É utopia almejar a educação inclusiva na primeira infância, com ênfase na aprendizagem e autonomia do aluno autista?

Abstract

This research addresses the theme of school inclusion of autistic students in early childhood education, considering its current relevance to social rights policies, particularly in the field of education. As legal rights—such as education for all without distinction—were gradually secured, people with disabilities were encouraged to step out of the seclusion they had been living in—the family environment—and join the social struggle for their rights However, there have been no significant changes in schools to address these students’ specific needs, and not all teachers feel prepared to accommodate students with a wide range of disabilities in the classroom. The main objective of this research is to analyze how learning and development occur in students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in early childhood education, supported by the Historical-Cultural Theory and Historical-Critical Pedagogy, which are based on Historical-Dialectical Materialism. The literature review utilizes authors from these theories and research on digital platforms of scientific publications. The methodology is a case study, with a time frame from 2020 to 2023. The field research uses experience reports, document analysis, and interviews as instruments. The expected results aim to understand how the learning and development of autistic students occurs in their uniqueness within early childhood education, and to identify elements that can contribute to the assertive pedagogical practices that teachers use to include autistic students in the classroom during the first stage of Basic Education. Looking at the history of education for people with disabilities, we observe many advances in relation to legal rights and inclusive special education; however, there is a long way to go before these rights are truly guaranteed in practice, both in the classroom and in society. Inclusion is a very important step towards the humanization of people with and without disabilities.