Functional profile of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in regular schools

Abstract

Introduction. Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized as a highly prevalent neuropsychiatric syndrome. Objective. Evaluate the functional profile of students with ASD, at all levels of support, inserted in regular municipal schools in the city of Alfenas-MG, in view of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and evaluate resources and materials to support the education of these students. Method. Cross-sectional study, consisting of 42 students with ASD, from different levels, distributed in nine schools. To assess the functional profile, an ICF checklist was used, in which 37 domains of the “Activity and Participation” component were qualified regarding the difficulty in performing tasks related to perception, attention, memory, language, logical reasoning, motor capacity and emotional state. The students were evaluated indirectly, from the teacher's perspective, through an interview. Results. Students with ASD showed difficulty from slight to complete in eleven domains related to “Language” (65.2%) and from moderate to complete in the domain “directing attention” (66.7%), “dealing with stress and other psychological demands” (78.6%), “focus attention” (83.3%), “basic interpersonal interactions” (69%) and “informal social relationships” (59.5%). Schools have basic support materials, which were considered as moderate facilitators. No school has or uses assistive technology, which was considered a barrier to the development of students with ASD. Conclusion. The functional profile of this analyzed group pointed to difficulties in activities involving perception, attention and emotional state and, there was a lack of support materials for this population.

Uniterms: Infantile Autism. Educational inclusion. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Rehabilitation.