TECNOLOGIA ASSISTIVA NA EDUCAÇÃO ESPECIAL

Abstract

This study discusses the use of Assistive Technologies as a methodology that supports the learning of students with disabilities. Assistive Technology (AT) seeks to give people with disabilities greater independence, quality of life and social inclusion by expanding their communication, their mobility, their control over the environment in which they live and their ability to learn. It is a recent concept, used to designate the set of resources and services that promote or enhance the functional abilities of these people and, consequently, an independent life. In education, AT is of fundamental importance, since it makes the learning process possible and makes the most of each student's potential, becoming necessary for students with disabilities. It brings together resources, tools, processes, practices, services, methodologies and strategies aimed at the autonomy and quality of life of those who use them. It is believed that these resources are in dialogue with what Vygotsky proposed, since their main goal is to ensure an independent life for people with disabilities in social, school and family contexts, in articulation with subjective, social and cultural dimensions that allow students to act as critical and creative subjects. This paper presents the activities of an extension project whose focus is the insertion of AT, through informatics, in the teaching and learning of children with intellectual and multiple disabilities, in a constructive and creative way and in favor of their overall development. The paper also discusses the recent legal framework in the area, such as the National Assistive Technology Plan (Decree No. 10,645/2021) and the National Inclusive Special Education Policy (Decree No. 12,686/2025).