quality of life in Saudi pupils. The results from the application of the developed instrument revealed that although children without ASD rated their quality of life higher than those with ASD, overall, most Saudi Arabian students with ASD enjoy a reasonable quality of life. The findings of this study should be of interest to educators and individuals working with and on behalf of school-aged children and young people in foreign language settings where the application of development instruments could reveal the health-related quality of life.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, 2022
This study seeks to identify the barriers facing teachers working in Saudi Arabia with students w... more This study seeks to identify the barriers facing teachers working in Saudi Arabia with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It focuses in particular on their use of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) strategies, as well as their views concerning potential improvements. The research used a qualitative approach, collecting data by means of individual semi-structured interviews with eight female teachers of ASD students, which were then analyzed using the thematic analysis method. This study recommends that the competent authorities should obligate the management of centers of special education to apply ABA strategies, in accordance with binding rules and regulations. It also calls for the undertaking of further studies that measure the quality of ABA courses offered at centers of special education from the perspective of teachers.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, 2022
This study seeks to identify the most common challenges and opportunities experienced by both the... more This study seeks to identify the most common challenges and opportunities experienced by both the parents of children with intellectual disabilities, and specialists in the field, to identify and improve the services available to them. A qualitative approach is employed, and the data is collected via individual semi-structured interviews with 11 individuals, as follows: five parents of students with intellectual disabilities, who have received early intervention services, and six early intervention specialists. The data is analysed by exploring the topics thematically. The most prominent recommendations are the need to define the specialist fields that provide early intervention services, to issue a guide to early intervention services in Saudi Arabia, and to develop guidance programmes for both parents and workers in the field of supporting children with intellectual disabilities, and to prepare it for an initial follow-up.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, 2022
The current research examines obstacles to applying Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) when teaching ... more The current research examines obstacles to applying Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) when teaching students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) from the perspective of teachers working in Saudi Arabia. The study employed the qualitative approach, with data collected primarily through semi-structured interviews with eight female teachers with knowledge of EBP, and who had been working with pupils with ID for over a year. This study recommends that a key policy priority should consist of long-term planning, not only to spread awareness of the concept of EBP, but also the enactment of strict laws compelling special education schools and centres to apply criterion-referenced tests to ensure teachers are familiar with such practices.
Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 2022
This study explores the perceptions of individuals with intellectual disabilities regarding the s... more This study explores the perceptions of individuals with intellectual disabilities regarding the services of the Sa3ee initiative for the rehabilitation and employment of individuals with disabilities. It seeks to obtain an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by people with intellectual disabilities as beneficiaries of vocational rehabilitation and employment and transitional services at postsecondary school age. Methodology The research employs a qualitative approach that was deemed to be the most appropriate approach for this type of study, of which the literature review shows there was previously only a small number, especially in the context of the Arab world. The research tool used was semi-structured interviews with a sample of four individuals with intellectual disabilities in Riyadh, who had benefited from the rehabilitation and employment services provided by the Sa3ee initiative. Findings The results show that the interviewees perceived certain opportunities and positives in the initiative, the most important of which were the moral support and positive attitude of their family towards their child with intellectual disabilities. Nevertheless, the results show that challenges also exist, most notably the lack of laws that oblige the training of individuals with intellectual disabilities during the secondary school years. Implications to Research and Practice The study recommends that there should be further research on transition, rehabilitation, and training services, together with research conducted from the viewpoint of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
IJCSNS, 2022
This research aims to increase understanding of family participation in special education program... more This research aims to increase understanding of family participation in special education programs, to gain a deeper understanding of the programs themselves, and to determine the consequences of the research findings. It addresses the opportunities for families to participate in their children's learning journey and focuses on enhancing the experience of families participating in the education of students with intellectual disabilities. This study interviews four teachers of students with intellectual disabilities, and three important themes emerge from their discussion of whether parents should participate in special education programs for their children. The findings of this study have several important implications for future practice.
IJCSNS, 2022
The Saudi Arabian Special Education Regulations define the role and requirements from teaching as... more The Saudi Arabian Special Education Regulations define the role and requirements from teaching assistants within the educational process. Although all public special education programs are subject to such regulations, their implementation in practice sometimes appears contradictory. Therefore, special educators frequently encounter a range of problems when they fail to comply with such regulations. This article discusses how teaching assistants influence the teaching practices delivered to students with disabilities in special education settings. A qualitative case study approach was conducted using 22 semi-structured interviews. The results suggest a need to focus on the role of the teaching assistant in special education classes to ensure exposure to effective learning practices for students with disabilities. Based on these findings, a number of important implications for future practice, in terms adopting appropriate provisions are suggested.
IJCSNS, 2022
Educators have been making strides in the research into and practices supporting the policy of ma... more Educators have been making strides in the research into and practices supporting the policy of mainstreaming students with disability. A move towards including students with intellectual disability in community schools with all the other students can be seen in many countries' education systems, including that of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The 'rights of the child' has been the main argument put forward by advocates of this policy in an attempt to move from the medical to the social model. This study argues that, although mainstreaming can be viewed as a positive trend toward effective education, its implementation remains somewhat problematic. It is believed that more investigative research into professionals' attitudes is needed to improve service provision and inform the administration of mainstreaming practices. The attitudes of special education teachers on the policy of mainstreaming are examined and emerging key themes discussed. Furthermore, challenges that continue to inhibit mainstreaming practices in Saudi Arabia are identified.
IJCSNS, 2022
Private specialized institutions differ from public ones in that they mostly act independently. T... more Private specialized institutions differ from public ones in that they mostly act independently. This paper reports a study designed to assess the provision of specialized institutions for children with intellectual disabilities in Saudi Arabia. The approach taken in this study was qualitative, involving a case study strategy that enabled the researcher to gain rich and in-depth information based on the shared experiences of participants comprising institution leaders, educators and families from two specific specialized settings, one public and one private. The study aimed to examine the existing disparities in service delivery so as to develop a clear picture of the service quality provided by public specialized institutions for children with intellectual disabilities in Saudi Arabia. The results suggest that the weak relationship with inpatient and specialized institutions is a consequence of the parents' poor responsiveness, which may result in these institutes developing a negative impression of the parents. Conversely, the lack of active initiative on the part of the public specialized institutions led to a negative parental attitude towards these institutions. A sensible approach to resolving this problem might be to recognize that these institutions have a significant responsibility to encourage parents of children with intellectual disabilities to become involved in their children's learning, to promote positive attitudes.
IJCSNS, 2022
This research examines the views of teachers and parents of special schools in Saudi Arabia, expl... more This research examines the views of teachers and parents of special schools in Saudi Arabia, exploring the schools' strengths and disadvantages, as well as their impact on teachers, parents, and students with disabilities. The respondents' key views of the schools are identified, including the areas of consensus and conflict, and recommendations are made for the future, based on the findings. This research concerns a specific special education school in Saudi Arabia, and focuses on the understanding of special education in the country. The approach to the study is targeted and qualitative, with the six participants, three teachers and three parents, intentionally selected. The data collection is conducted via semi-structured interviews that explore the participants' views of special education in Saudi Arabia. A number of issues emerge from the results, and one raised by all three teachers is the need to improve school facilities. Although all three parents report that their children clearly benefited from attending a special school, two felt that the offering was insufficient, in terms of the teaching methods, and of supporting cognitive skills.
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Papers by Nizar H Bagadood