A inclusão de crianças e jovens com perturbações do espetro do autismo
: estudo de caso de uma Unidade de Ensino Estruturado

  • Ana Paula da Paixão Vieira (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

The structured teaching units are an educational response to children with autism spectrum disorders, which aims at cognitive and social development in a perspective of inclusion and a school for all. Inclusive education seek equal opportunity of access and of results, the educational equality. This case study looks at the way Structured Teaching Units are promoters of an effective scholar and social inclusion for children and young people with special needs. It gathers data from direct observation and other knowledges from mothers of students with autism spectrum disorders and their different representations, as well as actors of the educational community, parents of of other schools students and other professionals that provide support for families and young people with educational special needs. This multiple knowledge would be incomplete if we wouldn’t consider the (inter)relationship between Structured Teaching Units students and other school peers, as well as the relationship with the rest of the participants of the educational community and other data from direct observation. It became clear that we are on the right path to inclusion, but there is also much more we can do. The different perspectives of “looking” and “feeling” the inclusion of these young people, trough education, is a setting point for a deeper understanding about the different professional approaches in the educational and social context, as well as the right attitude towards different roles. Taking in consideration the different beliefs of the participant actors in this study, as well as their representations on inclusion, it became possible to apprehend that students with autism spectrum disorders frequenting Structured Teaching Units are well accepted and tolerated in school by everyone, but it also showed that not all can share a place next to their classmates due to the level of incapacity. Therefore, it is possible to deduce that Structured Teaching Units work, for some students, as a support unit and, for the rest of the students, as a classroom.
Date of Award13 May 2015
Original languagePortuguese
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorIsabel Vieira (Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Inclusion
  • Exclusion
  • Regular teaching
  • Special teaching
  • Educational special needs
  • Autism spectrum disorders
  • Educational agents
  • Inclusive school

Designation

  • Mestrado em Serviço Social

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