“We Didn’t Know What to Do”: Experiences of search and rescue teams with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Natural disasters create disproportionate risks for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) because emergency environments often involve sudden changes, sensory overload, disrupted routines, and communication demands. This qualitative study examined the experiences of search and rescue (SAR) personnel who interacted with individuals with ASD during and after earthquake-related rescue operations in Türkiye. A phenomenological design was used to explore the shared meanings of these experiences.

Data were collected through a single online focus group conducted in two sessions with six SAR personnel selected through criterion-based purposive sampling. All participants had direct experience of interacting with individuals with ASD during disaster response. The data were analysed using inductive content analysis.

Five main themes were identified: interaction with individuals with ASD during the disaster process; SAR experiences; challenges encountered in SAR operations; support requirements in SAR operations; and recommendations. The findings show that communication breakdowns, sensory and emotional distress, uncertainty about appropriate interaction strategies, limited family-professional coordination, andin sufficient ASD-related training shaped SAR personnel’s experiences. The study highlights the need to integrate autism-specific communication strategies, family-informed planning, inter-agency coordination, and disability-inclusive training into disaster preparedness and response systems.

Although exploratory and context-specific, the findings offer practical implications for developing more inclusive emergency response practices in Türkiye and comparable disaster-prone contexts. We owe a sincere thanks to the participants who took part in this study. Part of the findings reported in this study were previously presented as an oral presentation at the XIth International Eurasian Educational Research Congress, Kocaeli, Türkiye, 2024.

Department of Special Education, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Eskişehir, Turkey Department of Special Education, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey Correspondence to Ayşe Tunç Paftalı or Gülefşan Özge Kalaycı. The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Eskisehir Osmangazi University Ethic Committee on 24 January 2024 (Approval/Protocol No. 2024-02).

The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the approving committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All participants were fully informed about the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature of participation, their right to withdraw at any time, the audio-recording of the focus group sessions, the confidential handling of the data, and the use of anonymised quotations in publications. Oral informed consent was reconfirmed and audio-recorded at the beginning of each online focus group session on 27 March 2024 using a standardised consent script.