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Global developmental delay (GDD) is highly prevalent among patients at child psychiatry clinics. However, preschool day treatment centers are currently scarce. As such, this study aimed to evaluate a program that was designed for children with GDD in order to improve their global skills and prepare them to join the school system.

This study utilized an observation retrospective design with a comparative group sample and included all children aged between 3 and 6 years who participated in the program for at least one academic year (experimental group). Their GDD diagnoses were based on the DSM-5 criteria (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Children with similar diagnoses who were on the waiting list constituted the control group. Pre- and post-scoring of the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) were conducted by the children’s teacher and blinded investigator for the experimental group, while the children’s mothers conducted the post-CGAS scoring for the control group.

The pre- and post-CGAS scores for the experimental group were 49.5 ± 12.8 and 58.3 ± 12.7 and 47.3 ± 17.3 and 66.6 ± 17.3 for the control group, respectively (p = 0.001). The children in the experimental group scored significantly better than the control group with respect to securing places in integrated, regular classes in the education system (p = 0.001).

This study had certain limitations. First, the number of children in the control group was relatively small. Second, the baseline skill levels of some of the children in the control group may have been lower than those of the children in the experimental group at the beginning of the evaluation; this may explain why they had been put on the waiting list. Third, the information was gathered retrospectively; this is a method that is known to have its own limitations.

The clinical implications of the study are that the early identification and referral of GDD are key elements in the rehabilitation of these children and that early intervention programs are necessary for cases of moderate and severe GDD. Primary care physicians should follow up with GDD patients to ensure that referrals are being appropriately sought (Choo et al., 2019).

The program was effective in both increasing the general functioning skills of the children in the experimental group and preparing them to attend regular, integrated classes. The program should be expanded and made available to more children with GDD.

This paper aims to investigate the influence of the determinants (pricing, type of structure, Shariah auditing, Shariah risk and Shariah documentation) and the sukuk legitimacy among Islamic financial institutions using a qualitative approach. The paper further explained the significance of the determinants on legitimacy, evaluated the relationship between sukuk characteristics and sukuk legitimacy and examined the moderating effect of Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) on the relationship.

The study used a purposive sampling technique to select the target respondents required for the survey (semi-structured interview). This technique is applied by selecting members of SSBs among Islamic financial institutions. A total number of ten members are selected as the sample size for the study based on their experience and basic knowledge of Fiqh Al-Mua’malat and its application in Islamic financial institutions.

The findings revealed that the determinants have a significant impact on the sukuk legitimacy, meaning that there is a positive and significant relationship between the determinants and the sukuk legitimacy. In addition, this study indicates the empirical evidence of the moderating effect of SSB on the relationship between the determinants and the sukuk legitimacy.

This study has added to the literature by examining the determinants of sukuk legitimacy while evaluating the moderating effect of SSB on the relationship. Besides, this might add benefits to the numerous Islamic financial institutions relating to the amendment of its regulatory frameworks with the view to pushing the sukuk market investors to move toward asset-backed structure. In addition, the SSB in central banks must also focus its attention regarding the sukuk legitimacy and its application among the various Islamic financial institutions.

This study has added a new discussion to the body of knowledge, i.e. examining the sukuk legitimacy and its relationship with sukuk determinants; hence, an approach that is not widely discussed in the previous studies. Furthermore, conducting such research in the field of Islamic finance provides novelty in the literature among both emerging and developed economies including Malaysia. This is because to the best knowledge of the researchers, there was no empirical study (within the literature) that combined these variables and evaluated their empirical significance. Accordingly, this would enlighten the Islamic Ummah and propel the society’s intensity toward contributing to knowledge and might further provide clarification on the determinants and the sukuk legitimacy to prospective scholars, precisely on the moderating effect of SSB on the relationship between determinants and legitimacy of sukuk.