Meet the Professionals Day; Evaluation of the Autistic Children Caregivers Knowledge, Concerns, and Needs

Background Autistic caregivers are continuously under extreme stress, on one hand, tortured because of seeing their children living a denied childhood and on the other, facing silent or expressed accusations from others. Objective Our Clinic first Meet the Professionals Day (MPD) for autistic caregivers has been designed as a preliminary cross sectional study to evaluate their knowledge, Concerns, and needs from the clinic, community, and future autism scientific research. Methodology Caregivers of 25 autistic children under regular follow up at the Child Psychiatry Clinic, Children's Hospital, Ain Shams University, Egypt, ten joined our Clinic first MPD events (group I) and 15 did not join those events (group II). Socioeconomic Standard Questionnaire, Autism Parental Knowledge Assessment Questionnaire (APKAQ), and Caregivers' Views and Caregivers' Needs open ended questionnaires were filled by all enrolled caregivers. The latter three questionnaires were filled twice by group I, before and after MPD educating sessions. Results The mean value of the total APKAQ score was significantly improved for group I after MPD educating sessions compared to it before those sessions. On the other hand, the educating sessions of our first MPD significantly improved the caregivers knowledge about autism etiology, symptomatology, and prognosis. Conclusion Assessment of the knowledge of autistic caregivers about a disorder that they are obliged to live with, every day of their lives, is crucial in helping professionals to arrange for educational and supportive programs that meet their needs, dealing with their concerns, and empower them to help their children in a more efficient way.