Tecnologia assistiva para alunos indígenas com deficiência

Abstract

The use of Assistive Technology (AT) in the indigenous school context is a relatively new field of research and therefore requires further studies to provide an overview of its situation in each specific context. This study aims to analyze AT resources and their use in the Francisco Meireles Municipal School for indigenous students with disabilities. The school is located within the Caiuá Evangelical Mission, in Dourados/MS, and primarily receives indigenous students from the nearby reserve. The methodology adopted was based on a qualitative approach and the following data production tools were used: 1) documentary analysis, in which we sought to outline the themes of Special Education, Assistive Technology and Indigenous School Education; 2) interviews, with the school‟s director, the teacher of the Multifunctional Resource Room (SRM) and the support teacher who attends to students with disabilities at the Mission hospital, in order to find out about the activities carried out with AT in this contexto; 3) application of a questionnaire to the other teachers at the school, with closed and open questions, in order to check their understanding of the AT theme and whether this was linked to their training; and 4) observation at the SRM and in mainstream classrooms in order to check for existing AT. A number of AT resources and materials were identified both in the SRM - in particular the use of the tablet, games, literacy activities and appropriate bilingual material - and in the classrooms, such as calendars and appropriate posters. The resources found fall into the following categories: aids for daily life and practical life, augmentative and alternative communication, computer accessibility resources, mobility aids, aids for extending visual function and resources that translate visual content into audio or tactile information. According to the analysis, the informant teachers had some understanding of AT as a result of some continuing education course, participation in extension projects or attending postgraduate courses. It was possible to see that many teachers use AT in their teaching practice, but because they don't clearly know what an AT resource is, they need further training on Assistive Technology in order to fill this gap with more in-depth knowledge.