Efeitos de um programa de formação docente sobre funções executivas em crianças com transtorno do espectro autista

Abstract

The increase in the number of enrollments of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) students in regular teaching classes has generated great concern on the part of teachers. People with ASD may have difficulty keeping their attention on activities, performing tasks in sequence, and modifying strategies for solving activities whenever necessary. In the field of cognitive neuroscience, these skills are called executive functions, cognitive skills that are the basis of human development, as they help in the management of different aspects of the subjects' lives. At school, executive functions are fundamental skills for the development of teaching-learning processes, especially for students with ASD. This study carried out a theoretical dialogue between cognitive neuroscience and cultural-historical theory, having as main references the research of Lev Vigotski and Alexander Luria, whose works permeate both fields, through studies on language development and the functions higher psychological. Having as research object the training of teachers who work with students with ASD in the early grades of Elementary School, this research aimed to analyze and reflect on the effects of a teacher training program on the development of executive functions in students with ASD, enrolled in regular classes in the early years of elementary school, based on concepts of cognitive neuroscience and the historical-cultural approach. The methodology adopted for this purpose was a qualitative approach, with the collaborative action-research method that provided the realization of a training course for the teachers of two public schools, participants of this research. Based on the analyzed data, we observed that the instrumentalization of teachers on how to develop executive functions, in students with ASD, expands the teaching practices favorable to their schooling. In this sense, the data also revealed the relevance of teacher training on the development of executive functions in students with ASD, based on the approximations between the concepts of cognitive neuroscience and the historical-cultural approach. As a product from the study, an e-Book was organized, entitled “TEA and Executive Functions at School”, in collaboration with the teachers participating in this investigation.