Acompanhantes terapêuticas nas escolas: um estudo exploratório

Abstract

Inclusive education in Brazil, strengthened by specific legislation, establishes the right to education for all students. In this context, the work of the Therapeutic Companion (TC) in schools has become an important alternative for the inclusion of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study aimed to analyze the role of the TC in this process, investigating their daily practices, training, and the relationships they establish with the school team and families. This is a qualitative and exploratory research, whose analysis was guided by the Historical-Cultural Theory, which understands human development as an essentially social process mediated by culture. Data were collected through interviews with five therapeutic companions working in private schools in Goiânia and analyzed using content analysis. The results show that the TC plays a mediation role, facilitating the child's interaction with the school environment and promoting the development of social and cognitive skills. However, the data reveal a tension between two models of inclusion: one that seeks to transform the school environment to accommodate the student's uniqueness, and another, more common one, that expects the child to adapt to the school's pre-existing structures, constituting a superficial inclusion. The effectiveness of the TC's work proved to be directly dependent on the harmonious articulation between the clinic responsible for the child's care, the school itself, and the family. Among the main challenges identified are the lack of professional regulation, which generates ambiguity of functions, and the difficulty of integrating the TC into collective pedagogical planning. It is concluded that full school inclusion will only be achieved when there is a break with fragmented practices and the construction of a truly collaborative network among all agents involved in the child's educational process