Conhecimentos e atitudes de profissionais da saúde e educação sobre o Transtorno do Espectro Autista na adolescência

Abstract

Over the years, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been widely discussed and studied. Due to recent discoveries involving diagnosis and early intervention, issues related to the scientific study of adolescence with autism have taken a back seat. However, the population of adolescents with autism or suspected autism also lacks studies on the dimensions related to late diagnosis and evidence-based interventions for this population. The aim of this research is to analyze the knowledge and attitudes of health and education professionals towards Autism Spectrum Disorder, focusing on the adolescent period. To this end, the method used was the application of a questionnaire on the knowledge and attitudes of health and education professionals about ASD, adapted from research by Oliveira (2011), Ferreira and Franzoi (2019) and Imran et al. (2011). A total of 78 health professionals and 36 education professionals from the municipality of Presidente Dutra (MA) took part, totaling 114 participants. The data obtained was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), in which descriptive statistical techniques were used to produce absolute and relative frequencies. Among the main results, it stands out that most of the participants search for information about ASD on social networks, 52.8% from Health and 57.7% from Education; on websites and blogs, 47.2% from Health and 60.3% from Education. These professionals also refer to the multiprofessional team (61.1% from Health and 39.7% from Education), the psychologist (16.7% from Health and 29.5% from Education) and the neurologist (16.7% from Health and 23.1% from Education) as being indicated to diagnose autism. Although 69.4% of health professionals and 56.4% of education professionals mention not having had professional training on autism after graduation, 69.4% of health professionals and 84.6% of education professionals report having contact with autistic adolescents in their work environment. This contributes to the diffuse results presented on questions related to the signs, symptoms, characteristics, causes, treatments and prognosis of autism. As a technical product, we present a project to give talks to public and private health and education professionals in the municipality. Material with scientific content will also be made available to help train these professionals. It is worth emphasizing the importance of carrying out more research focusing on adolescents with autism, since this group lacks a more solid basis for diagnosis, treatment and school inclusion, with a view to improving their quality of life and that of their families. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]