If you ask a parent what the most important goal is for their child, they would probably say being happy and healthy. What things in life bring happiness and a sense of well-being? The answer to this question is often found through interests. Interests are a strength! Supporting an autistic person’s interests and passions are important because they are motivating,…
In my last blog post, I spoke about John Simpson’s triad for autism spectrum disorders. I wrote about the first aspect which is need for predictability. This week’s post is about second part of the triad – motivation.
Many individuals with autism have deep interest in one or a variety of topics. Some interests are commonly seen across individuals with autism (e.g., trains, horses, light switches), others seem more unique to an individual person. For instance, Sean Barron, a man with autism once had a deep interest in the number 24. At another point in his life, he became fascinated by dead-end streets (Barron & Barron, 1992)