ABSTRACT

Approximately 1.3% (42,555 pupils) of secondary school pupils in England are autistic and there are numerous reports of poor academic and social experiences among this group. The intense interests that form part of an autism diagnosis relate to an increased focus on specific topics or objects and are reported to positively impact learning when effectively embedded into teaching. However, there is very little research into how interests may be used to support learning in secondary schools and little analysis of whether the utilisation of intense interests is conceptualised and implemented as an inclusive practice. This scoping review explored how intense interests are used to support the learning of autistic adolescents and provides a conceptual analysis of the six papers identified, all from the United States. Three applications of intense interests were reported: power cards, lunch clubs and responding to joint attention. A within-child, deficit-focused perspective was consistent throughout all papers, with the aim being to improve the ‘appropriate’ target behaviour of autistic children. There is limited research overall, and so further research is needed to examine how intense interests can be implemented in practice in more inclusive ways.

摘要

在英格兰，大约 1.3%（42,555 名学生）的中学生患有自闭症，并且有许多关于这一群体的学习和社会经历不佳的报告。构成自闭症诊断一部分的强烈兴趣与对特定主题或对象的更多关注有关，据报道，当有效地融入教学时，会对学习产生积极影响。然而，关于兴趣如何用于支持中学学习的研究很少，也很少分析对强烈兴趣的利用是否被概念化并作为一种包容性实践来实施。该范围审查探讨了如何利用强烈的兴趣来支持自闭症青少年的学习，并对已确定的六篇论文进行了概念分析，这些论文均来自美国。报告了三种强烈兴趣的应用：权力卡、午餐俱乐部和回应共同关注。在所有论文中，儿童内部、以缺陷为中心的观点是一致的，目的是改善自闭症儿童的“适当”目标行为。总体研究有限，因此需要进一步研究来检验如何以更具包容性的方式在实践中实施强烈的兴趣。