Autism and occupational therapy: ethical and professional dilemmas in the current Brazilian context

Abstract

This essay critically analyzes the implications of the growing popularization of autism in Brazil for occupational therapy, based on a collective trajectory initiated in 2022 by occupational therapists and researchers from public universities. Concerns arose from the significant increase in clinics specializing in autism and the early insertion of students into these services, frequently marked by precarious relationships and problematic care practices. The essay uses the conceptual framework of the Autism Industrial Complex as a reference, adapting it to the Brazilian context to understand the diagnostic expansion and the constitution of a highly lucrative service market, in which occupational therapy has occupied a central position. Three analytical axes are explored: I) Training; II) Expansion of the job market and interventions offered; and III) Working conditions of occupational therapists. It is hoped to contribute to the academic and political debate on the future of the profession in the face of contemporary ethical and structural challenges.