Problems Faced by Centres for Individuals with Special Needs in Baghdad Governorate

Abstract

The current research aims to identify the problems faced by centers for individuals with special needs in Baghdad Governorate. To achieve this goal, the researchers developed a scale to measure the issues encountered by these centers. This was done by presenting an open-ended exploratory question to the directors and female trainers of several centers in Baghdad. Based on their responses, 20 items were formulated and distributed across four domains: health, economic, family, and psychological domains. The scale was applied to a sample of 80 directors and trainers across six centers for individuals with special needs, including Basmat Amal Center for Special Needs and Learning Difficulties, Smart Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Noor Al-Huda Center for Learning Difficulties, Al-Safa Institute, Al-Salam Institute for Autism Care, and Babylon Academy for Special Needs. After confirming the psychometric properties of the scale, the results revealed that the most significant problems faced by these centers were health-related issues, which ranked first, followed by family-related problems, then economic issues, while psychological problems were reported as the least significant.