ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Special Educational Needs
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1654608
This article is part of the Research TopicInclusion in Non-formal Education Places for Children and Adults with Disabilities Vol. IIView all 8 articles
Accessibility and inclusion of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder in science museums in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil
Provisionally accepted
Grazielle Rodrigues Pereira1*
Ana Lucia de Albuquerque Moniz2,3
Helena Cunha De Paula Lima Helena Cunha2Rosália do Nascimento Silva Henrique2,3
Gustavo Henrique Varela Saturnino Alves4
Lucianne Fragel-Madeira5Sérgio de Souza Henrique-Junior2,6- 1Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto Roberto Alcantara Gomes de Biologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2Instituto Federal de Educacao Ciencia e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 3Programa de Pós-graduação em Ensino de Ciências/PROPEC - Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro, Nilópolis, Brazil
- 4Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências e Biotecnologia - Universidade Fedral Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil
- 5Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil
- 6Programa de Pós-graduação Lato Sensu - Especialização em Divulgação Científica - Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro - Campus Mesquita, Mesquita, Brazil
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This work aimed to identify the perceptions and experiences of mediators and mediation team leaders of four science museums in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil, regarding the accessibility and inclusion of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The research was conducted in four science museums in the state of Rio de Janeiro: Espaço Ciência Viva, Casa da Ciência, Memorial Carlos Chagas Filho, and Espaço Ciência InterAtiva. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews focused on the experiences and perceptions about the accessibility and inclusion of people with ASD. Three managers of mediation teams and nine mediators, in a total of 12 participants. The results show the need to offer specific training for the mediators when attending to the public with ASD, as well as the implementation of inclusive practices and communicational and attitudinal accessibility strategies. We can conclude that, although there are punctual initiatives, there is a need for changes and the implementation of practices to make museums accessible and welcoming spaces committed to the inclusion of people with ASD.
Keywords: Mediators training1, people with disability2, autism3, science centers4, inclusive practices in museums5
Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 09 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pereira, Moniz, Helena Cunha, Henrique, Varela Saturnino Alves, Fragel-Madeira and Henrique-Junior. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Grazielle Rodrigues Pereira, grazielle.pereira@ifrj.edu.br
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