Abstract
In Brazil, it is estimated that there are approximately 2 million youngsters and children diagnosed with autism and other cases of learning disabilities, a factor that has led to an increase on the demand for treatment aimed at the development of basic and academic skills, such as reading, writing, fluency in interpreting texts, recalling and retelling a story dictated by a teacher. The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the efficacy of a procedure to teach intraverbal storytelling to four Brazilian children (two autistic and two with language delays). Three stories were taught to each participant and each story comprised four segments represented by pictures and written scripts. The participants had opportunities to read the scripts with help from the experimenter if necessary and, after an interval, they had to retell the stories. During training, echoic and visual prompts were administered as corrections whenever a given child was unable to retell a given segment appropriately. Correct responses free from prompts resulted in praise and a token. After gathering a given number of tokens, the participants could exchange them for a preferred item like a toy or a favorite activity. As result, the participants were able to retell the stories correctly when compared to baseline levels. Only one was unable to retell all the segments of the third story, probably because she did not have more time to be exposed to the programming contingencies due to the period of recess from school. The results provide education professionals with specific directions for advocacy and service delivery that aim to enhance school outcomes for students with ASD.
Highlights
The basic education policies of Brazil indicate that the aim of the schools is to develop reading, writing and calculation skills, in their different stages and levels of schooling, the basic preparation for higher education, work and citizenship, starting from an ethical formation, the development of intellectual autonomy and critical thinking and the understanding of the scientific-technological foundations and the productive processes
In Brazil, it is estimated that there are approximately 2 million youngsters and children diagnosed with autism and other cases of learning disabilities, a factor that has led to an increase on the demand for treatment aimed at the development of basic and academic skills, such as reading, writing, fluency in interpreting texts, recalling and retelling a story dictated by a teacher
In Brazil and in the world, the increase in the number of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has raised the demand from parents and institutions for methods of evaluation and intervention based on scientific evidence for the implementation of practices of school inclusion, such as curricular adaptation, hiring specialized professionals for educational intervention in the school and complementary activities that enhance and amplify the basic academic skills already acquired by the student (Elsabbagh et al, 2012; Galvão & Beckman, 2016; Garbacz & McIntyre, 2016; Goitein & Cia, 2011; Nunes & Santos, 2015; Stichter, Riley-Tillman & Jimerson, 2016)
Summary
The basic education policies of Brazil indicate that the aim of the schools is to develop reading, writing and calculation skills, in their different stages and levels of schooling, the basic preparation for higher education, work and citizenship, starting from an ethical formation, the development of intellectual autonomy and critical thinking and the understanding of the scientific-technological foundations and the productive processes. Brazilian special education is based on the National Policy on Special Education in the Perspective of Inclusive Education, promulgated in 2008 by the Special Education Secretariat of the Ministry of Education (Brazil, 2008). This policy protects, as a central principle, the defense that every learner has the right to learn and participate in a school environment without any kind of discrimination, guiding education systems to provide strategies to meet special educational needs, expanding learning and development of students with intellectual disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Fleith, 2011; Galvão & Beckman, 2016). Brazilian federal law advocates the inclusion of specialized educators in regular schools (Brazil, 2012), they are often identified as specialized education professionals for disabilities other than autism (for example, specific learning difficulties, Down syndrome or other learning and development disabilities)
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