The Arabian Gulf University (AGU) recently hosted a discussion of a study that addressed gifted students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) across the GCC region. The study is part of a dissertation that is required in the PhD programme in Gifted Education from AGU’s College of Graduate Studies (CGS).
Titled “An integral multidimensional model for the diagnosis of gifted students with ASD in GCC states”, the study was conducted by Gifted Education Researcher Ms. Abrar Abdulaziz Al Taher on 100 students in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.
Ms. Al Taher’s dissertation was supervised by Dr Alaaeldin Ayoub and Dr Emad Alzeghoul, and it recommended utilising a scale to diagnose talented students with ASD on a wider scale to include all levels of education in GCC states.
The AGU study also called for introducing special programmes for gifted students with ASD, focusing on their talent development and providing them with social, communication and adaptive skills, in order to integrate them with the society.
The study aimed to unify efforts among specialists and decision-makers to develop the skills of gifted students of this category and to shed more light on them, by directing the media to discuss their needs and requirements, and implementing awareness programmes to build community awareness about this segment of the society.