Students with Autism in the First Person. Points of VIEW of Students with ASD and Their Families on the Inclusive Educational Experience in Mainstream Schools in the Province of Misiones, Argentina.

Background: Misiones is a province in the northeast of the Argentine. Its population is diverse and with great cultural contributions has descendants of local Guarani aboriginal communities and European immigration. At present there are no epidemiological studies of ASD in the region or data on health and education services for people with ASD and their families.Our research focuses on the perception of students with ASD about the support devices they have during the inclusion process in mainstream schools and how parents of students with ASD perceive the supports their children receive, their scope and limitations.

Objectives: Inquire about the factors that favor/ hinder learning in students with ASD. Explore what type of adjustments may be necessary to promote the learning of students with ASD in mainstream school.Explore the level of involvement and participation of parents and your knowledge about support needs of children.

Methods: It is an exploratory investigation, with a descriptive framework.Participants:30 students (8 females, 22 males) with ASD, with verbal language, between 6 and 13 years old (from first grade of primary school to first year of secondary school) 30 parents of students with ASD. (22 mothers and 8 fathers).Two types of surveys were designed, one for parents and another for students, with accessible language.The surveys were administered in a personal way to each student who attends school with a support teacher (ST).

Results: Only 25% of the students attend public school. 75% attend private schools. This may be showing the challenges of public policies to address inclusive education as set out in the UN CRPD. Taking into account the economic difficulties of families in the region, it is very difficult to find public schools that provide the necessary support for inclusion.The students themselves say that they need ST to carry out school activities, to help them pay attention and to make the contents easier. Some state that they also help them regulate their behavior problems.70% of students consider that they need a lot of help from ST.In the present survey, very few students (9%) are included in secondary school. What happens when children grow up?40% of parent consider the role of ST favors the student's relationship with his peers, provides help and guidance to teachers and intervenes with specific support in learning.

Conclusions: This research aims to bring relevant information about the perception of students with ASD in mainstream schools about their support needs. It is necessary to accompany this process of transformation in the region with concrete data, given that the support devices need training of human resources and budgets adjusted to the needs of the education system.On the other hand, the province of Misiones as an Argentine border with Latin American countries such as Brazil and Paraguay, with common socio-cultural patterns, can exchange experiences with them and contribute to the construction of inclusive public policies in the region.Our challenge is to minimize barriers and increase opportunities for inclusion in the community for people with ASD in low and middle income countries.