Resumo
Objetivo: Investigar a eficácia da Terapia Assistida por Animais na redução da ansiedade e na promoção da interação social em crianças com Transtorno do Espectro Autista. Métodos: Realizou-se uma revisão integrativa da literatura nas bases PubMed, BVS e Cochrane, utilizando descritores DeCS e MeSH , filtrando os estudos publicados entre 2020 e 2025, em inglês, português ou espanhol, com crianças com TEA avaliando redução da ansiedade e promoção da interação social. Excluíram-se artigos sem texto completo, sem foco na população infantil ou sem rigor metodológico. Após leitura de 17 textos completos, 14 artigos foram incluídos. Resultados: Os estudos revisados demonstraram que as intervenções com animais proporcionam redução significativa dos sintomas de ansiedade e melhoria na comunicação e interação social. Relatos indicam que a presença dos animais atua como mediadora emocional, facilitando a expressão afetiva e a participação social das crianças. Considerações finais: A Terapia Assistida por Animais revela-se uma estratégia promissora para o manejo dos sintomas do TEA, embora os achados sejam limitados por heterogeneidade metodológica.
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