Síndrome de Down e currículo funcional: transformando "dever" em prazer

Abstract

This paper shows a study of one young man with Down Syndrome. It aims to demonstrate how to integrate him in different social environments through his experiences with other people with the same syndrome. He was chosen because he had difficulties to adapt in the group. The Functional Curriculum was used to develop the skills and the participation of this young man into integrating and natural environments. The departure point of it was his relationship with his family and classmates. These provided the activities more delightful and challenging. The skills that were worked are the ones required for his social life. Among them are: his personal hygiene, tight his shoe laces, put sugar in his juice, fix himself a lunch etc. For a satisfactory results its is essential that the environment provides pleasure, satisfaction and that the person feels confident and integrated in the group. It was realized that, independently of the age and for how long the person was socialy excluded it is always possible to give him/her a normal social life. As a result it is necessary to invest in a individual or group development. The rhythm is slow but the evolutive process is constant as long as we work with coherence, perseverance and last but not least beliving in the learners potentialities. A intenção desta pesquisa foi investigar a possibilidade de trabalhar com jovens com Síndrome de Down (SD) em ambiente natural, com vistas a atender suas necessidades práticas da vida, seu desenvolvimento pedagógico, sem esquecer sua satisfação pessoal, uma vez que a inclusão escolar, muitas vezes, apresenta um currículo rígido que não permite a adaptação de pessoas com Síndrome de Down. Para a realização deste estudo buscou-se motivação no Currículo Funcional, como facilitador do desenvolvimento de habilidades essenciais, e a participação em uma grande variedade de ambientes integradores. Desta forma, as habilidades essenciais serão aquelas, freqüentemente, exigidas no ambiente doméstico e na comunidade que, se não realizadas pelo jovem, alguém terá que fazer por ele.