PURPOSE: to check the effectiveness of a training program for teachers of students with special education needs based on Hanen and S.W.L. (See, Wait and Listen) Programs, both of them proposing an interacionist intervention line. METHODS: Hanen Program was created in 1977 by Ayala Manolson, a Speech Language Pathologist in Canada. It is designed for parents of children diagnosed with limited communication ability. The S.W.L Program was derived from the Hanen Program and adapted to the Portuguese language by Rigoletto and Monteiro. Its purpose is to prepare families to stimulate their children by more effective social interactions. For the present paper, the principles of both Programs were adapted to the school context. Four teachers took part in this program, which consisted of ten guidance sessions and three video recordings of the teachers and their groups. Each teacher was recoded on film for three times: first before the first guidance session; second during the training; and third after the guidance sessions were over. After each video recording, the speech language pathologist in charge filled out a specific form in order to assess the effectiveness of the given guidance. RESULTS: the number of communicative behaviors concerning the teachers increased significantly after developing the course. This was probably due to the given guidance and the reflections after watching the videos, when the teachers could evaluate their students and their own communication behavior, and because of the opportunity for sharing experiences with other teachers. CONCLUSIONS: the intervention proposed by the Programs caused some teachers to change their way of working in classroom, as they noted the value achieved in playful activities and speech and language stimulation that thy propitiate.
Training; Education; Special; Early Intervention
