Social technology and inclusion: the oral tradition in the access to information by people with down syndrome

Abstract

It describes the actions carried out at the Cora Coralina Reading Workshop promoted by the Associação Down de Goiás Library. It sought to exemplify the contribution of Social Technology in guaranteeing access to reading for people with Down syndrome. The research is characterized as action research, with a qualitative approach. The Cora Coralina workshop was structured with the general objective of promoting situations of literary experiences for people with Down syndrome, in which it involved aspects of childhood, family and cooking contained in the writings of Cora Coralina. The following specific objectives were established: a) guarantee access to literature for people with Down syndrome; b) encourage the appropriation of literature as a training process; c) integrate family members into the lived experiences; d) experience imagination and creativity. The dynamics involved storytelling, conversation circles, staging of the stories told, arts (drawing from the story), and finally, the trip to the City of Goiás, so that the works about the poetic author became more effective and known in the groups. Orality was the main source of information. In the oral tradition, memory is the key to developing and building new knowledge, and from there, sharing the knowledge stored throughout life. Social Technology uses popular and scientific knowledge to seek solutions to problems in a given community. Thus, oral tradition can be considered a tool of Social Technology, being an alternative source of information for people with Down syndrome. It concludes that Social Technology, when using oral tradition, proves to be effective in promoting informational accessibility for people with Down syndrome. This is because the engaged public has greater ease with orality, since they have cognitive limitations.