Promoting evidence-based practice for autism in the Arab World (360G-Wellcome-089676_Z_09_Z)

Autism is a life-long condition affecting 1 in 100 individuals and interfering with the person's ability to communicate and relate to others. There is currently a clear gap between the level of public awareness of autism and the extent to which scientific research findings are integrated within practice towards people affected by the condition. While this holds internationally, the gap between evidence and practice is much wider in developing countries. Our vision is to promote public engagement with autism research in the Arab world. This is achieved through the integration of the best scientific evidence within the context of characteristics and values of those affected. We view this as a bi-directional learning process. By promoting the use of scientific evidence in practice, stakeholders will have the opportunity to directly articulate their outlook of future research needs and priorities. We will design and implement a series of workshops delivered to families and educators of people with autism. The workshops will be designed with input from leading international figures in autism research and individually customized to maximally benefit stakeholders in each developing country. Local partner organisations in four Arab countries will contribute to the project by facilitating the goals in their communities. Through direct engagement with stakeholders at multiple levels, we will gather critical knowledge about local and regional research needs and priorities. We will disseminate this knowledge locally and globally. By increasing awareness of the state of the science, the immediate impact will be to improve family and educator's practices towards people with autism. The process will also contribute towards deriving future research needs and priorities directly from these stakeholders, with the hope that their vision will influence the global research agenda.