Clinical Practice and Schooling of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Abstract

The article analyzes Special Education prerogatives from the perspective of Inclusive Education for school inclusion of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It identifies the passage of the Autism Law (2012) as an effective framework for inserting individuals with ASD into public inclusion policies, considering them disabled people for legal purposes. It questions the implications for education of conceiving people with ASD as disabled, which would entail a risk for educators to disregard the particular psychological functioning of these students, demonstrated by the psychological theories analyzed and the basis for their teaching strategies - Mind Theory and Psychoanalysis. It strives to make the findings of such theories contribute to teachers’ reflection on their students, especially that of the specialized educational service (AEE), both with behavioral strategies, and with pedagogical material preparation that takes into account their known psychological characteristics.