TEACHER TRAINING FOR WORKING WITH STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: TRAJECTORIES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

The inclusion of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in regular schools is relatively recent and the target of great discussions. Due to the specificities presented by this public and their demands at school, educators’ question, especially, how to promote the learning and development of these subjects. The objectives of this study were to investigate the presence/absence of training processes to work with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder throughout the teaching career and discuss how this training reverberates in the practices of educators who work with this public. A regular education teacher who had a student with ASD in her classroom participated in this study. The information analyzed was collected through an interview. The results showed gaps in the teacher's training that may have contributed to the difficulties experienced in her work with students with ASD in the classroom. Data analysis also pointed to the need for constant acquisition of knowledge to help the teacher in his educational action aimed at this public in inclusive schools. Conditions must be ensured so that teachers have access to initial and continuing education that contributes to their work with students with ASD. Thus, it is necessary to invest in improving teacher training, both initial and continuing, so that it is possible to include students with ASD in regular schools, ensuring not only the access of this group to school, but their permanence with quality.