“Science Can Classify All the Organs of a Bird, But Not Measure Its Charms”

Imaginative Processes of a Disabled Child

Abstract

Based on the Historical-Cultural Theory, this article aims to analyze the imaginative processes of a child with a disability in an educational context, based on storytelling, in the relationship with the researcher/teller. Considering that art is a tool of emotions and literature is a creative activity in childhood, it is essential to overcome the reductionist view of this action, which is often used for the appropriation of didactic content, without any connection with aesthetic fruition. In this sense, this activity is overlooked, especially for children with disabilities, with whom imagining is considered less relevant. A microgenetic analysis was used, in which observations were made of moments of storytelling between the researcher and a child with a disability in elementary school at a public school in the Federal District, Brazil. It was possible to identify the emergence of imagination through this researcher-children's literature relationship, both in retellings and in creation. The importance of this activity to boost the development of children with disabilities is highlighted.