Resources for the inclusion of deaf people in driving education in Portugal

Abstract

This article focuses on the training of deaf drivers and aims to present the material and human resources available for teaching driving to deaf people as well as the communication strategies used for their inclusion.
The qualitative study aims to understand the inclusion of deaf students in driving schools, taking into account the conditions offered for the training of these drivers. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with instructors with experience in teaching deaf students who work in all districts of mainland Portugal.
Through the analysis of the collected data, the absence of training materials adapted to deaf people in the driving schools participating in the study is noticed. It is also observed that most of the schools do not have the presence of Portuguese Sign Language interpreters. However, they are recognized as a differentiating factor for schools that use them.
It is considered that, participating instructors adopt some strategies suggested by the experts in the reference literature, despite not having specific training in the area of ​​disability/deafness. It is also concluded that the pedagogical materials available in driving schools are considered sufficient by the interviewees, because they use predominantly visual elements, although they are not specific to deaf people.
Despite the success shown by most deaf people in obtaining a driving license, it is estimated that the quality of teaching could be even more significant and the process of inclusion more effective if instructors used a set of appropriate teaching strategies and resources.