Inclusion is not only socialization: Contributions of digital educational technologies to the mathematical learning of students with autistic spectrum disorders

Abstract

The inclusion of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), although supported by Brazilian Legislation, represents a major challenge for regular schools and it is far from being a reality. Inclusion implies the offer of enrollment and full access to the school curriculum, with the necessary adaptations. However, in general, this is not the case, since many pedagogical actions, often supported by an idea that students with ASD cannot learn, still engage in exclusionary practices that do not take into account the singularities of these students. In order to counteract this view and to present alternatives that can contribute to the ASD students' has full access to the school curriculum, this paper discusses results of a research which objective was to understand the contributions of digital educational technologies to the mathematical learning of students with ASD. Through the case study methodology, data were produced from weekly meetings with two ASD students that were in the initial phase of schooling. They were included in a regular classroom. This study shows evidence of contributions to the students' development in relation to the construction of mathematical concepts. In addition, it shows that the use of technological resources may represent a pedagogical alternative in the work with ASD students, since their involvement with computerized activities allowed for the construction of mathematical concepts that they previously could not do in a non-digital environment.