UTILIZAÇÃO DE APLICATIVOS MÓVEIS PARA ESTIMULAR O ENGAJAMENTO DE ALUNOS AUTISTAS NO ATENDIMENTO EDUCACIONAL ESPECIALIZADO – AEE

Abstract

Technology has applicability in various fields, including education and healthcare, and when applied appropriately, it has the potential to contribute to people's quality of life in multiple aspects. This article aims to analyze the possibility of using mobile applications to stimulate the engagement of autistic students in activities during Specialized Educational Assistance (SEA) sessions, as a complement and supplement to school activities. During these sessions, concrete materials, physical games, and traditional formats such as paper-based activities are used, which may pose a recurring challenge for many individuals on the autism spectrum. Maintaining interest and focus, especially in repetitive tasks or those requiring constant attention, is particularly challenging for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), significantly impacting their academic and pedagogical progress, as well as the development of skills and competencies both in the classroom and in resource rooms and/or daily living activities (DLA), through interactive and integrative educational support provided by the school. The proposed approach is that the selected applications used in this study’s methodology serve to support participatory engagement in children with autism and, consequently, act as an auxiliary tool in their educational treatment. The research involved 20 children with ASD and Intellectual Disability (ID), aged between 4 and 12 years, divided into two groups: one used smartphones to perform activities proposed in the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), while the other continued with traditional paper-based activities and physical games. The results confirmed that the use of technology facilitated children's engagement, particularly those who showed resistance to conventional approaches. While some participants who were already familiar with electronic devices were more engaged in smartphone-based activities, a significant behavioral change was observed in others, who began showing interest in traditional activities after being exposed to the digital methodology.