Trabalho partilhado entre famílias de alunos com dificuldade intelectual e desenvolvimental e os professores: a pertinência e a atualidade

Knowing the way families of students who have development and intellectual difficulties (DID) see the interaction between special needs teachers and regular teachers and the way they respond to their needs, adequate procedures, give answer to the educational needs, having the growth and the development of these students in mind, has been the main purpose of this study. The changes that take place are, most of all, because of political, social, economic, judicial, scientific and humanitarian reasons. This is a pertinent problem because the evolution of the support given to students with learning disabilities and their families, in less restricted environments, places new challenges to regular schools in what concerns new ways of interacting and collaborating with them. Nevertheless, this change will only be productive and successful if we see it as a shared process of an inclusive school with a flexible organization. Through a qualitative study, we interviewed nine families that are responsible for students with DID, in the centre of Portugal, more specifically in Viseu, Coimbra and Aveiro. We concluded, in general, that the interactions between the two education professionals with the families showed a relevant contrast in procedures and actions.