Inclusão de uma aluna com autismo pertencente à comunidade cigana no ensino regular

: estudo de caso numa escola de Viana do Castelo

Abstract

The present study intends to verify the inclusion of a child from a romani ethnic group in the pair group. The pairs were chosen both from the romani and non-romani community. Autism is a global disorder of the development that implies impairments in three major areas: social interaction, language and communication, thought and behavior. With Salamanca Statement (1994), every child, irrespective of its personnel characteristics, ethnic background or culture, has a fundamental right to education in regular schools (including children of romani ethnicity). The romani culture has as core values, the family (the one seen as the most important), the marriage, the mourning of the dead and the language itself, the romani. Especially valuable also, is the virginity of women before marriage. In this study we use a qualitative research methodology, and chosen the case study as investigation method. In order to obtain all the data needed, we used documentation analyses, interviews, and observation. The main participants are N (a child with autism), and the pairs that were involved in the study. Several other persons were also included in the study: the parents of N, the teachers of special education, the operational assistants and the teacher of the regular classroom. The major conclusions were that from the six pairs from the romani community, only half were interested in the inclusion of N., and only in informal context (at the canteen and playground); the non-romani pairs tried to include N in the formal activities (inside the classroom), but weren’t so interested in the informal context.

Date of Award	Oct 2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Helena Bilimória (Supervisor)