Inclusão de crianças autistas na educação infantil: um estudo na literatura acadêmica

Abstract

This paper discusses the inclusion of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in early chil- dhood education, seeking to understand how the academic literature discusses the difficulties fa- ced by teachers in early childhood education regarding the inclusion of autistic children. This is a

qualitative and bibliographic research, which used for analysis 14 articles collected from the portal

Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). For this search the des- criptors "Autism and Early Childhood Education" were used with the cut-off period of 2017 to 2021.

The work was divided into two chapters: the first one portrays the historical contextualization of

the concept of inclusion up to the inclusion in Early Childhood Education, especially from the con- tribution of Miranda (2008) and Mantoan (2002); it also addresses an initial understanding of au- tism, based on Kanner (1943), Asperger (1944) and Klin (2006), and presents the main documents

that guide Early Childhood Education, seeking to relate it to the promotion of inclusion in this initial

moment of Basic Education. The second chapter presents the analysis of the 14 articles collected and shows how the inclusion of children with ASD needs to make progress, since the results indicate that there are few studies on the subject and those that exist address it superficially, making clear the need for training of teachers and professionals who work with these children, especially in early

childhood education. Therefore, we conclude that inclusion is slowly gaining space in the discussi- ons, however, investment in research is necessary, considering the scarce academic literature that

was found on Early Childhood Education. The study also indicates the urgency for quality initial training and the possibility of continuing education, encompassing inclusive education and thus

demystifying the beliefs that are perpetuated in the educational environment, especially with re- gard to autism.