BLOG THREE

Questions of the Research Team

 

1 How are we going to disseminate information when autism is not defined?
2 How can we teach the people of S.L. in a culturally appropriate way?
3 How do we break the spiritual beliefs of the cause of autism?
4 How can we train the workers in a short amount of time about the great depth of autism?
5 How can we validate the screener when there is nothing similar to it to do construct validity?
6 What type of screener would be “easiest” to use (checklist, electronically, interviews, etc.)?
7 How can we validate the screener with a small sample size?
8 How can we effectively communicate with the people of S.L. in order to avoid cultural barriers?
9 How can we effectively provide training on autism with limited resources in the field (no PP, no handouts)?
10 How do we explain and share information about autism and other disabilities (verbally, pictures, videos, etc.)
11 How do we locate the people that need this help when they don’t attend school?
12 How can we encourage and monitor the implementation of the screening tools?
13 How much time do parents of individuals with suspected disabilities spend around typically developing kids? Will they have a frame of reference for their child’s behavior/development?
14 Who will be good citizens in Sierra Leone who can introduce us to these families?
15 How can we help families/guardians support people with autism?
16 What other organizations can we collaborate with to increase the resources available for treatment after diagnosis?
17 How can we help students with autism be included in schools without fear of bullying?
18 Who can continue to sustain the system we’ve built after we have left the country?
19 Will our research open doors to the other types of research on different disabilities? 
20 What other countries have a similar lack of research and funding in regards to autism?

Diagnosing Autism in Sierra Leone: Logic Model

 

Stakeholders Inputs Outputs Outcomes  Impacts
-Community Health Workers

– World Hope International Workers

– Families of children suspected of having autism

– Teachers/Schools

– Sierra Leone Autistic Society

– time

– money

– screeners

– trainings

– Number of people screened

– Number of people trained to identify stereotypic behaviors related to autism

– Number of local people reliably trained to administer the screener

– Number of individuals with autism who reach adulthood

– Children with disabilities are included in the schools & receive services to help them

– Caregivers have a reduced level of stress

– People have an accurate understanding of what autism and other disabilities are 

– Inclusion for students with autism in schools and communities

– Prevalence data leading to more interest groups devoting funding to education and intervention for individuals with autism in Sierra Leone

– Shedding light on the scientific basis of autism (e.g., environmental, genetic) vs. supernatural (e.g., demonic possession)

– Reduction in the seclusion of families who have a child with autism for fear of bullying

M&E Plan

Assumptions:

  • Screener is accurate in identifying those with autism and can be used across all ethnic groups in Sierra Leone.
  • People in Sierra Leone will see the value in using the screener and will continue to use the screener after our team’s fieldwork.
  • Parents will act on the results of the screener to seek support services, accessible resources, training, and education

 

Metrics
– Number of people screened

– Number of people trained to identify stereotypic behaviors related to autism

– Number of local people reliably trained to administer the screener

– Number of individuals with autism who reach adulthood

– Have community health workers document each person screened and the result of the screening in a notebook***

– Award certificates to those who complete the training on stereotypic behaviors of autism and document number of people who have completed the training***

– Award certificates to those who complete the training on administering the screener reliably and document number of people who have completed the training***

– Use screening data to determine the number of individuals with autism in childhood. Future teams will remain in contact with those who have been identified and track them through their lifespan. **

– Children with disabilities are included in the schools & receive services to help them

– Caregivers have a reduced level of stress

– People have an accurate understanding of what autism and other disabilities are 

– Have schools document the number of students who screen positive on the screener who are attending school via a notebook***

– Qualitative interviews will measure the stress levels of caregivers. *

– Qualitative interviews about autism, its origin and characteristics related to autism*

*=short term, **=long-term, ***=both

 

One thought on “BLOG THREE

  1. Great job. Your 20 questions are all really important (and many of them difficult to answer!) I see in your logic model that you’ll have some strong partners on the ground which is great – they’ll be able to educate you on a lot of the context rather than you having to figure it out yourselves, and help continue the work when you leave.

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