Compresões das produções sobre o autismo no Curso de Educação Física da UFPB e UEPB

Abstract

The study aimed to understand academic productions related to autism in the context of Physical Education courses at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) and UEPB. The methodological reference used consisted of qualitative, descriptive research. For the research we considered access to the databases of the aforementioned institutions and used the descriptors "Autism", "Physical Education and Autism" and "Psychomotor Education”. It should be noted that the choice of these two institutions came from an interest in researching the productions of Course Completion Works (TCCs) from public universities in the context of Paraíba over the last 10 years, with the aim of mapping productions in relation to the main concepts, difficulties faced, availability of incentives, improvement courses in the area, as well as understanding if there has been an increase in productions in recent years, considering an increase in the number of diagnoses and that as a result this audience will be/is in our classrooms. To analyze the texts we used Bardin's content analysis approach (year), the difficulty of access to the materials in their databases and data, which also involved contacting the aforementioned institutions by e- mail. We inform you that after several readings of the texts and structuring the analysis considering its three stages, we identified by grouping 8 categories that together helped us to understand the production scenarios, they are: “understandings of autism, characteristics, origins and prevalence”, “treatment/intention and the importance of a multidisciplinary team and early intervention”, “adapted physical education and inclusive education in autism”, “ public policies and the rights of the ASD person”, “the training of physical education professionals and their difficulties in working with autistic people”, “the different action/intervention strategies of physical education with the autistic public”, “the difficulties for the work with people with ASD in the context of physical education” and “the role of the media, in training, dissemination and acceptance”. The studies reviewed revealed a variety of concepts and understandings about autism, reflecting the complexity of this autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the need for a multidisciplinary approach to its understanding and intervention. The TCCs analyzed also presented different pedagogical propositions, including adapted teaching strategies, inclusion programs and specific psychomotor activities for children with autism. However, the difficulties faced by Physical Education professionals when working with children with autism emerged as a recurring theme. These difficulties ranged from the lack of adequate training to the need to constantly adapt physical activities to meet the individual needs of children with ASD. We note that there are still few productions on autism and Physical Education in the researched universities, considering that there were only 9 texts in the last 10 years and we draw attention to the need for the TCC databases to be updated since 5 of the 9 texts were obtained by email. We also highlight the lack of resources and the scarcity of improvement courses in the area were also highlighted as significant obstacles. The research highlighted the importance of reflecting on how Physical Education can contribute to the inclusion and development of children with autism. Furthermore, he highlighted the need for investments in training and qualification of professionals in the area, as well as access to incentives and specific improvement courses related to autism. This, in turn, will contribute to the creation of more inclusive and welcoming environments, where all children, regardless of their differences, can enjoy the benefits of Physical Education in a full and meaningful way.