Deaf people and occupational therapy: what do the researches say?

Abstract

The Occupational Therapy has the competence to rehabilitate and keep activities of daily living, with the precept of serving everyone who needs their resources. Considering this prerogative and identifying in Brazil a population of 9.7 million people with hearing impairment, is defended that everyone should be served without distinction. So, the objective of the research was to know the scientific production of Occupational Therapy regarding the deaf population. The research was presented in the results, using the bibliographic review as base. As a result, it was identified that there are few articles that deal with the theme of the deaf person in the academic environment. In some cases when mention is made of Libras was found it as a measure of weight or the hearing loss as a criterion for exclusion in the researches. Even with the legislation in force about Libras and the assistance assured to deaf people, it's evident that there is a lack of knowledge of this population by a large portion of the hearing people. Thus, it is necessary to understand the real need of the Occupational Therapy professional to support and maintain the health of this patient. This allows us to conclude that, regardless of the demand presented by the person, it is important that the professional understands this moment and can talk more with the patient, in order to understand the difficulty as something temporary and the need to work together.