Alternative communication in the training of Basic Education professionals in a Municipality in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte
Special Education; Storytelling; Adapted Books; Mediation; Augmentative and Alternative Communication.
Initial and continuing teacher training should provide teachers with confidence, providing opportunities for learning and reflection on teaching students with disabilities. In this sense, teacher training should be part of an continuing process, where the diversity found in the classroom serves as examples to be studied and understood. Given these challenges, there is a need for training courses that strengthen the performance of teachers and other school professionals, meeting their needs and alleviating the difficulties they encounter. To do this, it is necessary to listen to the professionals, acknowledge their doubts and difficulties they encounter in communicating with students who have communication disorders. In view of the above, the general objective of this research is to identify and analyze the content necessary for the ongoing training of Basic Education professionals in a municipality in Rio Grande do Norte to work with special education students, especially those who have complex communication needs. The specific objectives are: To identify and analyze the knowledge of Basic Education professionals in a municipality in Rio Grande do Norte regarding Augmentative and Alternative Communication; To identify and analyze, through reports from basic education professionals in a city in Rio Grande do Norte, the training needs in the context of Augmentative and Alternative Communication; To develop a proposal for training professionals in the context of alternative communication for a city in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. The research was conducted using a questionnaire prepared in Googleforms and applied to 87 professionals in Basic Education in a city located in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte, including Basic Education Teachers, Principals and Vice-Principals, Pedagogical Coordinators, Pedagogical Support Assistants, Caregivers and Sign Language Interpreters. This is a qualitative and quantitative research and is currently in the data analysis phase based on the categorization method developed by Bardin, which consists of classifying elements by regrouping previously defined criteria. With the data collected, it will be possible to write up the results and discussions. The product of the professional master's degree will be the development of a training program for municipal public education professionals through a didactic and illustrated booklet, containing content on Augmentative and Alternative Communication according to the needs presented by the professionals.