The school inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder in early childhood education

Abstract

Although studied for nearly a century, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) still presents many enigmas for researchers and specialists in the field. The increasing enrollment of children with ASD in Early Childhood Education, guaranteed by law, highlighted the importance of this research, which aimed to analyze the perceptions of teachers, pedagogues, and school administrators regarding the process of school inclusion of children with ASD in Early Childhood Education, in the Municipal Centers for Early Childhood Education (CMEIs) of the cities of Divino, Orizânia, and São João do Manhuaçu, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Specifically, the study sought to: identify the perceptions of school stakeholders about the school inclusion process of children with ASD; and analyze, through their accounts, the challenges faced by CMEIs in ensuring access, learning, and socialization for children with ASD alongside their peers during the school inclusion process. A qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive research approach was adopted, using questionnaires as the data collection instrument. Based on the results, it was concluded that the professionals involved still have limited knowledge about this population, feel insecure in promoting school inclusion, and face several challenges, such as technological inequality, lack of family support, scarcity of teaching materials, and the need for the entire school community to be involved in the inclusion process of children with ASD.