Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: LUANA BERNARDES COÊLHO

EDUCATIONAL SOCIAL SKILLS OF TEACHERS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER: EVALUATION AND RELATIONSHIP WITH SOCIAL SKILLS, BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF AUTISTIC STUDENTS

Keywords: Social Skills; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Teachers; Education in the Amazon.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in two major areas, namely, social interaction and communication, and behavioral patterns. These deficits directly affect the social abilities of individuals with ASD, resulting in significant challenges in their interactions with others. These impairments can manifest in various forms, including difficulty in understanding and expressing emotions, as well as interpreting non-verbal cues; difficulty in initiating or maintaining a conversation; limited interest in participating in shared activities with their peers, as well as integrating into social groups. Recognizing the contribution of social skills to the quality of interactions in various social contexts, including the school environment, this research aims to: understand the relationship between teachers' educational social skills and the social skills, behavioral problems, and academic performance of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The research is characterized as exploratory and descriptive. The study will be conducted in two municipal schools in the city of Santarém, PA, which serve students with ASD. This investigation will involve teachers of autistic students in Elementary School I and, as informants, the parents/guardians of the assessed student. The instruments used will be: the informative questionnaire and the Inventory of Educational Social Skills (IHSE) for teachers' assessment; and the Social Skills, Behavior Problems, and Academic Competence Inventory for Children (SSRS) to assess students. To analyze the data obtained through the instruments, scores will be calculated and compared according to their normative references. For open-ended questions in the questionnaire, the Collective Subject Discourse (DSC) technique by Lefèvre and Lefèvre will be used. Regarding the data correlation analysis, the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) program will be utilized. This study aims to evaluate the impact of teachers' social skills on the social skills, behavioral problems, and academic performance of autistic students, with the goal of substantially contributing to the understanding of interactive dynamics in the context of inclusive education, especially in the Amazonian context.