Readability of Online Patient Education Materials on Autism: An Invisible Barrier to Information Access

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.8 Issue.1

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.1.11

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

Readability of Online Patient Education Materials on Autism: An Invisible Barrier to Information Access

Otizmle İlgili Çevrimiçi Hasta Eğitimi Materyallerinin Okunabilirliği: Bilgiye Erişimde Görünmez Bir Engel

Pınar Algedik¹, Orhan Kocaman²

Abstract:

This study aimed to evaluate the readability of online patient education materials related to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and determine how comprehensible these resources are for parents. On January 26, 2025, English-language materials were identified using the Google search engine with the keywords “autism,” “atypical autism,” “Asperger syndrome,” “pervasive developmental disorder,” and “autism spectrum disorder.” According to predefined inclusion criteria, 132 websites were selected and categorized into three groups: Professional Society, Clinical Practice, and General Health Information. Readability was assessed using six standardized metrics: Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Gunning Fog Index (GFI), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), Coleman–Liau Index (CLI), and Automated Readability Index (ARI). Of the 132 analyzed materials, 67.4% were from General Health Information sources, 17.4% from Professional Societies, and 15.2% from Clinical Practices. The mean FRE score was 30.2 ± 16.2, FKGL was 14.3 ± 3.7, GFI was 17.0 ± 3.8, SMOG was 13.0 ± 2.6, CLI was 15.7 ± 2.4, and ARI was 14.3 ± 4.1. No statistically significant differences were found between the three website categories (p > 0.05). These findings indicate that online autism education materials are generally written at an academic level that exceeds the reading ability of the general public, creating a gap between available information and its practical usability. This gap may hinder parents from making informed decisions and accessing timely support for their children. Therefore, developing clearer, more accessible, and health-literacy-appropriate resources is essential to improve understanding, early diagnosis, and intervention outcomes for individuals with autism.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Readability, Patient education materials, Health literacy, Online health information.

¹Haliç University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Istanbul, Türkiye.

²Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Antalya, Türkiye.

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Pınar Algedik, Haliç University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Istanbul, Türkiye, Email: [email protected].

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 29.05.2025, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 03.03.2026, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi:28.10.2025, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 25.03.2026

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Algedik, P. & Kocaman, O. (2026). Readability of Online Patient Education Materials on Autism: An Invisible Barrier to Information Access. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 8(1), 82-90, Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.1.11.

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/