Transtorno do espectro autista: capacitação de professores para atividades escolares em grupo

Among the difficulties found for the inclusion of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in schools is the lack of technical knowledge and specific instruments that support the practice of education professionals and schools. Considering this need, a training program has been implemented based on the theoretical framework of behavior analysis for 18 elementary school teachers from a school in a city in the countryside of the State of Sao Paulo in order to enable them to learn strategies to promote the participation of students with ASD in group activities using cooperative games. Five classes have been given with a practical approach, addressing the themes: cooperative games, prompt and  reinforcement. The evaluation of the course has been done in three steps: Pre-Test, Post-Test and Follow-up application. In order to evaluate the learning of the participating teachers, they performed a simulation activity of situations and interventions experienced with students with ASD based on the contents learned. In addition, the Assessment Scale of Oral Language Teaching at the School Context (EVALOE) was applied to evaluate the performance of the instructors. The results have indicated that the participants have had more correct answers in the Post-test than in the Pre-test, their evaluation of the course has been positive, and the performance of the students satisfactory. The importance of developing training for teachers and the need to provide them with more support materials and self-learning activities is emphasized.