The contributions of the occupational therapist in the inclusive process of students with ASD

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify the contributions of occupational therapists working with collaborative consulting to the inclusion of students with ASD in mainstream schools. This is a bibliographical study, and the search for articles was conducted in journals specific to the field of Occupational Therapy, namely: Revista de Terapia Ocupacional da USP (Revista de Terapia Ocupacional) and Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional da UFSCar (Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional) . The search was guided by the Portuguese descriptors "Terapia Ocupacional" (Occupational Therapy), "Consultoria Colaborativa" (Collaborative Consulting), "TEA" (Teaching Inclusion), and "Inclusão Educacional" (Educational Inclusion). Data collection was carried out from August 2021 to January 2022. A total of 15 articles were found; however, after reading them in full, only three were selected because they specifically addressed the study topic. As established by the collaborative consulting framework, the three categorized articles highlight the space for knowledge sharing that should exist among education and health professionals. The occupational therapist in collaborative consulting acts as a facilitator of the school-student-family relationship and promotes the inclusion of students with ASD. However, in the socio-educational processes of the Social and Educational Program (PAEE), these actions remain isolated or underreported. Thus, it is concluded that it is necessary to encourage the development of new research involving occupational therapy and collaborative consulting, as gaps were identified in the national scientific production of occupational therapy journals regarding this topic, which is so important for the field, as well as for Special Education and Inclusive Education.