dc.description.abstract
Introduction: Children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present with higher rates of comorbidities compared to the general population, which is often associated with increased pain levels. The communication limitations characteristic of ASD make it more difficult to express the source of discomfort, adding complexity to pain assessment and management.
Objectives: The main objective of this bibliographical review is to identify nursing interventions for the assessment and management of pain in children and adolescents with ASD. The specific objectives are: 1) To analyse how pain is expressed in children and adolescents with ASD; 2) To identify barriers to pain assessment and recognition in this population; 3) To explore the most appropriate pain assessment tools for children and adolescents with ASD; and 4) To identify effective strategies for pain management in this group.
Methodology: A bibliographic review was conducted between February and April 2025. The electronic databases PubMed, Cinahl, Scopus, Science Direct, and Cochrane were consulted. The search strategy incorporated the MeSH terms autism spectrum disorder, autistic disorder, pain, pain management, and nursing. Filters were applied to limit the selection to articles published between 2019 and 2025. Only studies meeting the predefined inclusions and exclusion criteria were considered eligible for review.
Results: Ten articles were selected for this review. The selected studies included one descriptive cross-sectional study, two exploratory systematic reviews, one experimental study, two quantitative clinical studies, one review article, one retrospective clinical study, one case series study, and one clinical trial.
Conclusions: The management of pain in children and adolescents with ASD requires the adaptation of communication strategies, a comprehensive assessment combining multiple sources of information, and an interdisciplinary intervention focused on personalized care. Nursing plays a key role, as does the continuous training of professionals, to ensure quality care
