Estudo das crianças com Transtorno do Espectro Autista atendidas no Programa de Educação Precoce do Distrito Federal

Abstract

The present study was to describe the prevalence, barriers and facilitators of habitual PA and means of transport and screen use in leisure among babies and children aged 1 to 4 years with ASD, of both sexes, participating in the Early Childhood Education Program (PEP) in the Federal District (DF). This is a descriptive study involving 453 babies and children with ASD. The data, covering economic, sociodemographic, educational and health factors, autonomy in activities of daily living, sleeping habits, as well as aspects related to autism, use screen in leisure time, mode of transport, habitual PA, barriers and facilitators for adopting an active lifestyle, were collected through interviews face-to-face with parents, guardians or caregivers in 20 units of PEP in DF. We revealed that majority of babies and children were male, with an average age of 3 years and 10 moths, were white, had a mild and moderate of level ASD and met the recommended daily PA guidelines of Physical Activity Guide for the Brazilian Population, daily 180 minutes, for the age group of the study. In the leisure time, screen use was low, while in the commuting, the predominant mode of transport was the car (private or app-based). High prevalence (>70%) was observed across all personal, environmental, and social facilitators. In the personal area we find the fact that the guardian finds important, the child likes it, to be capable and have free time to do PA; in the environmental sphere, housing is safe and having places to do PA close to home were the most cited facilitators; the guardian finds PA important for the development of the child’s motor coodination and social interaction and parents have time to accompany the child in PA were the most reported. The main barriers reported to the personal sphere was the fear of parents that a child would get hurt parent concerns about possible harm to their babies and children. In the environmental field the absence of PA social projects to babies and children and in the social area the lack medical recommendation to practice PA. Subsequent research is imperative to further explore PA among babies and children with ASD, providing critical support for the development of early intervention programs or projects rooted in PA, with the goal of decreasing sedentary behavior and maintaining adequate PA levels in this population.