Inclusion of Pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Art Education Strategies and Peer Collaboration - A Case Study in Lisbon, Portugal

The action-research project [1] that supports the present paper intended to verify if creativity in Fine Arts contributes to scholar inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The inductive process was based on semi-structured interviews to teachers involved in the educational process of the pupil and to parents, and also on direct participant observation of the action, as privileged means of investigation. The results obtained showed that the use of strategies of the scope of the Visual Arts, the creative / proactive attitude and the partnership between all the teachers, contributed to the development of communication / expression of the pupil, promoting mutual assistance, and increasing his socialization and inclusion. Thus stresses the great importance of sharing of information, experiences and strategies among all those involved in the teaching-learning process of these pupils.