Vivendo a leitura no atendimento psicopedagógico: minha experiência com Helena

Abstract

In this research, based on the theoretical and methodological framework of narrative inquiry (CLANDININ; CONNELLY, 2000; 2015; MELLO, 2005), I aimed at understanding, narratively, the reading experiences of a patient, in the context of an ophthalmological office of a clinics hospital, and analyze, also narratively, my own experiences in attending to that patient. Accordingly, the participants in the study were Helena, a person with low vision undergoing prolonged treatment in the low vision service of the referred hospital, and I, as a researcher-participant, who was seeking to understand my own practice. Thus, my research was developed during my psychopedagogical services at the Low Vision Service of the ophthalmology outpatient clinic of a clinics hospital in a city in the interior of the state of Minas Gerais. This thesis was, then, developed based on the field texts which I composed, taking into consideration the three-dimensional space of narrative research. As for the composition of meanings, I took as a basis the theoretical assumptions of Clandinin and Connelly (2011, 2015) and Ely et al. (2001). My initial questions were as follows: When rethinking the material I have used for the visual rehabilitation for my patients’ reading process, I ask myself: Are they adequate? Does the process of showing them letters and words out of context really help? How can emotions affect the reading process? What is my role as a psychopedagogue when patients show their emotions during the process? Why does reading cause so much emotion for my patients? What are the boundaries between my vision-oriented care and the reading process experienced during outpatient care? In order to write this thesis, I constructed narratives based on the experiences lived by the research participants, Helena and I. As for the theoretical foundation for the analysis, I used the concepts of “literacy” (SOARES 2004, 2009; TFOUNI, 2010; STREET 2012, 2014; MENEZES DE SOUZA 2011; FREIRE; MACEDO, 2017), of “emotion” and of “emotional literacy” (MIGUEL, 2015; BARCELOS; SILVA, 2015; BARCELOS, 2015, 2021; NABÃO, 2020). When looking at Helena's experiences, lived, narrated and retold, I understood that the right moment for the patient to have the experience of reading what he/she wants may start from the first consultations. I could see that reading experiences in the office can arouse many emotions and feelings, which is why I must be attentive to the subjective issues that permeate the reading process in visual rehabilitation. I learned from the research that literacy practices in visual rehabilitation can be experienced in different ways by people with low vision. Thus, the experiences with Helena allowed me to reflect on my professional practical knowledge. Each individual can tell me a lot about their own literacy process, if I have an attentive listening to what each one brings to my psychopedagogical service. For that, I need to try not to get stuck to the techniques and procedures prescribed in that medical context and go beyond, as far as reading practices are concerned.