Education for autists: analyzing the contributions of a continuing training course for Basic Education teachers

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder has been very present in recent years, due to the increase in diagnoses and the search for studies that can help in the understanding and development of autistic people. As a result, inclusive pedagogical practices aimed at the education of autistic people are necessary, as there is a lack of inclusive training for teachers, who feel unprepared for this demand. Thus, reflections are brought about the contributions of a teacher training course aimed at inclusive education for autistic people. This course promoted the continued training of 30 teachers working in three public schools in the municipality of Senhor do Bonfim city, Bahia State, Brazil. The research involved the development, implementation, and evaluation of the course, investigating the perceptions of participating teachers about autism. Data on the prior knowledge of these participants was produced using a survey questionnaire, with five open questions, which was also answered after the course, to evaluate their final perceptions. These data were evaluated using content analysis. As a result, it was possible to perceive teachers' difficulties on how to carry out inclusion and the lack of teacher training on autism. Also, advances were seen in both the participants' understanding of the disorder and the education of people with autism, which shows the effectiveness of the course and indicates its potential for it to be taken to other groups of teachers.