Atuação do enfermeiro no cuidado à criança com transtorno do espectro autista: revisão integrativa da literatura

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that usually compromises children before three years old. The role of the nurse is fundamental in the early identification of the signs and symptoms of ASD and it is important that the Nursing professional has the necessary knowledge to detect these signs and to provide adequate assistance to the child. However, it has been noticed a great deficit of knowledge on the part of nurses professionals about this disorder. OBJECTIVE: To characterize and analyze the available evidence in the literature on the role of nurses in the care of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. METHODS AND METHODS: This is an Integrative Review of the literature, following the steps recommended by Mendes, Silveira and Galvão (2008). The search and selection of the studies were performed in the databases LILACS, CINAHL, MEDLINE and SCOPUS. The sample was 10 non-experimental studies, with level of evidence VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS: The studies were published between 2005 and 2018, from Brazil, the United States and Australia, with Portuguese and English as their language, with authors related to nursing. The studies were evaluated and distributed in three thematic categories: Nursing in the detection early signs and symptoms of ASD, Nursing Care for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Nursing in autistic child care with their family. CONCLUSIONS: In this Integrative Review of the literature, it was possible to gather, synthesize and evaluate the knowledge produced about the nurses' performance in the care of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, thus seeking to deepen the discussions on this subject, in order to contribute to an evidence-based nursing practice.