The performance of occupational therapists in the rehabilitation of people with autismo

Abstract

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is observed in a significant number of subjects worldwide. In Brazil it is estimated that about 0.3% of every 1.5 million individuals have this disorder, which demonstrates the need for early diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. The study has as general objective: To analyze the practices and performance of occupational therapy professionals in the rehabilitation of autistic people. This is a descriptive integrative literature review. The search for articles was performed in the Latin American Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Medline and Capes Journal Portal databases from 2016 a 2020, using the descriptors: "Rehabilitation" "Rehabilitation", "Occupational therapy" "Occupational Therapy", "Autistic Spectrum Disorder" "Autistic Spectrum Disorder", with the Boolean operator AND for the specificity of the survey. available in full, consistent with the objective of the study. Where 76 articles were found, in which 8 were selected, from which it was found that the practices and performance of occupational therapy professionals occur from interventions, with the aim of improving occupational performance in all areas of life. The occupational therapists work encompasses the reorganization and establishment of new synaptic connections and the formation of large neural networks. Finally, the adaptive strategies used during rehabilitation for patients with ASD are interventions with playful activities, training of social skills in therapeutic workshops and intensive behavioral interventions, which provide a significant improvement in motor and cognitive functions, which are fundamental in life of the patient.