Percepção de professores do atendimento educacional especializado acerca dos desafios do uso da comunicação suplementar e alternativa

Abstract

This research started from a reflection on the importance of Augmentative (Supplementary) and Alternative Communication for the development of people with disabilities, as well as an investigation into the difficulties presented by teachers in using it in their actions during Specialized Educational Assistance, given this area of knowledge to provide resources, strategies and products that can improve the communication of individuals with complex communication needs, helping them in their interactions and thus being able to promote inclusion. Therefore, the work aimed to know the challenges faced by teachers in the pedagogical work with the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication in Specialized Educational Assistance. Four teachers who worked in the Multifunctional Resource Room in public schools and in the Specialized Educational Service Center in the metropolitan region of João Pessoa, state of Paraíba, participated in the study. An extension project was developed and based on this project, a semi-structured interview was carried out with the participating teachers at the time of project completion. The interviews were carried out at the teachers' workplaces, in a single individual session. As a research instrument, a script containing seven open questions, prepared in advance by the project members, was used. The results obtained identified that the teachers realized the importance of using Augmentative and Alternative Communication to assist in the learning of children with disabilities and complex communication needs, but the scarcity of some elements presented by the professionals made it difficult to elaborate and apply pedagogical activities involving Augmentative and Alternative Communication in the Multifunctional Resources Room and consequently this harmed the pedagogical actions and the teaching-learning process.