Social Representations of the Educational Experience of Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Chile

Abstract

This article aims to make visible social representations of the educational experience of young people with autism spectrum disorder (asd), built on the stories of their mothers' lives. In relation to the methodology, it corresponds to a qualitative study, framed in an interpretive paradigm and in turn under a phenomenological approach. The sample, of intentional type was composed of five women mothers of young people with asd between 16 and 24 years, all with residence in Concepción-Chile. The life stories are worked from an analysis of thematic categorical content with a strong hermeneutical effort. The main results obtained refer to regular education teachers with little preparation and willingness to work with students with asd, as opposed to the attitude of the other students (without asd), who according to the stories, had a positive reception, empathic and affectionate towards young people. On the other hand, the mothers show a school integration that does not exist and a great fear for the future of their children after the age of 26, product of the legislation in force in Chile. From the stories emerges the social representation of discrimination and fear, the social representation of non-integration and the social representation of the denied educational future, all of which is explained in the development of this article