Autismo e hidroterapia: Um estudo de caso

Abstract

Introduction: Autism is a genetic and chronic syndrome, characterized mainly for changes in behavior, verbal and non-verbal communication, and social and emotional interaction. The aquatic environment is an important tool for the child´s with development deficit affective-emotional improvement, because it promotes greater interaction of the affective, motor and sensory systems. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate , treat and to check the effects of hydrotherapy in quality of life , psychomotor development and sociability of an autistic individual. Methodology: there were done 24 aquatic sessions with a 4-year-old autistic child, with weekly sessions of 45 minutes, during six months. At the beginning of the treatment an anamneses with anthropometric data and family and personal background was made. For the skill evaluation a questionnaire developed by Kwee was used, besides the AUQEI adapted questionnaire for quality of life and semistructured weekly interviews. Results: There was improvement between the first and the last evaluation in the social interaction, cognitive and behavioral aspects, nevertheless there were no changes in communication. As for the quality of life, in the semistructured interviews there was a report of improvement. Conclusion: The findings of this study are positive for the practice of this technic with autistic individuals, with the objective of improving their social interaction, behavior and the cognitive aspect