Aiming to expand access to up-to-date information on health care and education, preceptors from the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) participated in the development of asynchronous, online and free courses offered by the Open University platform of the Unified Health System (UNA-SUS). One of the courses designed by professionals at the Institute is the course “Early Stimulation: children from zero to 3 years old with delayed neuropsychomotor development”, aimed at professionals who work in the SUS, involved in the rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, in addition to technical professionals, academics and others interested in the subject. The course is now available, and registrations go until June 30, 2023.

The course, made up of multimedia materials, addresses early stimulation as a therapeutic approach strategy for children from zero to three years old with delayed neuropsychomotor development. The strategies consider the points of attention of the Care Network for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) and address topics such as assessment and identification, motor, cognitive and language stimulation, and the use of Assistive Technologies to expand functionality. The material was planned by ISD preceptors Artemis de Paula (neuropsychologist), Camila Simão (physiotherapist), Jardany Barros (occupational therapist) and Luana Aprígio (speech therapist).  

ISD's neuropsychologist preceptor, Artemis de Paula, considers the dissemination of information on early stimulation a positive initiative, as it is an easy-to-use intervention strategy. “It is knowledge that, when the professional acquires it, he can transmit it to the family, and the family can multiply this knowledge and apply it with their children”, explains the professional. 

Artemis explains that early stimulation works with the aspect of neuroplasticity, that is, the brain's ability to learn and adapt, largely present in the first years of life. As an intervention strategy, it is a method that seeks to intensify the child's stimuli and make him reach the maximum of his potential.

“In the first three years, there is a great deal of neuroplasticity. Early stimulation has this positive impact because of this peculiarity of neurodevelopment, and because it brings benefits to both people with disabilities and people without disabilities, but who are at risk for developmental delay”, he explains. An example of this, according to the professional, are children who were born prematurely, who are at greater risk of neurodevelopmental delay, but will not necessarily have a disability. “If we start caring for and encouraging this child from an early age, we guarantee the best possible development for him, minimizing or remedying the difficulties he would have”, points out Artemis de Paula. 

According to Camila Simão, coordinator of the Specialized Rehabilitation Center at the Santos Dumont Institute (CER ISD), one of the main actions of the CER ISD, which has as one of its pillars the strengthening of health care, is to promote different education strategies in order to expand its dissemination and facilitate access to information. For the professional, platforms such as UNA-SUS, for example, allow this diversification of access for different audiences, through accessible languages and resources that facilitate learning.

About the course of early stimulation, whose main target audience is health professionals working in the SUS, Camila reinforces that the objective is to translate knowledge to favor the process of early stimulation considering the different points of the health care network. “The contents addressed are based on the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and are an update of information for the current context. Within the CER, we address the issue of specialized care, but we bring the importance of early identification in primary care and follow-up by specialized care, always including the family and the context of that person in the continuity of care. The intention is to promote the strengthening of the care network as a whole”, explains Camila Simão. 

The UNA-SUS platform

UNA-SUS courses are free and offered at a distance. The range of offers includes open courses online, extension, improvement, specialization and professional master's degrees on various topics in the health area.

Any health professional can enroll and be certified in the courses offered by the UNA-SUS System, as long as they meet the prerequisites described in each offer. In addition, there are also courses open to people from other areas of knowledge.