Intellectual Disability: An update on the concept, training and pedagogical practices.

Abstract

This abstract aims to present the research and continued education program named “Intellectual Disability: An update on the concept, training and pedagogical practices (FDCI)” carried out through the partnership between the National Federation of the APAEs (Fenapaes), the Special Education and Intellectual Disability Study and Research Group (GEPEEDI), the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) and the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). The course was offered in Brazil in remote mode in 2022, with eight units that had a design composed of instructional materials created based on the new American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Manual (AAIDD, 2021), including: video classes, interactive screens, books, dissertations, articles, games and interactive systematization questions. The survey consisted of seven questions that were answered at the end of each theoretical unit. Sixty-six professionals working in the specialized units of the Association of Parents and Friends of the Disabled (APAE) from the five regions of the country and three academics of the GEPEEDI have enrolled. Of these, 44 completed the course. We justify the relevance of the discussion about the definition of Intellectual Disability (ID) addressed during the training because it presents the constructs that permeate the integrative approach. Among one of the questions, the participants were asked to reflect on the importance of the Support Paradigm in Brazil. They were unanimous as to the importance of this paradigm being put into practice, such as in the following statement: “When put into practice, this will allow even more the elaboration of person-centered teaching plans that help in the independence of students with ID, as they are articulated with their context and real learning necessities”. It has been noticed that the comprehension and systematization brought by it allowed each professional to not only understand the theoretical aspects, but also articulate them with strategies that can be used with people that have intellectual disabilities.