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final years of elementar school-autism-intern
Enrolling students with ASD in mainstream is a major challenge, especially when it comes to the final years of elementary school. Studies suggest that this phenomenon is attributed to the high dropout rate at this level of education as well as the lack of favorable conditions, whether structural (supports) and / or training for licensed teachers to educate these students. Based on this demand, support professional, also called mediator, monitor, educational assistants, paraprofessionals, school life assistants, among others, have been require, these professionals are present in the regular school, in the context of Special Education, being used as a human resource. In this scenario, the objective of this study was, through a multiple case study, to describe and analyze the academic profile and performance of three Support Professionals responsible for students with ASD enrolled in the final years of elementary school. Specifically, the research aimed to (a) identify their academic profile; (b) describe the characteristics of ASD learners they serve and; (c) describe their perceptions of their work with students with ASD; (d) Identify their training needs. The results revealed that the professionals were trainees, with limited knowledge about ASD, that the professional's attributions are not defined and that their performance interferes with the adequate education of the ASD students.