O processo avaliativo no Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA): atuação do neuropsicólogo no Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with early onset. It is characterized by persistent impairments in interaction and social communication skills and by restricted and repetitive activities, interests and behaviors in multiple contexts. Despite being present in the first years of life, the diagnosis occurs on average after 3 years of age, which makes insertion in intervention programs difficult. In addition to the aforementioned impairments, TEA directly impacts the subjects' language and cognitive abilities, causing impairments in daily life. To achieve this goal, it was divided into two parts: The first consisting of a systematic literature review, covering the 10-year period (2008-2018), through the PRISMA methodology. 16 empirical studies were selected. It was observed: 1) the scarcity of national studies on the assessment of Autism in early childhood; 2) that children with better social, cognitive interactions and shared attention rates also had higher linguistic performance. In view of the findings, in the second stage of the research, the performance of 24 clinical neuropsychologists from the state of Rio de Janeiro was investigated. By completing 23 questions on the Google virtual form. It was observed that 75% of referrals for evaluation come from other health professionals, as well the prevalence of care for children and adolescents and the challenge of assessing themselves due to the limited number of specific instruments for ASD available in Brazil. The data obtained in the two studies bring important discussions about the national scenario of research and action in the field of clinical neuropsychology in the context of autism. Finally, the importance of studying the disorder and developing sensitive and psychometrically compatible measures with the particularities of the population is emphasized.