Perceptions about Teaching Programming in the Neurodiverse Students' Context

This research full paper presents the perception of programming teachers and students in the context of neurodiverse students. Among the wide range of disabilities, N eurode-velopmental Disorders encompass types of disabilities that are not easily visible, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A section of the literature does not consider these disorders to be disabilities. Therefore, neurodiverse describes a person whose brain functions differently than typical. Given this, we can look at these students as people who learn differently and who need to have their specific needs met. With the inclusion of students with disabili-ties in technical and undergraduate courses, they face several challenges, both for these students and teachers. Specifically, several peculiarities can impact this process regarding teaching programming, such as the creation of algorithms based on problems described in extensive texts. Despite efforts to meet the needs of students with disabilities in teaching programming, we still do not have enough studies that address this issue. The main objective of this research is to investigate the current reality of teaching programming to neurodiverse people, what the difficulties are, and how teachers and students are trying to solve them. Thus, given the phenomenon's complexity, we created a case study with two units of analysis: (1) neurodiverse students and (2) their respective programming teachers. The phenomenon studied was programming teaching, and the context was the first programming discipline of two undergraduate courses and a high school technical course. We carried out semi-structured interviews with six students and three teachers. We identified through research that teachers need adequate training to serve atypical students and that educational institutions still need an efficient inclusion process for these students. When we observe the students' vision, we realize that for them to learn to program, there are essential demands, such as the difficulty in understanding the application of programming concepts in practice and the creation of programs without assistance. This study is necessary to show the demand for new approaches to meet the specific needs of neurodiverse students in programming disciplines. To achieve this, inclusive pedagogical strategies and resources must be created and adapted to the characteristics and abilities of these students. Initiatives like this can promote equal opportunities in the classroom, including accessible learning environments, use of explicit language, and individualized support, among others.