Current Status of Social Work with Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders at Thai Binh Pediatric Hospital (Vietnam)

This study analyzes the current status of social work services for families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) at Thai Binh Pediatric Hospital (in Thai Binh Province formerly and in Hung Yen Province recently) and proposes solutions to enhance service quality. The study used a mixed-methods approach with a survey of 89 family caregivers of children with ASD and in-depth interviews with 06 groups of key stakeholders (family caregivers, representative of the hospital board of directors, department managers, social workers, medical staff, and ASD experts). Popular social work activities at the hospital (psychological counseling, guidance on early intervention, resource mobilization, and service coordination) and other support were reported to be implemented fairly frequently, with 60–70% of families regularly accessing to these supports. However, there were notable limitations, e.g. some families only occasionally accessed certain supports due to resource constraints, lack of systematic follow-up, and insufficient specialized staff. There were strong positive correlations (r ≈ 0.7–0.9) among all support activities, indicating that improvements in one area tend to accompany improvements in others. Social work services at Thai Binh Province’s Pediatric Hospital play a positive role in comprehensive care for children with ASD and their families, but challenges remain (e.g. unsynchronized internal coordination, lack of specific support mechanisms, and limited specialized personnel). The study recommends enhancing staff training in autism, improving interdisciplinary coordination, developing standardized early intervention guidelines, securing stable funding and personnel for the Social Work department, and expanding linkages with external organizations. These measures are expected to strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of social work support for families of children with ASD.