1.1 The Montessori Álvaro Maya Institute (1943)

In Manaus, the service to people with disabilities was initiated through private initiative, with the establishment of the Montessori Álvaro Maya Institute in 1943. It was located in a place on Paraíba street, currently Avenue Journalist Humberto Calderaro Filho, serving children with most different deficiencies (^{NASCIMENTO; OLIVEIRA; MARINHO, 2007}; ^{BATISTA, 2015}). In an account made by ^{Costa (2010}) we can observe a little a description of the Montessori Álvaro Maya Institute:

ordered a terrestrial relief with lakes, mountains, rivers, etc. to be built in the garden that surrounded it, to teach geography. With the assistance of the State Government, which paid teachers and provided them with specialization courses in the education of the deaf - mute, outside the State. His daughters, Rita Araújo (wife of Umberto Calderaro Filho) specialized in working with the deaf and dumb and did an internship with Redemptorist priest Eugênio, one of the greatest specialists in the subject, and Tereza Araújo, who specialized in Braille method and both taught at the Institute (s.p).

The pioneering actions of Special Education developed in Manaus beginning in the 1940s were philanthropic. The State contributed to the training of teachers and the Catholic Church offered courses aimed at improving the people who worked in the area of deafness. The following fragment shows traces of philanthropy, a mark of Special Education services offered initially in the city of Manaus:

All the work of the Institute was maintained with the monthly contribution through a network of traders such as JG Araújo, J. Rufino, JS Amorim, the help of traders from the Adolfo Lisboa Municipal Market, who gave them food and other foodstuffs, distinguished members of the society and with the help of the State Government (^{COSTA, 2010}, s.p).

Even if André Vidal de Araújo was linked to the Judiciary, it is possible to observe throughout the reports the difficulty in maintaining the Montessori Institute. Thus, the work carried out was financed by donations, mainly from traders at the Adolfo Lisboa Municipal Market, located in the Historic Center of Manaus.

In addition to donations received in food, the Institute also counted on the contribution of people linked to the Executive Branch. Reports show that deaf people they were also engaged to keep the Institute running. One example refers to the scenario in whin André Vidal de Araújo was "[...] helped by the deaf mute Moacir, using a cart pulled by one horse, [...] collecting donations of food. There is no news of that a single merchant has refused to contribute "(^{COSTA, 2010}, s.p).

Considering the above, the Montessori Institute ended its activities in 1974 (^{BATISTA, 2015}). So far, we have not had access to historical sources that allow us to analyze the reasons that led to the closure of the institution. What the data has enabled us to measure so far is the incorporation of the space to the Municipal Education Department, considering that the address is the same as the building that later hosted the Special Education Center.

We believe that studies by other researchers, mainly using printed newspapers at the time, may enhance relevant data for reconstructing the history of these services, as well as the number of students served at the institution and aspects of the qualification of the professionals who worked at the site.

1.2 The Association of Parents and Friends of the Exceptional (Apae-Manaus)

Reconstituting the history of the specialized institutions that offered Special Education services in the 19th and 20th centuries has been presented as a challenge for researchers in the area. When discussing the history of Apae in Manaus, ^{Fidelis and Miki (2017}) addressed the difficulty of finding sources of organized research that support historical research on educational institutions for people with disabilities.

In Manaus, the APAE was founded on May 4, 1973, authorized as an Affiliated Association by APAE Nacional to use the trademark under registration N° 192. In the educational field, activities began to be carried out after publication of the authorization by the State Education Council Amazonas, through Resolution 102/1994. The institution's team consisted of a small group of teachers, volunteers and other professionals qualified to work with this audience (^{FIDELIS; MIKI, 2017}; FENAPAES, 2018).

The current multidisciplinary team is made up of teachers, psychologists, speech therapists, social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, doctors and dentists. The institution also maintains partnerships and agreements with various segments of society offering different services. When considering the pioneering spirit of APAE in the provision of specialized services, one can observe the performance of this institution as a reference in the scope of the capital of Amazonas.

Considering the above, the Montessori Institute ended its activities in 1974 (^{BATISTA, 2015}). So far, we have not had access to historical sources that allow us to analyze the reasons that led to the closure of the institution. What the data has allowed us to measure so far is the incorporation of the space to the Municipal Education Department, considering that the address is the same as the building that later hosted the Special Education Center.

However, we believe that studies by other researchers, mainly using printed newspapers at the time, may enhance relevant data for reconstructing the history of these services, as well as the number of students served at the institution and aspects of the qualification of the professionals who worked at the site.

1.3 The Pestalozzi Institute (1979)

The Pestalozzi Institute, at national level, was founded in 1926 (^{MAZZOTTA, 2005}; ^{JANNUZZI; CAIADO, 2013}). In the state of Amazonas, the State Government, through the State Secretariat for People with Disabilities, has developed agreements with Pestalozzi in the municipalities of Boa Vista dos Ramos, Coari, Manaquiri, Maués, Manicoré, Manaus, Nova Olinda do Norte, Parintins and Tonantins (SEPED, 2015)

In the capital of Amazonas, the institution serves mainly people with intellectual disabilities. It is a philanthropic entity, which operates its actions through agreements with public agencies, donations from friends, volunteers and employees. It was created in 1979, developing educational activities through the Helena Antipoff Special Education Center.

Students are admitted to the institution through a multidisciplinary assessment, carried out by a team consisting of a social worker, physiotherapist, doctor and other professionals. Offers physical activities, craft workshops, labor courses and educational workshops. The teachers are specialized in Special Education and serve approximately 150 students in a space located in the Industrial Pole of Manaus.

1.4 The Association of the Physically Disabled of Amazonas - ADEFA (1980)

According to information available on its blog, ADEFA, Association of the Physically Disabled of Amazonas, was created on July 29, 1980. It is a non-profit philanthropic entity, which "[...] has been offering people with disabilities global service in order to improve quality of life and its inclusion in the productive and social life of our state"(ADEFA, 2018). Currently, the Association has 9,750 members, of whom, according to information from the institution, 95% are below the poverty line.

Law N° 1.162 of October 31, 2007 considered ADEFA to be of public utility, applying within the scope of the Manaus City Hall, the necessary measures (MANAUS, 2007). The institution participated in the actions of the National Qualification Plan for People with Disabilities, of the Human Rights Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (SDH/PR). This action sought to guarantee access to courses offered at Federal Institutes, at Senai (National Service for Industrial Learning), at Sesi (Social Service for Industry) and Sest Senat (Social Service for Transport and National Service for Transport Learning).

Regarding ADEFA's educational activities, so far, in the context of PPGE/UFAM, we have not identified any research aimed at analyzing the role of this and other institutions in the provision of Special Education services in the municipality of Manaus.

In the next item, some government actions developed in the municipality of Manaus will be discussed.

2.1 Screening and Diagnostic Evaluation Center

In 1976 there was the creation of the Screening and Diagnostic Evaluation Center - CETRIDE (^{MATOS, 2008}; ^{MARQUES, 2010}), one of the first centers constituted by a multiprofessional technical team from Amazonas. CETRIDE was made up of doctors, psychologists, pedagogues and teachers. Clinical and educational evaluations of students with disabilities enrolled in the state school system were carried out, which were later sent to schools or special classes.

Parent orientation and teacher training activities were carried out. Numerous courses were held for teachers and educators from the state education network, in which contents related to the specificities of hearing, visual and mental impairment were worked on. The closure of CETRIDE's activities probably occurred in 2002 (^{MARQUES, 2010}).

2.2 Nucleus of Special Education

In 1991, when Special Education services were implemented at Semed (SANTOS, 1998; ^{MATOS, 2008}), the Special Education Center was also created (^{VINENTE, 2017}). The Nucleus' objective was to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the Special Education Programs of the municipal education network, as signaled by Santos (1998), ^{Matos (2008}) and ^{Vinente (2017}).

According to Santos (1998), the creation of the Special Education Nucleus was supported by item III, article 208 of the Federal Constitution and article 347, item II, of the Organic Law of the Municipality of Manaus, which culminated later with the publication of the Law 050/1991.

Throughout the literature and documents analyzed, we no longer see the terms Special Education Nucleus, only mentioning the Special Education Section. The Semed Special Education Manual presents how the work of the professionals linked to this Section went about:

The team that makes up the Special Education section carries out systematic technical-pedagogical monitoring of teachers and technicians working in the area, having among its priorities the constant search for knowledge through participation in seminars, courses, lectures etc., aiming to improve plus assistance to people with special educational needs (MANAUS, sd).

With a view to proposing advice to teachers and other professionals who worked in regular education, the prioritization of training courses through courses, seminars and lectures is observed in the document's details. Prior to the creation of the Diagnostic Assessment Service for Special Education in the Municipality (Sadem), Semed's Special Education Manual (MANAUS, sd) reinforced that, due to the fact that the Secretariat does not have a Screening Center, students from the municipal public school system were referred to CETRIDE.

This screening was carried out through an agreement between the Manaus City Hall and the Amazonas State Government. Students who were in special classes or who needed educational assistance, but did not have a pedagogical summary, were referred to CETRIDE by the Special Education Section team. In the next item, we will describe the process around the Special Education Diagnostic Assessment Service that was implemented in the municipality, thus marking the end of the agreement with the State Government and independence in proposing specialized care services to students in the network.

2.3 Special Education Diagnostic Assessment Service (SADEM)

The section responsible for Special Education Semed (Núcleo) underwent a restructuring in 1997, incorporating six professionals who carry out a pedagogical evaluation to Special Education teachers (SANTOS, 1998). In the same year, according to ^{Matos (2008}), the Diagnostic Assessment Service for Special Education in the Municipality (SADEM) was created. This sector was made up of eight health and education professionals, who were carried out in the diagnostic evaluation of the referred students.

For Santos (1998), the objective of the Academy era was to evaluate and diagnose students for assistance in the Special Education and Elementary Education services of the municipal school system. According to the author, prior to that, the evaluation and diagnosis were carried out through an agreement with the State Education Secretariat (SEDUC). During the administration of Mayor Alfredo Nascimento, Sadem, linked to the SEMED Teaching Department and located at Paraíba³ Street, nº 230, São Francisco neighborhood (MANAUS, 1997).

The SADEM team consisted of a social worker, a pedagogue, a psychopedagogue, two psychologists, two speech therapists and two teachers (SANTOS, 1998). When recovering these historical aspects, we found in the literature a disagreement about the composition of the Sadem team by eight (^{MATOS, 2008}) or nine professionals (SANTOS, 1998).

In the Guidance Booklet delivered to schools (MANAUS, 1997), the procedures for accessing Sadem services were explained. It was reported that if the student showed signs of learning difficulties, the teacher, technician or director should seek support from the Special Education Section. Therefore, a SADEM technician would pay a visit to check the student's situation. Then, when a problem was detected during the visit, a referral form to SADEM would be filled, which should be handed over to the Special Education Section.

After the arrival of the student's referral form to SADEM, a screening was scheduled, in which the student was submitted to a diagnostic evaluation. At the time, this assessment was carried out through psychopedagogical tests and social anamnesis, which involved the family and the student (MANAUS, 1997). Still on the diagnosis of the students, we had access to the following information:

The diagnosis is a continuous process, which begins with the identification of the student, including referral, assistance and monitoring. The purpose of this procedure is to provide real and objective information, so that it is suitable for the individual with special educational needs (MANAUS, 1997, s.p.).

In 1997, students served by SADEM were referred from pre-school and from 1st to 4th grade, which currently correspond to the part of Early Childhood Education and early years of Elementary Education, up to the age of 15 (fifteen) years (MANAUS, 1997 ; SANTOS, 1998). Subsequently, as observed in the study by ^{Matos (2008}), SADEM would be transformed into the Municipal Center for Special Education (CMEE), but before that, as can be seen in the records, SADEM gives way to José Salomão Schwartzman Municipal School, functioning even in the same place, as provided in the annex to Law N° 452/1998.

2.4 Municipal Special Education Complex

In 2003, Resolution N° 005/CME ensured in the sole paragraph of article 3 that the municipal education system, understood here as SEMED, should “[...] establish and operate a center responsible for Special Education, endowed with human resources , material and financial [...] ”that would make possible and support the process of“ building inclusive education ”(MANAUS, 2003, art. 3). As a result, until 2007, after the José Salomão Schwartzman school was deactivated, the Special Education Complex operated under the name of the Special Education Center.

Law N° 1.102, of March 9, 2007, when creating the André Vidal de Araújo Municipal Special Education Complex, attributed to SEMED the supervision and enforcement of the law. The Complex was seen in the region as a reference center for attending students targeting Special Education (PAEE), as it has a multidisciplinary team. Few changes are noted in relation to the professionals who worked at the Special Education Center in the early 1990s.

Teachers and other professionals who work in the Complex are advisers in the DDZs and follow the work developed during the Specialized Educational Service (AEE) of the municipal schools linked to the Secretariat. According to Resolution nº 010/CME/2011 the team is composed of educators, psychopedagogists, speech therapists, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and dentists (MANAUS, 2011).

It should be noted that, especially for children from low-income families, multiprofessional assessment is one of the biggest services offered by the municipal school system. It should be noted that, for example, in the Unified Health System (SUS) making an appointment with specialists takes time and makes the evaluation of PAEE students unfeasible, especially for the issuance of a medical report. In the case of CMEE, the evaluation of these students occurs more quickly, allowing students in economic vulnerability to have access to a free multiprofessional evaluation (^{VINENTE, 2017}).

In 2015, Resolution N° 038/CME brought a new configuration for the maintenance of the André Vidal de Araújo Municipal Education Complex, attributing in Article 54 that the Complex "[...] as an inclusive establishment, based on the reconstruction and recognition of differences and pedagogical practices based on new educational strategies, will offer pedagogical workshops "(MANAUS, 2015, art. 54).

3.1 Special Education Schools

Decree No. 87.062 / 1982, on the administrative organization of MEC, defined the National Center for Special Education (CENESP) as autonomous. Article 29 of the Decree presented the purpose of CENESP, which was based on:

subsidize the formulation of the National Policy on the education of the exceptional; plan, coordinate and promote the development of special education in the pre-school period, in primary and secondary education, supplementary and higher, for the disabled and gifted (BRASIL, 1982, s.p.).

Also in 1982, the following special schools were created in Manaus: (1) Augusto Carneiro dos Santos State School - for students with hearing impairment; (2) Joana Rodrigues Viana State School - for students with visual impairments; (3) Diofanto Monteiro State School - for students with mental disabilities (^{OLIVEIRA, 2007}; ^{MARQUES, 2010}; ^{CORDEIRO, 2016}).

In 1995, by means of Decree N° 16.593, the Manuel Maçal de Araújo State School was created, aimed at serving students with mental disabilities under 14 years old (^{MARQUES, 2010}; ^{CORDEIRO, 2016}). Currently, the school has students with multiple disabilities, autism, Down syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.

Manoel Marçal de Araújo was patron of the school and also the founder of the Association of the Physically Disabled of Amazonas (ADEFA). After suffering a serious accident, at the age of 28, he became quadriplegic. In 1989, he was elected councilor, a position he held until 1992. He died the following year, at the age of 56, leaving a legacy of struggle to the cause of people with physical disabilities (AMAZON MAIL, 2015).

In 1998, Law N° 452/1998, created in the administrative structure of SEMED, the Municipal School José Salomão Schartzman (MANAUS, 1998). In addition to this, the Emerson F. Prestes School also served Special Education students (^{VINENTE, 2017}).

With the transformation of SADEM into the André Vidal de Araújo Municipal Special Education Center (CMEE), these schools were extinguished. Thus, the Center started to bring together professionals from them, becoming the only place to offer Special Education services at the municipal level. Subsequently, the Center ceases to be a special school and begins to support students from the municipal school system, maintaining the pedagogical workshops.

3.2 Special classes

In the 1970s, the first special class for students with hearing impairments was implemented within the scope of SEDUC (^{LIMA, 1992}; CFFa NEWSPAPER, 2008). The speech therapist Dulcinéia Lima was one of the founders of Special Education services in the city of Manaus, having studied at the Center for Research in Word Therapy (now Universidade Estácio de Sá) (CFFa NEWSPAPER, 2008).

According to reports by Dulcinéia Lima it was common for many professionals to come from abroad and leave. While working at Fundação Pestalozzi and APAE, the speech therapist reported, together with other professionals, that she structured the Center for Screening and Diagnostic Evaluation, carrying out the evaluation of children and providing guidance to parents (CFFa NEWSPAPER, 2008).

^{Ferreira (1992}) problematized the issue of offering Special Education services through special classes. According to him:

It is quite likely that there is an almost consensual view among special educators about the inadequacy of these special classes as a service that is translating the right to education for people with special educational needs. We think it is opportune to debate the nature of this consensus and discuss alternative or complementary ways of acting: we want to close the special classes or change its population, its curriculum, its faculty, or we want a different population in another type of educational arrangement (^{FERREIRA, 1992}, p. 105).

Such problematization has a lot to do with the study by Santos (1998), carried out in the 1990s, which found that students sent to special classes in Manaus had a history of school failure and had learning difficulties. As such, "almost everyone knew how to read and write, even if only minimally" (p. 43).

At a time when the debate on the exclusion of special classes intensified in Brazil, in the city of Manaus, during 1997 there were only seven (7) special classes in the municipal public school system. Within SEMED, the classes also served students with "educable mental deficiency", hearing impairment and visual impairment (SANTOS, 1998).

Considering the transformations that took place in the urban space of the city of Manaus, we observed the incidence of few special classes in the northern zone. Currently, this area is one of the largest in the city. We also found a high number of special classes in the eastern zone, as this zone in the 1990s was the one that grew most in terms of population and geography.

The special classes were defined in municipal legislation as a service modality. According to the document, the special class functioned in regular schools, “[...] properly organized to the teaching-learning process, making available methods, techniques, human resources, trained, recognizing and valuing the singularities, differences and potential of students” (MANAUS, 2003).

Currently, most of the special classes that serve PAEE students in Manaus are distributed in DDZs V and VI, that is, in one of the most populous areas of the city. According to the representative of the Special Education Management (GEE), the educational legislation still guarantees the existence of special classes, which is why they are in operation at SEMED. Even though the services of the classes special ar se still offered, Resolution N° 011/CME/2016 does not mention any aspect of this type of service (MANAUS, 2016).

3.3 Resource Rooms

In 1997, the resource room was considered by the municipality's legislation as an "adequate space for the care of students who had difficulties in the act of learning through didactic material, with logical blocks, attention games, memorization, etc." (MANAUS, 1997, sp). When observing the definition of the room, we see more aspects of its organization than elements for identifying the target audience served in it.

The resource rooms, which for many years offered the ESA to students with disabilities in the municipal school system, were based on spaces for attending deaf and blind students enrolled between the 6th and 9th grade of Elementary Education (MANAUS, 2003⁴). Later, Resolution nº 10 / CME / 2011 inserts the resource rooms and the multifunctional resource rooms as part of the ESA services, and must be offered individually or in small groups, during the day shift (MANAUS, 2011).

The National Education Plan (PNE) in force (BRASIL, 2014) established as a goal for Special Education the universalization for PAEE students from four to seventeen years of age, access to Basic Education and AEE, preferably in the regular school system, with the guarantee of an inclusive educational system, through “[...] rooms with multifunctional resources, classes, schools or specialized services, public or contracted ”(BRASIL, 2014, n.p). The text of the current Municipal Education Plan - PME (MANAUS, 2015) also maintains the same locations for the provision of these services.

Currently, resource rooms are spaces created by SEMED, unlike multifunctional resource rooms, which are implemented using Federal Government resources. In the municipal public school system, the current number is 29 rooms. These are distributed as follows: (a) 6 in the south zone; (b) 6 in the west zone; (c) 9 in the northern zone; (d) and 8 in the east (SEMED, 2017; ^{VINENTE, 2017}).

3.4 Multifunctional Resource Rooms

The multifunctional resource rooms (SRM), according to Decree nº 7.611 / 2011, are “[...] environments equipped with equipment, furniture and didactic and pedagogical materials for the provision of specialized educational assistance” (BRASIL, 2011, Article 5, §3). Data from the MEC indicated that until the year 2011, approximately 472 SRMs were implemented in Amazonas (444 of which are Type I and 28 of Type II).

According to ^{Santos et al. (2017}), the number of multifunctional resource rooms deployed in Manaus did not keep up with the number of enrollments of Special Education students in the regular education system, representing a 40% deficit in serving these students. ^{Vinente and Oliveira (2017}) also agree that when taking into account the number of PAEE students enrolled in the school system, the number of classrooms is still insufficient for the effective supply of AEE