SPECIAL EDUCATION IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC 393 175

Abstract

How to provide specialized educational services during a pandemic? Using this starting point as the research problem, the objectives for this article were designed to analyze the challenges faced by special education professionals and their complexities in working with students to understand the difficulties and achievements in distance education caused by the pandemic context in 2020. The specific objectives helped the researcher trace a brief history of special education, reflect on the atypical moment of education and special education, as well as develop questionnaires aimed at these professionals to qualitatively analyze the main aspects of teaching models resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the methodological assumptions of bibliographic review, dialectical analysis, and the application of questionnaires, the research was able to answer its problem and meet the intended objectives. Thus, the analysis reinforces the crucial role of family support for students receiving special education services, while also emphasizing the value of the school environment for students. Despite the pandemic's constraints, the closer interaction between special education educators and their students within their contexts takes these professionals to a new level of recognition of the diverse realities their students are part of, which can influence them.