LOST LINKS AND LATE INCLUSION: INTERRUPTED EDUCATIONAL PATHS AND THE REINTEGRATION OF PEOPLE WITH AUTISM THROUGH ADULT EDUCATION – METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES FOR INCLUSIVE LITERACY, NEURODIVERSE ANDRAGOGY AND THE IMPLICATIONS REVEALED BY THE 2022 CENSUS DATA

Abstract

The 2022 Demographic Census, conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), revealed that Brazil has 2.4 million people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), representing 1.2% of the population. Among students with autism, 66.8% are enrolled in regular elementary school, totaling approximately 508,000 individuals. However, there is a significant drop in the continuity of studies after this stage. Only 12.3% of students with ASD attend high school, and 0.8% are in higher education, highlighting challenges in educational progression. In addition, the Census highlighted that almost half (46.1%) of people with autism aged 25 or older have, at most, incomplete elementary school education, indicating interruptions in educational pathways. With regard to Youth and Adult Education (EJA), the Census revealed that this modality stood out with the highest percentage of students diagnosed with ASD: 4.7% of its attendees reported this diagnosis. The proportion was even more significant among students aged 15 to 17 (9.1%) and 18 to 24 (10.6%). Thus, this article focuses on the interrupted educational paths of autistic people and their attempts to re-enter the formal education system through Youth and Adult Education (EJA). It seeks to understand the methodological challenges that emerge in the field of inclusive literacy and andragogy aimed at neurodivergent individuals. The main objectives of this research are: (1) to analyze data from the 2022 Census regarding the schooling of people with ASD; (2) to identify the main obstacles faced by these students in EJA; and (3) to propose pedagogical strategies that promote inclusion and respect for neurodiversity. The starting question that guides this investigation is: How do the processes of reintegration of autistic people into school through EJA reveal structural gaps, pedagogical challenges, and possibilities for building an inclusive andragogy capable of respecting neurodiversity? Theoretically, we use the works of Armstrong (2006; 2010; 2012; 2017), Barnes (2002; 2006), Barton (2002), Ellis (2019a; 2019b), Freire (1967; 1979; 2000; 2011; 2013; 2014), Garland-Thomson (1997; 2009; 2019), Guerra (2021), Kent (2019a; 2019b), Knowles (1975; 1988; 2014), Linton (2020), Mantoan (2003), Mercer (2006), Miranda (2012), Mitchell (2006; 2014), Oliver (2002), Robertson (2019a; 2019b), Snyder (2006; 2014), Stevens (n.d.), Thomson (2018; 2019), Vygotsky (1991; 2010; n.d.), Werneck (1997), among others. The research is qualitative in nature, based on Minayo (2007), bibliographic and descriptive according to Gil (2008), and with a comprehensive analytical bias according to Weber (1949). The analysis of data from the 2022 Census, combined with specialized literature, allowed us to identify a recurring phenomenon among autistic adults: school discontinuity experienced in elementary or high school and subsequent reintegration through EJA. This dynamic revealed a movement that was conceptualized here as “compensatory educational return,” an expression that seeks to name the action of neurodivergent subjects who, after experiencing exclusion and disruption throughout their school career, find in EJA a concrete possibility of rebuilding their connection with knowledge and reconfiguring their educational identity. In addition, significant methodological barriers, a lack of adapted pedagogical practices, and training gaps among EJA professionals were identified. Even so, experiences of resistance and affective learning emerged that point to the urgent need to rework andragogy based on the recognition of neurodiversity.