ASD and Inclusion: Teacher Training and the Use of Alternative and Extended Communication in Inclusive Educational Contexts

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a search for a model of education that allows the participation of all students in the same school space, that is, an inclusive school. Inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been a recurring topic and has posed challenges for teachers, families and school management aiming at the participation of these students in the school environment and its pedagogical practices. ASD is currently classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder marked, mainly, by the difficulty of interaction and social communication (APA, 2014). As a result, it is common for students with ASD to present verbal and/or nonverbal communicative deficits. Given the pivotal role communication has in ensuring the socialization and educational inclusion of students with autism, this research seeks to answer the following questions: How does teacher training prepare teachers to help students with ASD? What resources of alternative and/or extended communication (AEC) can enable students with ASD to better communicate with their teachers? In order to answer these questions, the present paper investigates the theoretical and political foundations that regulate the inclusion of students with ASD in regular school, and analyzes teacher training in its relation to promoting their inclusion. Thus, the present paper discusses teacher training for the use of AEC tools in the regular classroom. It is believed that the great challenge teachers face is continuing education of the pedagogical strategies and practices for assisiting students with ASD in their learning processes in the regular classroom. This paper also addresses relevant public policies and the responsibility of the public power to effectively promote education for all, an education that respects the Other as a true Other.