Inclusão de alunos autistas na cantina escolar: promovendo experiências coletivas e sensoriais com os alimentos

Abstract

This work aims toprovide conditions forautistic children to develop a close relationship with healthy eatingby promoting collective and playful experiences betweenchildren and the food offered in the school cafeteria, considering theparticularities and characteristics of autism. It started with the following question: how is it possible to promote actions in the school cafeteria that consider theparticularities related to the eating process of autistic children andencourage a more positive and healthy relationship between children and thefood offered in the cafeteria? Therefore, na intervention project was developed in the school cafeteria, lasting eight meetings overtwo weeks, for three students with Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD), aged 12-13, enrolled in a municipal schoollocated in Itabirito (MG). The activities weredeveloped based on playful and sensory proposals, seeking to stimulate theacceptance of natural foods, strengthen healthy eating habits,develop motor and sensory skills, as well as promote socializationand autonomy among students. The results indicate that direct contact withfood, combined with practices that consider student demand, contributeseffectively to the formation of healthy eating habits, school inclusionand the integral development of children with ASD. In addition, it waspossible to conclude that the intervention fostered the construction of awelcoming, collaborative, and inclusive environment, which encouraged student involvement andstrengthened emotional bonds between students and school professionalsschool. The study reinforces the importance of interdisciplinary actions in the school environment,the expansion of the project to other autistic students, the training of theschool cafeteria team, and highlights the role of the school as a privileged spacefor the construction of inclusive practices and health promotion.