News
Third edition of the Labyrinth Congress is marked by emotion and sharing of learning
Meeting addressed the theme ?Taking care of parents and children?.
08/08/2019
Graduate students and various health and education professionals gathered on August 2nd and 3rd at the III Congress Labyrinth: taking care of parents and children. The meeting aimed to discuss characteristics, diagnoses, research and experiences related to Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and took place at the Cabula Campus of Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública.
The event was created by the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Research in Autism (LABIRINTO), coordinated by the professor of the Medicine course at Bahiana Dr. Milena Pondé, who explained the importance of this year's theme. “There is a whole struggle that parents of children with ASD face, whether in the search for a diagnosis, in the difficulty of finding quality health services or in situations where the mother is abandoned by her partner and needs to raise her child alone. So, there needs to be a sharing of knowledge, information and a support network for these parents who deal with autism in their lives, on a daily basis."
The opening of the congress was enchanting. Josiane Cardoso, who has the TEA, presented a recital to the public and showed that her talent stood out from the difficulties caused by autism. His mother, Cristiane Cardoso, was one of the speakers at the event and told her story as a mother of three children with autism. “Being here at this congress is the realization of a dream, because, after all the challenges and difficult moments I went through in life to educate my children, it is an immense joy to realize that I won and to be able to tell everyone my story. My children are the representation of pure love in my life”.
Professor Gustavo Siquara, also organizer of the congress, explained the relevance of the event for the training of students and health professionals. “We try, each year, to bring a different theme and, this year, we are talking about how TEA influences parents' lives. It is essential for academics and health specialists who work with autism to understand how this relationship between parents and children is significant in patient care."
The congress program was attended by several speakers. Occupational therapist Dr. Sheila Araújo addressed the relationship between Down syndrome and autism, which is often not correctly diagnosed. The researcher brought data from the Down Movement (2018) that indicate 18% to 39% of individuals with Down syndrome included in the autism spectrum.
Dr. Milena Pondé and Dr. Mirella Losapio – psychiatrist, member of LABIRINTO and ex-student of Medicine at Bahiana – lectured on “Assessment tools: new m-chat version and the LABYRINTH scale” and held practical demonstrations for the participants. Nutritionist Dr. Cristiane Lázaro explained how the nutrition of patients with ASD occurs, as they have a greater sensitivity in the body, and how parents should proceed to provide quality food for their children.
Psychopedagogue and neuropsychology student at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) Geinara Assis, demonstrated enthusiasm with the knowledge she acquired during the Labyrinth. “This event comes to add to all the professionals who are here. I learned a lot about advances in the ASD area and I'm already thinking about how to apply this in the area of education, which increasingly needs social inclusion for children with autism”.
The congress also featured lectures on “Autism and Epilepsy” given by Dr. Humberto Castro Lima Filho and Dr. José Carlos Pitangueira, who spoke on “The experience of Instituto PRIORIT”, an organization with a humanized proposal for treatment for people with TEA.
the students of Bahiana were very active at the event. The 7th semester student of Medicine Ana Clara Reis reported how the labyrinth added to her development. “Many questions regarding ASD were clarified for me and I understood about the importance of early diagnosis and, as this, it can interfere with the patient's progress. It was very gratifying to participate in this congress”.
