The inclusion of students with autism in Maceió municipal education system

Abstract

The educational inclusion movement is resulting in an increased number of enrollments of special needs students in regular schools. Among these students are those with autism who exhibit communication and social interaction deficits, as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests and activities. There are evidences in the literature that educational interventions are the most effective to minimize the deficits of children with autism. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate the qualitative aspects of regular education access by these students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the inclusion of students with autism in public regular schools in Maceió, through their teachers’ perspective. Twenty-six teachers and two teaching assistants of 22 schools participated, characterizing 30 students with autism. A semi-structured questionnaire and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) were used. The results point to a deficit in the teachers’ specific training for teaching students with autism and to the consequences of this deficit as an absence of individualized plans, materials, and assessments. Therefore, the inclusion of students with autism in public regular schools in Maceió has not been successful in accomplishing one of its main assumptions which is to promote these students learning through the necessary individualized attention.