Using the Special Interests of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Improve Motivation and Engagement within Mainstream Secondary Education

患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童是英国学校中最大的儿童群体，他们通过教育，健康和护理计划获得额外的支持。ASD的核心特征包括沟通和社会互动困难，以及被认为是受限制和/或重复的行为或兴趣，也称为特殊兴趣。因此，一些课堂实践，例如小组参与、激励和参与，对于自闭症谱系障碍儿童来说可能具有挑战性，导致被排斥和成绩不佳的经历。特殊兴趣与更加关注特定对象或知识领域有关。良好的实践指导表明，在孩子的学习中适当地使用这些兴趣可以提高他们的动机和参与度，但是很少有研究直接调查特殊兴趣在学习中的作用。我提出的研究的目的是探索将特殊兴趣嵌入教学的各个方面以鼓励ASD儿童更大的动机。我的目的是确定在主流学校环境中实际实施的策略，并解决以下研究问题：1）在课堂上使用特殊兴趣来促进ASD儿童的动机和参与的不同方式是什么？2)在课堂上实施这些方法以支持ASD儿童学习的最佳方式是什么？这项研究的结果可能有助于提高自闭症儿童在教育中的动机和参与度，从而对他们的成就和未来的机会产生积极的影响。

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) account for the largest group of children in English schoolswho receive additional support through an Education, Health and Care Plan. Core characteristics of ASDinclude communication and social interaction difficulties, and behaviours or interests considered to berestricted and/or repetitive, otherwise known as special interests. Therefore, some classroom practices,such as group participation, motivation and engagement, can be challenging for children with ASD,resulting in experiences of exclusion and underachievement.Special interests relate to an increased focus on specific objects or areas of knowledge. Good practiceguidance has suggested that using these interests appropriately within a child's learning can improvetheir motivation and engagement, however there is little research that has directly investigated the roleof special interests in learning.The aim of my proposed research is to explore the concept of embedding special interests into aspects ofteaching to encourage greater motivation for children with ASD. My intention is to identify strategies thatare practical to implement in mainstream school environments and address the following researchquestions:1) What are the different ways special interests are used within classrooms to facilitate motivation andengagement for children with ASD?2) In what ways is it best to approach the implementation of these methods into classrooms to supportthe learning of children with ASD?The outcomes of this research may help to improve the motivation and engagement of children with ASDin education, resulting in positive implications for their achievement and future opportunities.