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Running head: TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS!
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Teaching Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Restricted Interests:
A Review of Evidence for Best Practice
Kerry G. M. Gunn & Jonathan T. Delafield-Butt*
School of Education, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
* jonathan.delafield-butt@strath.ac.uk
Accepted Author Manuscript
Accepted for publication in Review of Educational Research on 25th July 2015.
doi:10.3102/0034654315604027
The final published version can be downloaded here:
http://rer.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/09/22/0034654315604027.abstract
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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Abstract
Inclusive education requires teachers to adapt to children’s learning styles. Children
with autism spectrum disorder bring challenges to classroom teaching, often exhibiting
interests restricted to particular topics. Teachers can be faced with a dilemma either to
accommodate these restricted interests (RIs) into teaching or to keep them out of the
classroom altogether. In this article, we examined all peer-reviewed studies of teaching
children with autism spectrum disorder with RIs published between 1990 and 2014. We
find that positive gains in learning and social skills can be achieved by incorporating
children’s RIs into classroom practice: Of 20 published studies that examined 91
children, all reported gains in educational attainment and/or social engagement.
Negative consequences were limited to a decrease in task performance in one child and
a transient increase in perseverative behaviors in two children. The evidence supports
the inclusion of RIs into classroom practice. Methods of inclusion of RIs are discussed
in light of practical difficulties and ideal outcomes.
Keywords: restricted interests, repetitive interests, autism, inclusive education,
classroom practice
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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Teaching Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Restricted Interests:
A Review of Evidence for Best Practice
Recent policy developments promote inclusion of children with special
educational needs (SEN), including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), into
mainstream classrooms (e.g., Ministry of Education and Science Spain, 1994; Scottish
Government, 2010; United Nations, 1989, 2006; No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004). Inclusion aims
to improve the social and educational experiences of all children, presenting a more
pleasant and humane learning environment for everyone, as well as improving academic
attainment (Briggs, 2004). Inclusion of children with SEN may require adaptations to
the curriculum and classroom environment. In particular, children with autism have
difficulties with learning, interacting and communicating with others, using an
understanding language, thinking imaginatively and enjoying variation in activities, all
of which are essential elements in classroom practice (Autism Working Group, 2002).
Adaptive practices to the SEN of these children are therefore necessary and in some
contexts, adequate provision is enshrined in law.1
SEN for a particular child result from an interplay of several factors that fall
broadly into four overlapping themes, of which disability and health is only one. The
learning environment, family circumstances, and particular social and emotional needs
of the child all contribute. Importantly, the styles of teaching and classroom practice
that compose the learning environment can be a contributing factor, especially when
educational practice does not take into adequate account a particular individual’s
circumstances and needs. In some cases, children with SEN may come up against
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1!For example, Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.!
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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barriers to learning and achievement as a result of an inflexible approach to the
curriculum, to a school’s ethos, or to teaching and learning methods that do not adapt to
the SEN (Scottish Government, 2010).
One prominent and practical concern for inclusion of Children with ASD into
mainstream education is how best to work with restricted interests (RIs). These
interests are objects or topics that ASD individuals pursue with focus and intensity, for
example, demonstrating a fascination with hurricanes, that can restrict engagement with
other objects or topics (Mancil & Pearl, 2008). In this paper we take inclusion to mean
that children will be supported to work to the best of their ability and have their unique
talents valued in the classroom, with teachers striving to provide enjoyable and effective
learning experiences for all.!!!
The restricted and repetitive interests of children with ASD pose particular
challenges to teachers in mainstream settings. They can obstruct normal classroom
practice and prevent curriculum teaching. And importantly, there is no consensus on
how best to work with RIs in the classroom. On one hand, some teachers discipline and
prohibit restrictive and repetitive interests to encourage social norms and learning. On
the other, some encourage learning through RIs and incorporate RIs into lessons. Still
others follow established curricula and only allow indulgence in an RI as a reward for
task completion or good behaviour. Each approach is understandable, but relies on
different sets of understanding about the nature of RIs and how they are best avoided or
included in learning. On the one hand, RIs can be viewed as pathological expressions to
be contained and reduced, and on the other they can be viewed as particular, if not
idiosyncratic expressions of an individual’s personality and agency.
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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The aim in this paper is to clarify the role of RIs in inclusive, mainstream
educational practice to provide mainstream teachers with the information they need to
make an informed decision about the best way to work with RIs in the classroom. It
summarises contemporary theory and educational research on the role of RIs as an
autistic expression that may provide a way in to learning, and in doing so identifies a
need for further research on the technique and efficacy of working with RIs in
classroom practice. This paper gives insight into the nature of RIs, reviews available
research on methods of working with RIs in the classroom, and concludes with reasoned
suggestions for best practice with RIs within inclusive, mainstream educational settings.
This paper reviews all available evidence published between 1990 and 2014 in the peer-
reviewed scientific literature on teachers’ use of RIs of children with ASD, for learning
and social skills enhancement and investigates various methods of incorporating these
into the curriculum to enhance classroom teaching and learning.
Restricted Interests and Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Restricted interests (RIs) are a component of the formal diagnosis for ASD
categorised under “restricted and repetitive behaviours” impairment (APA, 2013).
Kanner published the first descriptions of autism in case histories of eleven children he
described as demonstrating “an extreme autistic aloneness.” (1943, p. 242). One year
later Asperger (1944/1991) wrote of the severe social problems some children face,
explaining they fail to show an interest in others and give poor eye contact when
speaking or being spoken to. Asperger also mentioned the presence of stereotypic
behaviours and RI. In 1980, the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders (DSM) formally recognised ASD (APA, 1980), and its revised
form (DSM-III-R) based the diagnosis on three impairments: (a) social impairment, (b)
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communication and imagination impairment and (c) restricted and repetitive behaviour
and interests (Happé, 1994).
Inclusion of RIs in the formal diagnosis for ASD has remained, withstanding
subsequent versions and revisions incorporating new research, in the DSM-IV and
DSM-IV-TR (APA, 1994, 2000; Dziegielewski, 2010). Many specialists considered
autism to be a spectrum disorder and Asperger’s syndrome a mild or high-functioning
form of autism (HFA; Mayes and Calhoun, 2003). Ozonoff, South, and Miller (2000)
argued they have the same fundamental symptoms varying only in intensity or severity.
This point was recently formally adopted into the new edition, DSM-5, which
eliminated Asperger’s syndrome and replaced it with a diagnosis of a high-functioning
or less severe expression of ASD. DSM-5 further reduced the triad of impairments to
only two: (a) social communication/interaction and (b) restricted and repetitive
behaviours (APA, 2013).
Are Restricted Interests Helpful or Harmful?
RIs are typically thought of as being abnormal and difficult to eliminate (Baker,
Koegal, & Koegal, 1998). They can interfere with an individual’s ability to function on
a daily basis (Boyd, Woodward, & Bodfish, 2011) and have the potential to limit
interactions with peers and opportunities to learn (Stocco, Thompson, & Rodriguez,
2011). RI can be pursued with intensity and children may spend a great deal of time
gathering facts and information about a topic, sometimes to the exclusion of other
activities. In this way, RIs can appear obstructive and problematic, in other words they
appear to be something to remove or eliminate (Baker et al., 1998). Yet, a child’s
development of an RI involves significant child-led, self-motivated learning. A child
may begin to develop his or her RI by collecting desirable objects related to it, and
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progress to collecting information about the interest. This progression requires
engagement in a topic, motivation to develop knowledge and understanding about it,
and employment of psychological and material resources to do so. In other words,
following an RI may enlist principal components of learning.
The passion an individual with ASD has for his or her interests often appears to
increase with time (Charlop, Kurtz, & Casey, 1990). This passion can stimulate a child
to further develop their learning about their RI, but it can also be detrimental when
taken to an extreme. For example, it has been reported that teenage individuals may
become extremely interested in a person. This interest is often viewed as a “crush” but
the intensity of the interest can lead to problems, for example, apparent stalking
(Attwood, 2003). Thus, RIs can both facilitate learning or act as an obstruction to
engagement within socially acceptable norms.
Detrimental features of RIs lead to the belief that RIs need to be corrected, or
removed in order to facilitate recovery and learning (Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1996).
However, an alternative perspective is that RIs are the best possible expression of an
individual’s interests, and the nature of the restricted or repetitive occurrence is
symptomatic of an underlying pathology, but is not the pathology itself. In this best
performance model (cf. Brazelton & Nugent, 1995), RIs can be viewed as useful
expressions of interest that can utilise and therefore expand cognitive skills, social
sharing and cooperativity, and emotional or arousal self-regulation.
These interests differ from a typical hobby as they are abnormal in either
intensity or focus (Attwood, 2007), but appear to have similar benefits. Through them,
children with ASD can demonstrate unexpected strengths in fine-motor skill, sensory
acuity, emotional understanding, executive function, and social and communication
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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skills (Winter-Messiers et al., 2007). Indulging in RIs can help children to relax,
overcome anxiety, experience pleasure, and make better sense of the physical world
(Attwood, 2007).
The objects of interest within RIs range from common to eccentric ones
(Winter-Messiers et al., 2007). For example, some individuals may be fascinated by
trains (Porter, 2012) whereas others may be interested in lawn-mowers (Attwood, 2007)
or toilet brushes (Attwood, 1998). They are often intrigued by order, symmetry, and
statistics (Attwood, 1998). Attwood (2007) explained that these interests may be age-
appropriate, for example, an interest in Thomas the Tank Engine in pre-school.
However, where a typical child would replace this interest as she matures, a child with
ASD may remain fascinated with the same topic or object late into their teenage years.
RI is one of the many names for this type of behaviour. Others include intense
interests, obsessions, special fascinations, fixations, circumscribed interests,
circumscribed topics, repetitive and narrow interests, and special interest areas (Winter-
Messiers, 2007). Further, RIs can be categorised by their high- or low-level behaviours
where high-level behaviours typically reflect higher mental ability and are expressed in
complex behaviours that engage the RI, whereas low-level behaviours typically reflect
lower developmental ability and are expressed in simpler behaviours and actions
(Turner, 1999). RIs are more prevalent in individuals at the higher functioning end of
the autistic spectrum and especially in Asperger’s syndrome (by DSM-IV classification)
where 90% of individuals exhibit RIs (Attwood, 2003; Leekam, Prior, & Uljarevic,
2011). RIs have been found to be less prevalent in preschool children with lower
cognitive abilities (Mayes & Calhoun, 2011). This may be due to the more limited
capacity in low-functioning children to develop abstract conceptual thought, leaving the
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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restrictive and repetitive nature of autism confined to simpler, under-developed
behaviours, rather than more intellectual interests. Low-level repetitive behaviours may
be suppressed in individuals with autism with higher mental ability and greater social
awareness of their obtrusion (Mayes & Calhoun, 2011; Turner, 1999), or sublimated
into more complex interests and actions.
Teachers may try to discourage children from engaging with their RI, as they
believe it may hinder social interaction (Attwood, 2007), progress on academic tasks,
and cause them to become disruptive (Earles-Vollrath, 2012). However, it has also
been suggested that RIs can act as motivators for children with ASD, suggesting
positive gains may be obtained in working with RIs (Spiker, Lin, Dyke, & Wood,
2011). To date, there has been no comprehensive assessment of whether or not working
with RIs in the mainstream classroom is actually disruptive or beneficial, and opinion
appears to differ from teacher to teacher. The question we seek to address here is, what
is the evidence for and against the inclusion or exclusion of RIs of children with ASD in
mainstream classroom practice?
Including Children with Restricted Interests in the Mainstream Classroom
This is a particularly important and timely consideration given continued growth
of inclusive education, supported by policy and practice developments internationally.
In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of
1997 guaranteed education for children with SEN in the “least restrictive
environments”, and has progressively increased the rates of inclusion. IDEA has
continued Federal Government commitment to ensure teachers are adequately qualified
to teach SEN children. In Finland, children with SEN may be included in mainstream
class with an option for additional part-time special education, but all SEN pupils will
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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have an individual learning plan. The school curriculum can be adjusted to suit the
needs of the child to give a child-led curriculum that ranks amongst the world’s most
successful (Sahlberg, 2011). Similarly, Scotland’s new Code of Practice (Scottish
Government, 2010), Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC; Scottish Government,
2012), and Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Executive, 2004) state additional
support should be integrated into daily educational practice to ensure SEN children are
not singled out, to allow them to reach their full potential to improve life chances, and
to do so by valuing the talents of all children, including those with SEN.
The inclusive classroom, where all learners are supported by recognition,
acceptance, and respect of differences among them, aims to build on similarities among
children to meet learning needs and overcome barriers to learning (Hamill & Clark,
2005), in agreement with current inclusive policy. This position is in contrast to an
integrated classroom, which is discouraged, where focus is on changing the learner to
“fit in” (Rieser, 2008, p. 49). Thus, attention to an individuals agency and adaptive
teaching practice are important skills for effective inclusive education.
Myers, Ladner, and Koger (2011, p. 517) argued that at present “educational
practices both alienate students with autism from their neurotypical peers and compel
students to hide their autistic traits, when both strategies contribute to poor self-esteem
among students with autism.” In the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Education (HMIE, 2007) stated the importance of working outwards from a child’s
interests and needs to effectively engage their attention and curiousity for learning, and
in Scotland, new Curriculum for Excellence policy advocates an inclusive approach that
attends to an individual’s sense of agency and identity in education to foster confidence
and creative social contribution (Scottish Executive, 2004). In educational practice,
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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recognition of a child’s motives and adaptation to them involves valuing a wide range
of abilities, talents and achievements. In this way, barriers to teacher-pupil engagement
and therefore the child’s learning can be removed, increasing the child’s self-esteem and
scholastic success. Underpinning this shift in orientation is an appreciation of the
beneficial value of diversity in society, and an opposition to discrimination (HMIE,
2002). Further, HMIE (2009) set out priorities to improve the outcomes of all learners,
particularly those who are disadvantaged. It suggests teachers personalise support and
learning to meet the circumstances and choices of individuals and find innovative ways
to meet the needs of their class, whilst making clear they have high expectations.
Incorporating the RI of Children with ASD into the curriculum could be a new
and creative way to meet these needs. It personalises learning and takes the
circumstances of Children with ASD into account, while focusing on their possible
strengths rather than their apparent weaknesses. For example, Winter-Messiers (2007)
concluded from extensive interviews and study of Children with ASD and their parents
that the RIs of children and young people with ASD can be inseparable from their self-
image. She found that children were extremely negative about themselves, with the
exception of their RI. They seemed to have a more positive view of their self-image
when taking part in activities associated with their RI, as they were able to control their
involvement and knowledge and show expertise. Thus, if teachers ignore the
importance of a child or young person’s RI, they could be denying that individual an
important aspect of their identity and a means with which to encourage engagement and
self-confidence. Focusing on a child’s deficits puts them at risk of depression and
academic failure and reduces their motivation to learn (Bianco, Carothers, & Smiley,
2009).
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On the basis of these policy and practice concerns, and given the need to
establish the evidence base for best practice with children with ASD with RIs, in this
paper, we examine the evidence for and against inclusion and exclusion of RIs of
children with ASD in classroom practice.
Method
To provide an overview concerning the question of whether using the RI of
Children with ASD in the mainstream classroom can improve their learning or social
skills, we conducted a broad literature search that aimed to identify all available
published peer-reviewed journal articles reporting on empirical studies on this topic.
We reasoned that specific focus on the peer-reviewed literature would provide the most
reliable data on the effects of including RIs in teaching and learning. Further, since
both negative and positive effects of RI inclusion are equally important and publishable,
publication bias in one direction or the other is unlikely. Thus, this review provides the
best possible survey of both positive and negative effects of RI inclusion in educational
contexts.
Search Process
First, we conducted advanced electronic searches of the following databases:
Web of Science, EBSCO Host (containing the Education Resource Information Centre,
British Education Index, and PsycINFO databases), Australian Education Index, and
SAGE Journals. We also searched the journal, TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus.
The terms, intense, special, fascination, fixation, narrow, repetitive, obsession,
perseverative, ritualistic, circumscribed, restricted, and interest were used, in
combination with the terms autism or Asperger, as well as social or academic. The
returned papers were sorted by relevance and the abstracts of all articles containing
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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autism or Asperger in the title were screened manually until it was clear that the
publications were not related to the study (i.e., they contained the search terms but in a
different context). Citations in the articles that were included were also examined.
Studies published between 1990 and the autumn of 2014 were included in this literature
review. These limits were set as it was not until the early 1990s that mainstream
schools began to provide opportunities for Children with ASD to be included (Cohen,
1998; Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, 2003). The literature searches were
carried out in the winter of 2013 and again in the autumn of 2014.
Web of Science (http://apps.webofknowledge.com) provided the option to
narrow search results by selecting relevant research areas. We made use of this feature
and selected “education - educational research.” In this database, the search returned
419,523 papers, with eight qualifying for inclusion. EBSCO Host
(http://search.ebscohost.com) provided the option to search a number of databases. We
chose to search Education Resource Information Centre database, the British Education
Index, and PsycINFO for comprehensive coverage of educational and psychological
research within this service. We were then provided with the option to narrow down the
results by selecting relevant major subject headings. We opted to do this and selected
“autism and education.” This search returned 411 papers in 2013 and then 636 papers
in 2014. “Narrow” and “interest” were searched first alongside the other search terms
and then intense and fixation again alongside the other search terms. Of these papers
two articles qualified for review.
The Australian Education Index (http://search.proquest.com/index) provided the
option to narrow down the search results by subject. We made use of this feature and
selected adolescent, child, young adult, and children. This database also allowed one to
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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select words in the title; we selected autism or Asperger. This search returned 65,541
papers, of which five qualified for review. SAGE Journals (http://online.sagepub.com/)
provided the option to narrow down search results by selecting relevant disciplines. We
made use of this feature and selected: Education, Psychology and Counselling and
Special Education. This search returned 1,211 papers. Of these papers three qualified
for review. TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus
(http://journals.cec.sped.org/tecplus/) returned seven papers. All abstracts were read
and two papers qualified for review. In total 20 papers were selected for review.
Inclusion Criteria
To be selected for the review, the identified articles had to meet the following
criteria for inclusion:
1. The study focused on children or young people. Due to the variations in
definitions of children and young people, an age criterion was also applied.
Therefore, to be included in the review, the article had to contain participants
between the ages of 2 and 21, inclusive.
2. The publications had to be empirical examinations of children’s or young
people’s RIs in teaching or learning situations. In this paper, we take teaching
or learning situations to mean any situation in which children are developing
social or academic skills either on their own or with a more capable other, for
example, at school, an after-school club, playing with a friend or sibling, or
learning something new at home.
3. Studies had to contain outcomes of achievement in terms of academic, cognitive,
social, or emotional skills. These outcome data could be quantitative or
qualitative.
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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4. The methods applied needed to allow some conclusions to be drawn about the
effect that the use of an RI to aid learning and social skills development had on
children with ASD. Analyses that used a baseline level to show the growth of
the achievements of Children with ASD were appropriate, as were more
descriptive studies.
5. The study had to have been peer-reviewed, so that the studies met a minimum
standard of quality and reliability in the view of other scholars.
6. The article needed to be published in English.
Coding and Interpretation
All included studies were reviewed with regard to the effect of RI on academic,
cognitive, social, or emotional skills of ASD individuals. Study results were interpreted
as indicating a positive effect on the academic, cognitive, social, or emotional skills of
an ASD individual when the study reported a measured (a) improvement in academic
attainment, social engagement, and/or emotional regulation or valence, and/or (b)
reduction in aberrant behaviours, for example, stereotypy, delayed echolalia, etc. The
results were interpreted as showing a negative effect on the academic, cognitive, social,
or emotional skills of an ASD individual if the study reported a measured (a) decrease
in academic attainment, social engagement, and/or emotional regulation or valence,
and/or (b) an increase in aberrant behaviours. Twenty papers were retrieved and
reviewed. All studies included reported either a positive or negative effect (i.e., there
were no studies that reported no change).
Additional data to give a summary of the studies and their context were
extracted from the papers and presented in Table S1 (online only): number of subjects
in each study, the topic of the RIs reported, study design, and RI inclusion outcome
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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measures and results. Further details were extracted and presented in Table S2 (online
only) to give more specific information: the children’s age; ASD severity, Adaptive
Functioning, or IQ; method of intervention; and more specific details on the outcome
measures and results, including performance metrics and the scores achieved over the
course of the study. All summary data were extracted by the first author and verified by
the second author. A special effort was made to preserve the objective details of the
data within the tables for balance and transparency. Thus, these tables summarise both
negative and positive RI inclusion effects, and contain details about the study designs,
measurements employed, and study results.
Due to the small number of studies (N =20), results should be interpreted with
caution. Furthermore, we sought to ensure a sensitive and cautious approach by
reporting all negative, neutral, or questionable results identified in the literature. These
are clearly identified in Tables S1 and S2, and presented and discussed below.
Results
All 20 papers reported positive gains in learning, communication, social
engagement, or behaviour or emotional well-being when incorporating RIs into teaching
and learning. Two papers presented some negative effects of inclusion of RIs in
engagements with children with autism, alongside positive gains. In sum, the weight of
evidence suggests that including RIs when working with children with autism results in
positive outcomes with only minor or negligible disadvantages to the children.
Beneficial effects outweigh detrimental effects.
We first consider the evidence against inclusion of RIs in classroom practice
with caution: One study found that perseverative behaviors may increase for a time
before decreasing again (Charlop et al., 1990), two found that after experimental
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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sessions inappropriate behaviors may increase (Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1996;
Kryzak, Bauer, Jones, & Sturmey, 2013), and evidence from one child with a decrease
in task performance suggests reduced performance may be an important consideration
(Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1996).
In particular, Charlop et al. (1990) found that perseverative behaviors of two of
their three participants increased by a small amount (~0.75%) when the experimental
conditions were started. However, after this initial increase, a decreasing trend resulted
in an overall positive effect. Charlop-Christy and Haymes (1996) carried out a study in
which they aimed to increase the task performance of four children with ASD.
Although three of the four children improved in task performance, one child’s
performance decreased from 66% to 60%. However, in their explanation of these
results the authors attributed this decline to a wider concern: The child was failing to
respond and not making progress with academic tasks during nonexperimental therapy
sessions too. They reasoned the decrease in task performance was not linked to the use
of RIs as reinforcers. In their study, the inappropriate behaviors of another child
increased during nonexperimental sessions. The authors suggest this change was due to
a new situation with reduced access to their RI. Finally, Kryzak et al. (2013) found that
one child in their study increased on a rating of RI intensity scale. After intervention
they increased by 1 point on the difficulty inter- rupting or redirecting and interference
with socializing areas, suggesting an increased restrictive attention to the RI. However,
alongside these shortcomings were reported larger gains of 2 or more points in
happiness, in interaction, and in interest in engagement, as well as gains in engagement
generally.
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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The likelihood of negative effects when engaging in RIs is an important
consideration, but taken into context these effects do not exclude the possibility of
including engagement with RIs for overall benefit and effective classroom practice.
Indeed, two of the three studies that reported detrimental effects showed these to be
initial, temporary ones, reporting improved task performance and reduction in
inappropriate behaviours over the course of study, or indeed not directly associated with
RI inclusion at all.
In what follows, we review the data retrieved, demonstrating positive gains in
motivation, task engagement, task performance, as well as in social engagement, social
skill, confidence and emotional well-being. We discuss the implications of the evidence
both for and against inclusion of RIs in classroom practice. First, we present two
different methods presented in the literature for inclusion of RIs, based on approaches
for intrinsic and extrinsic reward.
Inclusion of Restricted Interests Improves Positive Outcomes
Of the papers retrieved, all 20 demonstrated gains in motivation and
engagement, 6 showed improvements in task performance, and importantly 15 papers
demonstrated that social engagement and social skills improved when RIs were
incorporated into the teaching of Children with ASD.
Motivation, task engagement, and task performance. Motivation is an
important condition for successful learning (McLean, 2003). The reports retrieved
reported that it is often difficult to find ways to motivate children with ASD (Charlop et
al., 1990; Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1998). Children with ASD do not respond to
events that interest typically developing children, especially social rewards such as
praise (Charlop et al., 1990). However, some papers suggested that Children with ASD
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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find the pursuit of their RI to be reinforcing and intrinsically motivating (Baker, 2000;
Baker et al., 1998; Boyd et al., 2007; Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1998; Charlop et al.,
1990; Koegal, Singh & Koegel, 2010; Mancil & Pearl, 2008; Spencer, Simpson, Day &
Buster, 2008; Winter-Messiers, 2007). For example, Mancil and Pearl (2008) observed
a second grade teacher incorporating a girl’s interest of Thomas the Train™ into the
curriculum using simple strategies, for example, by providing books about Thomas or
putting his picture on math flashcards. Improvements in reading, math and science
were made in a few weeks. After using Thomas books for a couple of months the
child’s comprehension and fluency had improved from a 1st to 2½ grade reading level.
Koegal et al. (2010) incorporated choice and RI into the academic tasks of four
children with ASD. The study took place in their homes and at their after-school
programme. Results showed that providing choice (e.g., asking where they would like
to work) and incorporating their RI into tasks appeared to make them less likely to put
off doing tasks, maintained interest, improved their rate of performance and helped
decrease disruptive behaviour. A boy in their study progressed from demonstrating
disruptive behaviour when asked to complete math or writing tasks to repeatedly
requesting to do more. The authors suggested that the children may have been more
motivated to learn under these conditions.
Engagement in tasks increased when the RI was included. Children with ASD
often had problems engaging with academic tasks (Mancil & Pearl, 2008), showed little
interest in them and became disruptive when asked to complete one (Koegal et al.,
2010). However, incorporating RIs into academic tasks improved the engagement and
motivation of Children with ASD, encouraging them to complete less preferred or
challenging activities (Mancil & Pearl, 2008).
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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Using RIs increased task performance. Incorporating the interests of children
with ASD into the curriculum improved their academic performance (Charlop-Christy
& Haymes, 1998; Lanou, Hough, & Powell, 2011; Mancil & Pearl, 2008). The data
retrieved suggested that incorporating the RI of Children with ASD into their academic
tasks can allow them to show their true level of ability by unlocking their potential, as
they are motivated to engage in these tasks and may be unmotivated to engage in other
tasks (Mancil & Pearl, 2008; Winter-Messiers, 2007).
Disruptive behaviours can prevent children with ASD from meeting educational
goals (Koegal et al., 2010; Lanou et al., 2011). Thus, it was suggested that
incorporating RIs into academic tasks might decrease inappropriate and disruptive
behaviour (Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1998; Koegal et al., 2010). Charlop-Christy
and Haymes (1998) used the consequence-based approach to successfully increase the
correct responses of three children with ASD, while also appearing to decrease their
inappropriate behaviours. The study took place at an after-school behaviour
programme. During the experimental sessions RI were used as token reinforcers for
example, one child was given a micromachine card when he gave a correct response,
whereas during the baseline phase a typical token was given, for example, a star. In
both cases after five tokens had been earned the children traded these in for the same
backup reinforcer, for example food. Increasing RI use in these cases decreased
disruptive behaviour and improved learning.
Social engagement. Children with ASD often have problems with social
behaviour, actively avoid social contact, and seem unmotivated to interact with others
(Baker et al., 1998). Importantly, they fail to initiate joint attention with others
(Bruinsma, Koegel, & Koegel, 2004), an essential ability for learning is involving co-
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
21
ordinated intersubjective attention with another person to an event or object of shared
interest (Delafield-Butt & Trevarthen, 2013; Tomasello et al., 2005; Trevarthen &
Hubley, 1978). Inclusion of children’s RIs (letters and numbers) was found to promote
language development, help children understand the viewpoints of others and how to
behave socially and participate meaningfully in conversations (Vismara & Lyons,
2007). Vismara and Lyons (2007) suggest that Children with ASD are capable of
producing joint attention, but they might not not have the social motivation to do so.
Thus, they carried out a study that used a single-subject reversal design in which
treatments were alternated to examine whether or not three young children with ASD
would initiate social sharing through joint attention. They combined the motivational
techniques of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) with stimuli relating to their RI. PRT
is a naturalistic treatment program for ASD, derived from ABA approaches. The
intervention uses strategies such as child choice, interspersing maintenance tasks, task
variation, the use of direct and natural reinforcers and rewarding attempts. It makes use
of operant teaching principles (Mohammadzaheri, Koegal, Rezaee & Rafiee, 2014).
The results show an instant increase in all of the children’s joint attention initiations.
The authors explained that this type of intervention helps Children with ASD use their
RI in a socially acceptable manner and does not cause negative side effects (Vismara &
Lyons, 2007).
However, Kluth and Schwarz (2008) explained that children with ASD may find
it difficult to move away from activities related to their RI if it is incorporated into the
curriculum. They may tantrum (Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1998; Sarris, 2012),
become angry (Attwood, 2007), agitated or anxious when someone limits access to, or
conversation about, their interest (Boyd et al., 2011). It has been shown, in contrast,
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
22
that incorporating RI into academic tasks can decrease or eliminate inappropriate
behaviours overall (Koegal et al., 2010). It is also possible for these frustrations to be
lessened when using RIs as reinforcers (Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1996, 1998).
However, it is worth noting that when using RI as reinforcers, Charlop et al. (1990)
reported an initial increase in the perseverative behaviours of two of their three
participants before these returned to previous levels.
Data suggest RIs can be used to improve the communication and social skills of
children with ASD (Davis, Boon, Cihak & Fore, 2010; Spencer et al., 2008; Winter
Messiers, 2007) and Koegal, Vernon, et al. (2012) suggest that the more general
interests of children with ASD may also be used. Children with ASD showed greater
competence in social interaction when the interaction was related to their RI (Dunst et
al., 2011; Koegal, Fredeen, et al., 2012; Winter Messiers et al., 2007) and in 23
interviews with individuals with ASD, Winter Messiers et al. (2007) discovered that,
when engaged in their interest, children with ASD were able to perform better in areas
considered to be ASD deficits. For example, when talking about their interest, children
with ASD spoke fluently, used a wide range of vocabulary, improved their interpersonal
conversational skills (increased eye-gaze) and improved their body language (becoming
more enthusiastic and animated about what they were saying, decreasing fidgeting and
orientating their body to the interviewer).
Koegal, Vernon, et al. (2012) assessed whether the social skills of three children
with ASD could be improved by incorporating their general interests into lunchtime
clubs. An activity preference assessment was carried out and when a list of interests
had been gathered the clinicians and parents worked together to decide which of the
target child’s interests would also appeal to their peers. The interventions involved a
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
23
social club being put in place based on their interests. An adult was responsible for
introducing the daily club activity and then took a step back. Participation in these
clubs was voluntary for all. The results showed that during the baseline phase, none of
the children spent time engaging with their peers. However, during the final
intervention phase, all of the children had increased their level of engagement
maximally.
Children with ASD often struggle to understand social situations (Lanou et al.,
2011). The Power Card Strategy (PCS) is an intervention that aims to capitalise on the
RI of Children with ASD in order to promote their social skills. The strategy consists of
a Power Card script and a Power Card. An adult reads the script with the child; this is
written in the first person and describes the child’s RI, role model or hero in a situation
they have difficulties with. It then describes how the figure solves the problem by
behaving appropriately. The child is also provided with a Power Card, an abbreviated
version of the script, which includes rules on how to behave (Gagnon, as cited by
Keeling et al., 2003). The PCS is intended for use with children who are reading within
one grade level of where they are currently placed (Campbell & Tincani, 2011).
The reports retrieved suggested that the PCS is effective at increasing
perspective taking (Lanou et al., 2011), direction following (Campbell & Tincani, 2011)
and social interactions (Spencer et al., 2008) of Children with ASD and in improving
their conversational (Davis et al., 2010) and sportsmanship skills (Keeling, Myles,
Gagnon & Simpson, 2003).
Lanou et al. (2011, p. 179) made use of the PCS to improve a child’s ability to
interact appropriately with others, as the child often infringed on personal space. The
script compared personal space to the Titanic colliding into an iceberg, the Titanic was
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
24
endangered by its closeness to the iceberg and being too close to others could upset
them. The card was placed around the classroom and read daily by the child.
Whenever the child got too close a teacher or peer would say “iceberg right ahead” to
remind him. There was a significant decrease in complaints about the child invading
personal space, and he could explain the importance of it to others. Spencer et al.
(2008) reported on the use of the PCS to help a five-year-old child with ASD increase
his social interactions and time spent on the playground. During baseline the child had
poor social skills and did not play with other children; he spent an average of ten
minutes on the playground with other children in his own class, but would leave when
the other classes came out. The PCS enabled him to spend an average of nine additional
minutes on the playground when the other children from other classes were also present.
He also partook in and seemed to enjoy a game of tag, communicating successfully with
his peers in the process. Furthermore he was able to take turns on the climbing wall and
slide.
Providing children with ASD with opportunities to use materials based on their
interests during play can encourage interaction with others (Porter, 2012).
Incorporating RIs into games was reported to increase their social interactions with
siblings (Baker, 2000) and peers (Baker et al., 1998; Boyd et al., 2007).
Boyd et al. (2007) carried out a study that compared the effects of less preferred
(LP) items to RI items on the social behaviours of three fully included children with
ASD. In the choice condition two peers sat holding a LP or RI item, they were asked
not to initiate but to respond to initiations. Each child with ASD chose whom to play
with six times. All children chose to play with the peer holding the RI item most or all
of the time. Next the RI and LP items were alternated. Only one peer partook and the
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
25
child with ASD had to decide whether they wanted to play with the RI/LP item alone or
with their peer. The percentage of time children spent engaged in positive social
interactions was significantly higher when their RI was present and it took them less
time to initiate play. However, the authors suggested that for the RI to be socially
motivating it may be necessary for children to have some social skills.
Baker (2000) incorporated the RI of three Children with ASD into a game of
Bingo®. During intervention the children were prompted to play this with their sibling.
Participation was voluntary and there were no extrinsic reinforcers. All children
showed increases in social play interactions with their sibling during intervention and in
maintenance and follow-up phases. They began to engage in other games with their
siblings that did not include their interest. After intervention all children demonstrated
large increases in positive social interactions at home and at school (two mainstream
and one part-time special education school). The positive joint attention behaviours of
the children also improved dramatically. During intervention the rating of affect
(interest and happiness) of all children increased from neutral to positive and this
remained throughout maintenance and follow-up phases. Furthermore, the obsessive
behaviours of all children decreased. Parent ratings showed that the children spent
increased amounts of time playing with their siblings and sibling interviews showed an
improvement in the perception of the child with ASD.
Kryzak et al. (2013) aimed to increase the responses of three children with ASD
to the joint attention directives of others. They presented the children with ASD with
opportunities to respond to joint attention directives while they were engaged in an RI
activity. A child was considered to have mastered this task when they responded
independently, within four seconds, and to a minimum of 80% of the joint attention
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
26
directives over two sessions on two separate days. The results showed that after 19 to
29 sessions all children had mastered how to respond to joint attention directives while
engaged in an RI activity. Two of the participants maintained their mastery
performance and the other child’s performance ranged from 70-90%. However
according to parent ratings the RI intensity of one of the participants stayed the same or
increased by only one point.
Finally, it was suggested that children with ASD can benefit from partaking in
classes related to their RI (Koegal, Fredeen, et al., 2012, Koegal, Vernon, et al., 2012).
Koegal, Fredeen, et al. (2012) assessed whether positive social interaction between
children with ASD and their typically developing peers could be promoted by creating
clubs based on the RI of the ASD participants. Results showed that Children with ASD
went from total or near total disengagement to engaging with peers approximately 85-
100% of the session.
Children also increased the frequency of initiations to their peers. Koegal,
Vernon, et al. (2012) carried out a study that incorporated more general interests of
Children with ASD into lunchtime clubs. This resulted in an increase in engagement
with peers as well as unprompted verbal initiations. These improvements are not to be
taken lightly, social engagement remains very difficult for children with ASD, and to
seek to initiate contact is a significant social improvement that can contribute to
improved opportunities and engagements for learning.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Reward-based Approaches to Restricted Interests Inclusion
The literature presented two methods for incorporating RIs in teaching:
antecedent-based (Baker et al., 1998; Baker, 2000; Keeling et al., 2003; Gagnon &
Simpson, 2003; Boyd et al., 2007; Vismara & Lyons, 2007; Mancil & Pearl, 2008;
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
27
Spencer et al., 2008; Davis et al., 2010; Koegal et al., 2010; Campbell & Tincani, 2011;
Dunst et al., 2011; Lanou et al., 2011; Koegal, Fredeen, et al. 2012; Koegal, Vernon et
al. 2012; Porter, 2012; Kryzak et al., 2013) and consequence-based (Charlop et al.,
1990; Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1996; Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1998;!Vismara &
Lyons, 2007) approaches. Antecedent-based approaches made use of the interest itself
as the so-called reinforcer to encourage appropriate behaviour, for example, the
incorporation of trains into maths problems for a child with an RI in trains, or asking a
child to write about their RI in an assignment. On the other hand, consequence-based
approaches allowed access to the RI only after a target behaviour was demonstrated, for
example, allowing a child access to a book about their interest after they read an
assigned reading book (Boyd, McDonough, & Bodfish, 2012). The antecedent-based
approach made use of the child’s intrinsic motivation to engage and learn, unlike the
consequence-based approach, which drew on the child’s extrinsic motivation for
engagement with learning. Intrinsic motivation describes the compulsion to engage
with an activity based on its inherent qualities and satisfaction derived from within the
engagement itself; the individual knows they will experience pleasure from investing in
the project and is therefore motivated to engage. On the other hand extrinsic motivation
describes engagement in an activity for instrumental reasons, i.e., to achieve some
quality above and beyond the task itself. The most common extrinsic motivator is a
reward. In the case of extrinsic motivation, the person views the activity as separate
from the incentive to take part, and thus the activity itself may remain unpleasant (Otis,
Grouzet, & Pelletier, 2005).
Lanou et al. (2011) explained how a teacher in a mainstream class made use of
the antecedent-based approach, to improve the performance of an child with ASD. The
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
28
child struggled with writing tasks, found it difficult to communicate his difficulties and
often had meltdowns when feeling unsuccessful. A strategy was devised that aimed to
build on his interests and strengths. The child often doodled in his book during writing
lessons, drawing a little line, a large line, a horseradish (his RI), and a house. He
explained the pictures represented a scale from negative to positive. The teacher
adapted this scale into classroom practice to encourage the child during writing tasks,
and therefore to include the confidence he had with subjects around his RI. His output,
writing stamina and rate of performance improved as a result.
Charlop et al. (1990) presented data to show that the consequence-based
approach successfully increased three children’s ability to answer questions correctly
during their after-school programme. Tasks each child had been struggling with were
selected for use during the experimental sessions. Permission to engage with an RI was
employed as a reinforcing reward for task completion and compared with other non-RI
rewards, for example, food. The results demonstrated the children performed best when
access to their RI was the reinforcer. Further, the study reported that when those
children engaged in their RI, they did so in a controlled manner and did not resist when
the object was taken away, sometimes returning it before they were asked. Similarly,
Charlop-Christy and Haymes (1996) carried out a study at an after-school programme
for behaviour management. They found inclusion of the RIs of children with ASD
served as an effective reinforcer to decrease inappropriate behaviours and increase task
performance, and although the task performance of one of the four participants in the
study decreased, this failure was not linked to the use of the RI, but to external factors.
In sum, the evidence indicates incorporating RIs into academic tasks, whether as an
instrinsic motivator in an antecedent-based approached or as an extrinsic motivator in a
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
29
consequence-based approached, can increase task performance and improve behaviour
(Tables S1 & S2, available online, see below).
Discussion
The results presented here demonstrate beneficial gains in social engagement,
task performance and learning can be obtained with inclusion of RIs into classroom
practice. These can be based on either intrinsic (antecedent-based) or extrinsic
(consequence-based) approaches. However, despite the success of both approaches,
intrinsic reward-based approaches appear more favourable for use in the mainstream
classroom. RIs incorporated into tasks are more likely to encourage engagement
generated from a personal, intrinsic interest in learning or engaging with that object.
Flink et al. (1992) explain that typically developing children who are intrinsically
motivated are more likely to enjoy complex tasks and will aim to master them. In
contrast, extrinsic reward-based methods may generate only superficial learning and can
falter, as the sole reason for engagement may not be for the pleasure of the task itself,
but for its extrinsic, consequent reward. Further, achievements may suffer and not be
substantiated; children extrinsically motivated often avoid challenge even when a
reward is offered.
Incorporating RIs into the curriculum can be as simple as including them in
questions or allowing children to research non-preferred topics using preferred research
methods. For example, if a child enjoys using the internet to research their RI, they
could similarly use the internet to research the class topic (Winter-Messiers et al.,
2007). Bianco et al. (2009) recommend using RIs as a stimulus to create
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
30
interdisciplinary topics, which can in turn be used to teach many skills and widen the
interest area. Teachers should be aware of the desired learning outcome of tasks, and
judge whether or not a child with ASD is required to complete the same task as
everyone else to achieve the same learning outcome. For example, if the outcome is to
write in sentences, in practice it would be beneficial to allow the child with ASD to
write about their RI, rather than the topic set for the class. Such simple technique,
flexible curriculum and RI inclusion will likely enhance motivation and learning for a
child with ASD.
In some cases, it can be difficult to incorporate an RI into the task. Mancil and
Pearl (2008) suggest that motivation can be increased using a consequence-based
method by allowing access to the RI if the task is completed first. A First-Then Board
for example, allows the child to see what they need to do to gain access to their RI.
Although successful, it should be considered that this technique might prevent the child
from learning that reading can be pleasurable for its own sake, as above all they are
aiming for access to their RI.
Inclusion of RIs into classroom practice may not be possible for every child
(Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1996). For example, not all children with ASD have an
RI that can be used in the classroom (Charlop et al., 1990; Charlop-Christy & Haymes,
1996; Vismara & Lyons, 2007). Some may be difficult to access, for example, traffic
lights (Charlop et al., 1990; Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1996) and some are potentially
dangerous or illegal, for example, weapons (Attwood, 2007).
Practical Issues of Incorporating Restricted Interests into Mainstream Classrooms
The aim of this review was to investigate whether incorporating the RIs of
children with ASD into the mainstream curriculum can enhance their learning and
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
31
social skills. It should therefore be noted that although the results presented in the
literature demonstrate overwhelmingly favourable effects of inclusion of RIs in
educational settings, six of these papers presented results from special, not inclusive
settings. Six papers provided results about children who attend mainstream settings and
another two included a combination of both. The final six papers provided results from
other learning situations, such as an after-school behaviour management programme or
learning in the home.
Nevertheless, translation of techniques employed in specialist settings can be
made to fit mainstream classrooms. Boyd et al. (2007) report on improvements in
positive social interactions with peers and initiations made to peers regardless of setting.
Skills learned under specialist classroom technique can be maintained in mainstream
settings (Keeling et al., 2003). However, Davis et al. (2010) explain that despite an
improvement in conversational skills in their special education classroom, not all
children in their study were able to readily generalise this to their mainstream class.
Thus, based on the evidence presented, incorporation of RIs into mainstream practice
should be considered an attractive option to be explored, as it can potentially be very
beneficial for the child with ASD, their peers and teacher(s), but some attention to
logistics, technique and individual response should be maintained.
Further, parental perception of RIs was reported in four studies to be negative.
Parents typically viewed RIs as problematic and expressed negative emotions about
their children’s RI (Baker, 2000). Some parents were concerned their child’s RI would
prevent further education or a career, were socially unacceptable, and/or were not age
appropriate (Porter, 2012; Spencer, Simpson, Day & Buster, 2008; Winter-Messiers,
2007). Further, Porter (2012) found that RIs interfered with sibling and peer
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
32
relationships. Cultural expectations and possible challenge to norms or beliefs must be
taken into account when working with a child’s RI.
The Teachers’ Role in the Inclusion of Restricted Interests
Teacher attitudes toward RIs and their thoughts on inclusion of these into
classroom practice determine whether or not these will be employed within useful
teaching strategies. Presently, some teachers stop children from engaging with their RI
in the classroom (Spencer et al., 2008), in part to afford completion of prescribed
curricula (Winter-Messiers, 2007). Yet, discouraging children from engaging with their
interest can generate frustration and thwart learning (Kluth & Schwarz, 2008). The
evidence gathered for this study suggests inclusion of a child’s RI can be intrinsically
motivating and generate social engagement, with generalised positive, not detrimental
effects.
However, most mainstream teachers currently receive little or no compulsory
training on ASD and working with Children with ASD is not typically a core element in
initial teacher education (e.g., ENABLE Scotland, 2011). Mancil and Pearl (2008, p. 4)
explain how one teacher thought ignoring or redirecting the RI of children with ASD
was the best thing to do, until she “stumbled across” an online article suggesting
inclusion of RIs into classroom practice was preferable. We believe it is unacceptable
that due to lack of training teachers are left to find important information such as this by
chance. With the move towards inclusive education in many nations it is becoming
increasingly important that teachers are made aware of ASD and how best to work with
the RIs of children with ASD.
As little as three decades ago RIs were considered problem behaviours that
should be eliminated (Rudacille, 2011). Charlop-Christy and Haymes (1996, p. 544)
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
33
explain that some believe engaging in an RI may make children appear “bizarre.” In the
past people working with children with ASD relied on punitive procedures to reduce
inappropriate behaviours. These ranged from milder forms, for example, time-out, to
increasingly intrusive procedures, for example, restraining the child, slapping their
body, giving an electric shock, etc. (Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1996). The tight
association of restricted and repetitive behaviours with autism diagnosis led to a notion
that RIs must be removed to offer therapeutic assistance. However, autism is a
recognised syndrome, or collection of symptoms that consistently occur together, of
which RIs are one (Hobson, 2013). RIs are signs of the disorder, not the cause of the
disorder per se.
Autistic symptoms, especially RIs, may be compensations for underlying
disruption to basic integrative sensory and motor systems that produce difficulty in
regulation of emotion and attention to other persons (Delafield-Butt & Gangopadhyay,
2013; Trevarthen & Delafield-Butt, 2013). Social withdrawal and isolation inhibits and
obstructs learning; it is in our interest to encourage social engagement and shared
interest in the objects and projects of our world (Hobson, 2013; Mundy et al., 2009;
Reddy, 2002, 2010; Roger & Williams, 2006; Trevarthen, 2012). And whether autism
and a child’s particular RI are due to sensory and motor disturbance (Trevarthen &
Delafield-Butt, 2013), failure in theory of mind (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985, 2000), or
weak central coherence (Frith, 1989/2003), the expressions of the child remain the
child’s expressions, no matter how unusual and idiosyncratic.
In comparison to the other impairments of ASD, RIs have only recently started
to be systematically examined (Stratis & Lecavalier, 2013). Little is known about the
aetiology and development of these high-level repetitive behaviours (Turner, 1999), and
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
34
studies attempting to treat restricted interests are few and far between (Sarris, 2012).
However, daily life can be a struggle for many individuals with ASD due to the lack of
consideration of their interests by others (Mottron, 2011). Inclusion of RIs in social
engagements of all kinds appears to address the person-as-agent to facilitate social
engagement and shared understanding (De Jaegher, 2013; Trevarthen & Delafield-Butt,
2013).
Conclusion
In sum, the published evidence indicates substantial benefits in social
engagement, learning, and behaviour for children with ASD when their RI is included in
classroom practice. It is therefore suggested the RIs of children with ASD be
incorporated into the mainstream curriculum where reasonable to do so to encourage
enjoyment in learning and socialising. Intrinsic reward-based methods including
integrating the RI into teaching materials or tasks is deemed preferential to extrinsic,
consequence-based methods, though both can be successful. Importantly, caution must
be taken when including RIs into teaching practice as inclusion may not be successful
for all individuals, and parental or cultural perceptions may be challenged.
Nevertheless, the gains in learning and social engagement reported suggest sensitive
inclusion of RIs into classroom practice is preferable to exclusion.
Working with the RIs of children with ASD can allow access to that individual’s
sense of self with their particular interests, motivations, and intentions – bringing the
child’s RI into the classroom brings the child into the classroom. Learning is made in
shared engagement motivated from both sides to explore, navigate, and complete a
challenge, accommodating and assimilating new knowledge and ideas. Without
engaging with a child within their sphere of interest, teachers may fail to reach the
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
35
passion for learning that motivates a child with ASD to engage with new experiences.
Thus, including an individual’s RI in classroom practice in a sensitive and informed
manner can best support the child and whole classroom learning and in doing so also
satisfy international policy for best educational practice (United Nations, 2006; The
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004).
The papers reviewed here represent the sum of our scientific knowledge on RI
inclusion in education, but more work needs to be done. Future studies with larger
sample sizes testing specific techniques of RI inclusion will afford improved
understanding of how children with ASD are motivated by, and can learn through
exploration of their RI. Knowledge of the role of RIs in motivation, self-regulation of
interest and learning, and socio-emotional well-being will afford insight into the
aetiology of ASD as well as inform broad educational means for achieving an enjoyable
life of learning. A study carried out across various mainstream educational settings,
including extra-curricular and home environments, could further improve our
understanding and efficacy of this particular inclusive practice.
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
36
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Running head: TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS!
1
Table S1
Summary of Advantages and Disadvantages of RI Inclusion in Teaching, Collated from All Studies Available in Peer-reviewed Literature
Published Between 1990-2014
Author(s)
Year
n
Age
(years)
RIs Reported
Method
Advantages of including RI in
learning
Disadvantages of
including RI in
learning
Charlop, Kurtz, &
Casey
1990
3
6-9
• Humpty Dumpty doll, See-
N-Say toy, + plastic farm
animals
• Trees, leaves, + books
about pine trees and cactus
• Lawnmowers, chainsaws,
Honda cars, home
improvement stores and
discount stores
Experiment 3:
Perseveration with
specific objects employed
as reinforcer to increase
correct task response.
Highest percentage of correct
responses in sessions in which
perseverative behaviours were
used as reinforcers;
inappropriate behaviours of one
child did not increase.
Perseverative
behaviours of two
children initially
increased before
decreasing.
Charlop-Christy &
Haymes
1996
4
5-6
• Maps, globes + atlases
• Toothpaste caps + plastic
sticks
• Plastic toy helicopters + a
family photo album
• Balls and balloons
Assessment of obsessions
of children with autism
used as reinforcers to
decrease inappropriate
behaviours and increase
task performance.
Decreased inappropriate
behaviours of all children and
increased task performance of
three.
Decreased task
performance of one
child.
One child’s
inappropriate
behaviours increased
when in non-
experimental sessions.
Baker, Koegel, &
Koegel
1998 3 5-8 • U.S. states
• Disney characters
RIs of children with
autism incorporated into
playground games.
Higher levels of appropriate
social interaction and affect
improved, without increasing
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
2
• Movies
inappropriate behaviours.
Charlop-Christy, &
Haymes
1998
3
7-9
• Trucks, trains, +
micromachine cards
• Certain letters of the
alphabet, videos, +
characters from the videos
• Plastic beads
RIs of children with
autism used as tokens.
Motivation enhanced, academic
task performance increased, and
decrease in inappropriate
behaviours.
Baker
2000
3
5-6
• Number lines
• Cars + vacuums
• Movie clips
RIs of children with
autism incorporated into
games played with
siblings.
Positive social interaction
increased and generalised to other
games and settings, joint attention
increased, affect improved
(interest and happiness) and
obsessive behaviours decreased or
eliminated.
Keeling, Myles,
Gagnon, & Simpson
2003
1
10
• Power Puff Girls cartoon
characters
Power Card Strategy
inclusion of RIs employed
to teach child with autism
sportsmanship skills.
Effective in teaching
sportsmanship skills
(generalised across settings) and
decreasing
inappropriate/disruptive
behaviour.
Boyd, Conroy,
Mancil, Nakao, &
Alter
2007
3
5
• Thomas the Train™
• Toy construction truck
Compared effect of less
preferred to RI stimuli on
social behaviours of
children with autism by
incorporating them into
play situations with
typically developing
children.
Increased time spent engaged in
social interaction when RI was
the stimulus and decreased
latency time to first peer
initiation.
Vismara & Lyons
2007
3
3-4
• Letters and numbers
Motivational techniques
of Pivotal Response
Increase in initiation of joint
attention, improvement in
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Treatment combined with
stimuli relating to the RI
of autistic children and
tested for increase in
initiation of joint attention
with caregiver.
quality of interaction between
child and caregiver, no increase
in negative behaviours.
Winter-Messiers
2007
23
7-21
• Transportation (airplanes,
cars, trains + trucks)
• Music (composing,
drumming, rap music +
saxophone)
• Animals (frogs, goats +
horses)
• Sports (swimming)
• Video games (role-playing
games)
• Motion pictures (Disney
movies, Star Wars, +
vampire movies)
• Woodworking
• Art (Anime, cartooning,
manga + sculpting)
Interviews conducted with
individuals with autism
about their RI; eighteen
surveys of parents’ views.
Reported improved social,
emotional, communication,
sensory and fine motor skills
when engaged with RIs.
Mancil & Pearl
2008
3
5-18
• Thomas the Train™
• Hurricanes
• Electronic gadgets
RI of elementary, middle
and high school children
incorporated into
curriculum.
Improvements obtained in
academic task performance and
motivation.
Difficulty
embedding RI into
some tasks; one
teacher thought it
best to ignore or
discourage RI
engagement.
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4
Spencer,
Simpson, Day, &
Buster
2008
1
5
• Lightening McQueen (a
character from the
Disney movie CARS)
Power Card Strategy
inclusion of RIs
employed with child with
autism to help increase
playground engagement
and social interactions.
Increased play time in the
playgrounds, improved social
interaction and communication,
easy to implement.
Davis, Boon,
Cihak, & Fore
2010
3
14-18
• The Atlanta Braves
baseball team
• Yu-Gi-Oh
• College basketball
Power Card Strategy
inclusion of RIs tested
for social initiation and
conversational skills.
Increase in engagement in
conversations about interests of
typically developing peers.
Koegel, Singh, &
Koegel
2010
4
4-7
• Maps
RIs of children with
autism and specific
motivational variables
incorporated into
academic tasks.
Improved performance rate,
reduction in putting-off task
engagement, maintained task
interest, and decreased
disruptive behaviour.
Campbell &
Tincani
2011
3
6
• Carla (a character from
the Starfall educational
website)
• Trains
• Carl and Russell
(characters from the
Disney movie Up)
Power Card Strategy
inclusion of RIs
evaluated on ability of
children with autism to
follow directions and
evaluate satisfaction of
classroom staff members.
Increased direction following of
all children.
Dunst, Trivette,
& Masiello
2011
17
2-6
• N/A
Explored influence of
participation in interest-
based learning activities
on the development of
pre-schoolers with
autism.
Teachers satisfied with the
intervention and reported
improvements in social skills of
children with autism, easy to
implement.
Lanou, Hough,
2011
4
School
• Horseradish
RIs of children with
The more interest-based the
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
5
& Powell
age
• Maths
• The Titanic
autism in upper
elementary classes used
to help them meet
challenges in school.
learning opportunities, the
greater the progress made over
a short period of time in
language, cognitive and social
domains.
Koegal, Fredeen,
Kim, Danial,
Rubinstein, &
Koegal
2012
3
11-14
• Movies
• Comic books and
cartooning
• Card games
Lunch club interest-based
intervention established
for children with autism.
Decreased negative behaviour,
increased pro-social behaviour,
increased ability to
communicate, and improved
compliance.
Koegal, Vernon,
Koegal, Koegal,
& Paullin
2012
3
9-12
• Animated television
characters + board games
• Cooking, arts, + crafts
• Video games + video
game strategy guides
Lunch club interest-based
intervention assessed for
improvement in social
skills of children with
autism.
Marked increases in social
engagement and social initiation
with typically developing peers.
Porter
2012
1
5-8
(study
lasted 3
years)
• Trains
Parent used RIs of one
pre-school child with
autism to increase their
engagement in pretend
play.
Increased engagement with
peers and unprompted initiation
of verbal engagements.
Kryzak, Bauer,
Jones & Sturmey
2013
3
3-14
• Reading and books
• BMW catalogue and toy
cars
• Trains
RIs used in an attempt to
increase responding to
others’ joint attention
directives.
Responding to the joint
attention directives of others’
increased for all children.
Small increase in RI
intensity for one
participant.
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
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Table S2
Detailed Summary of RI Intervention Type, Outcome Measurements, and Significance, Collated from All Studies Available in Peer-
reviewed Literature Published Between 1990-2014
Author(
s) and
Year
Age
Gender
ASD Severity
/ Adaptive
Functioning /
IQ
Intervention Type
Outcome Measure
Quantity / Significance of Gain of Outcome Measures
Negative Outcomes Indicated with an Asterisk (*)
Charlop,
Kurtz, &
Casey
(1990)
6-9
3 males
Mental age
(3.1-4.5yrs)
Verbal
RI as reinforcer in
task learning
Cognitive task
performance (%
correct)
Aberrant behaviours
(mean % intervals of
occurrence)
Baseline scores: 50-60%
Intervention scores: 80-95%
Stereotypy
Baseline scores: 5-70%
Intervention scores: 3-30%
Off-task behaviour
Baseline scores: 1-40%
Intervention scores: 1-5%
Perseverative behaviours
Baseline scores: 0.25-10%
Intervention scores: 1-2.5%
*Perseverative behaviours of child 2 and 3 increased
minimally (by approx. 0.75%)
Charlop-
Christy
&
Haymes
5-6
3 males
1 female
Mental age (2
untestable + 1
child 129
based on
RI as reinforcer in
task learning
Cognitive task
performance (%
correct)
Baseline scores: 60-75%
Intervention scores: 60-90%
*One child’s task performance decreased from 66% to 60%
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(1996)
Leiter
International
Performance
Scale)
1 x non-verbal
3 x verbal
Intervals of
inappropriate
behaviours (%)
Baseline results: 27-50%
Intervention results: 6-30%
*Inappropriate behaviours of one child increased during
non-experimental sessions (after taking part in RI as
reinforcer sessions)
Baker,
Koegel,
&
Koegel
(1998)
5-8
1 male
2
females
2 x Vineland
Adaptive
Behaviour
Scales
adaptive
behaviour
score of 65
1 x IQ 107
3 x verbal
RI incorporated into
playground games to
encourage social
interaction
Social interactions (%)
(mean)
Mean rating of affect
(higher scores indicate
positive interest and
happiness)
Baseline scores: 2-19%
Intervention scores: 66-100%
Maintenance scores: 70-88% when playing obsession
theme games and 56-97% when playing non-obsession
theme games
1 and 2 month follow-up scores: 69-84% when playing
obsession theme games, 71-86% when playing non-
obsession theme games
Baseline results: 1.7-2.9
Intervention results: 3.5-4.8
Maintenance results: 4.4-4.65
Follow-up results: 3.6-4.7
(A rating of 3.3 to 5 indicates a very positive score, 1.71 to
3.29 indicates neutral affect and 0 to 1.7 shows a negative
score)
Charlop-
Christy
&
Haymes
(1998)
7-9
2 males
1 female
Mental age 4y
11m, (non-
verbal)
High-
functioning
(verbal)
RI as reinforcer in
task learning
Cognitive task
performance (%
correct)
Intervals of
inappropriate
Baseline scores: 45-60%
Intervention scores: 70-90%
Baseline results: 3-9%
Intervention results: 0-3%
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
8
IQ – 67
(limited verbal
skills)
behaviours (%)
Baker
(2000)
5-8
2 males
1 female
Moderate
autism
RI incorporated into
games played with
siblings to encourage
social interactions
Intervals engaged in
social play (%; mean)
Occurrence of joint
attention behaviours
(%; mean)
Child affect (interest
and happiness; mean)
Thematic ritualistic
behaviours (% of
intervals engaged in;
mean)
Baseline scores: 16-22%
Intervention scores: 87-98%
Maintenance scores: 84-93.5%
1 and 3 month follow-up scores: 88-96%
Baseline scores: 15-21%
Intervention scores: 82-97%
Maintenance scores: 84-93.5%
1 and 3 month follow-up scores: 87-97.5%
Baseline scores: 2-2.46
Intervention scores: 3.55-4.25
Maintenance scores: 3.9-4.2
1 and 3 month follow-up scores: 4-5
(A rating of 3.3 to 5 indicates a very positive score, 1.71 to
3.29 indicates neutral affect and 0 to 1.7 shows a negative
score)
Baseline scores (non-RI play materials): 9-26%
Baseline scores (RI play materials): 25-78%
Intervention scores: 2.3-7%
Maintenance scores: 0-11%
1 and 3 month follow-up scores: 0 for 2 children and one
child engaged in their behaviour once during follow-up
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
9
Keeling,
Myles,
Gagnon,
&
Simpson
(2003)
10
1 female
Scored 100 on
a norm-
referenced
intelligence
examination,
decoding at 4th
grade level,
reading
comprehensio
n skills at 2nd
grade level,
social skill
deficits
(autism
severity not
specified)
RI incorporated into
Power Card Strategy
to teach
sportsmanship skills
Whining expressions
(mean duration in
seconds)
Screaming expressions
(mean duration in
seconds)
Gross motor game
Baseline result: 18.2s
Intervention result: 4.13s
Board game
Baseline result: 6s
Intervention result: 0s
Card game
Baseline result: 13.47s
Intervention result: 0s
Gross motor game
Baseline result: 0s
Intervention result: 0s
Board game
Baseline result: 9.5s
Intervention result: 0s
Card game
Baseline result 0s
Intervention result: 0s
Boyd,
Conroy,
Mancil,
Nakao,
& Alter
(2007)
5
3 males
2 x
mild/moderate
autism -
limited verbal
skills
1 x high-
functioning –
RI incorporated into
play situations with
typical peers to
encourage social
interaction
Peer-related social
interactions (mean %
time engaged)
Time to child-initiated
engagement (mean in
seconds)
With non-RI item: 0-12%
With RI item: 28-48%
With non-RI item: 14-99s (and no initiation from one
participant)
With RI item: 3-41s
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
10
verbal
Vismara
& Lyons
(2007)
3-4
3 males
Nonverbal
(severity not
specified)
Motivational
techniques of Pivotal
Response Treatment
combined with
stimuli relating to RI
and tested for
increase in initiation
of joint attention
with caregiver
Joint attention (JA)
initiations (per session;
approx. mean)
Children 1 and 2
Baseline results: 0
With RI stimuli: 6-12
With non-RI stimuli: 1-2
Alternating treatment condition first half (RI and non-RI
stimuli used):
RI stimuli: 5-11, Non-RI stimuli: 1-3
Second half: RI stimuli: 5-11, Non-RI stimuli: 5-7
No significant differences in the number of JA initiations
for RI stimuli in first half of the alternating treatment
condition compared to second half. This means the
children engaged in just as many JA initiations at start of
alternating treatment condition as they did at the end:
Child 1- F (1,7) = 0.001, p > .90, Child 2: F (1,7) = 0.005,
p > .90
Significant differences were observed in number of JA
initiations for non-RI stimuli in second half of alternating
treatment condition compared to first. This suggests some
generalisation may have occurred, as children were more
able to initiate for item not related to RI- Child 1: F (1,7) =
13.76, p < .01, Child 2: F (1,7) = 5.28, p < .05
Child 3
Baseline result: 0
With non-RI stimuli: 0
With RI stimuli: 2
With non-RI stimuli: 0
Alternating treatment condition first half: RI stimuli: 1,
Non-RI stimuli: 5
Second half: RI stimuli: 4, Non-RI stimuli: 6
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
11
Measures of Child
Affect (approx. mean)
0-1= negative affect
2-3= neutral affect
4-5= positive affect
Significant differences were not observed in the number of
JA initiations for RI or non-RI stimuli in first half of
alternating treatment condition compared with second: RI
stimuli: F (1,7) = 2.01, p > .20, Non RI stimuli: F (1,7)
= .31, p > .60
Child 1 and 2
Baseline results: 2-3
With RI stimuli: 4
With non-RI stimuli: 3
Alternating treatment condition first half: RI stimuli: 4,
Non-RI stimuli: 3
Second half: RI stimuli: 4, Non-RI stimuli: 3-4
Child 3
Baseline result: 3
With non-RI stimuli: 3
With RI stimuli: 4
With non-RI stimuli: 1
Alternating treatment condition first and second half: RI
and non-RI both 4
All children showed a trend toward positive affect, but
these were not significant.
Winter-
Messiers
(2007)
7-21
21 males
3
females
High-
functioning
(Asperger
syndrome)*
*After the
interviews one
student
deemed not
Interviews conducted
with individuals with
autism about their RI
and 18 surveys of
parents’ views
obtained
Qualitative data (see
Table 1 and Results)
Reported change when engaged with their RI:
- improved social self-confidence and control
- improved emotional control (focused on interest as
way of coping with negative emotions)
- improved positive emotions
- enhanced communication with animation, emotion,
intelligibility, vocabulary and enthusiasm
- improved sensory experience (decrease in sensory
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
12
eligible to
participate in
study as did
not have AS
diagnosis
challenges)
- improved motor skills (enhanced fine motor skills,
patience and perseverance)
Mancil
& Pearl
(2008)
5-18
2 males
1 female
Not specified
RI incorporated into
curriculum to
encourage improved
task performance
Task performance
(mainly qualitative data
included in results
section)
Child 1 – Baseline: 1st grade reading level (for first half of
school year)
Intervention: 2.5 grade reading level (end of school year),
also improved math and science performance (see Results)
Child 2 – Improved performance in math, science, English
and history (see Results)
Child 3 – Improved performance in math, science, English
and history (see Results)*
*English teacher found it difficult to incorporate this
child’s RI (electronic gadgets) into lessons
Spencer,
Simpson
, Day, &
Buster
(2008)
5
1 male
In a Severe
Communicatio
n Disorder
classroom
RI incorporated into
Power Card Strategy
to increase playground
engagement and social
interactions
Time spent on
playground with ca. 110
2nd grade students and
his 5 SCD peers
students (minutes)
Baseline result: 0-1 min
Intervention result: 5-10 min
Post-intervention result: 9-10 min
Davis,
Boon,
Cihak, &
Fore
(2010)
14-18
3 males
High-
functioning
(Asperger
syndrome)
RI incorporated into
Power Card Strategy
to improve social
initiation and
conversational skills
Time engaged in
others-focused
conversation (mean %)
Baseline score: 6.5-24%
Intervention score: 29.4-64%
Koegel,
Singh, &
Koegel
(2010)
4-7
3 males
1 female
Not specified
RI and specific
motivational variables
incorporated into
academic tasks
Latency – writing task
(time taken to begin the
task)
Baseline result: 240-480s
Intervention result: 0-60s
d= 1.08-2.89 (large effect size)
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
13
Latency – math task
(time taken to begin the
task)
Rate of writing task
completion (letters per
minute)
Rate of math task
completion (problems
per minute)
Disruptive behaviour
(number of intervals per
session)
Interest (level of
interest; mean)
Baseline result: 20-151.2s
Intervention result: 1-6 s
d = 0.75-1.58 (medium-large effect size)
Baseline score: 0-10.5lpm
Intervention score: 14.38-23lpm
d= 2.39-15.66 (large effect size)
Baseline score: 0-1ppm
Intervention score: 2-9ppm
d = 3.81-9.72 (large effect size)
Baseline result: 25-100%
Intervention result: 0-50%
Post-intervention result: 0%
Baseline result: 0-1.5
Intervention result: 3.5-5
Post-intervention result: 4-5
(0-1 low interest; 2-3 neutral interest; 4-5 high interest)
Campbel
l &
Tincani
(2011)
6
2 males
1 female
1 x high
probability of
autism
1 x mild
autism
1 x mild-
moderate
autism
RI incorporated into
Power Card Strategy
in an attempt to
improve ability to
follow directions
Appropriate direction
following (mean % of
time)
Baseline result: 35-58%
Intervention result: 80-99%
Follow-up result: 86-100%
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
14
Dunst,
Trivette,
&
Masiello
(2011)
2-6
13 males
4
females
Mean
developmental
age of 44
months
(severity not
specified)
Explored influence of
participation in
interest-based learning
activities on child
development
Developmental quotient
Developmental quotient at baseline: approx. 70
Developmental quotient after intervention when child was
in low interest group (meaning they had less opportunities
to use their interests): approx. 71
Developmental quotient after intervention when child was
in high interest group (meaning they had more
opportunities to use their interests): approx. 95
Cohen’s guidelines used to determine effect sizes,
d= .20-.45 (small)
d= .45-.75 (medium)
d= >0.75 (large).
Linear trend
Multivariate result: d= 1.20
Language result: d= 1.36
Cognitive result: d= 1.31
Social result: d= 1.27
Motor result: d= 0.67
There were statistically significant linear changes in the
children’s developmental quotients in all linear trend
analyses (except motor development).
Low vs. high interest group
Multivariate result: d= 0.12
Language result: d= 0.33
Cognitive result: d= 0.30
Social result: d= 0.28
Motor result: d= 0.18
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
15
Linear increases in the children’s developmental quotients
were larger in the high interest group than the low interest
group.
Linear trend x interest group interaction
Multivariate result: d= 1.25
Language result: d= 0.57
Cognitive result: d= 0.55
Social result: d= 0.47
Motor result: d= 0.30
The sizes of effect for the interactions were medium-large
except motor development, which had a small effect size.
Lanou,
Hough,
&
Powell
(2011)
School
age
4 males
Not specified
RI of children with
autism incorporated
into curriculum to
help them meet
challenges in school
Descriptive account of
RI inclusion and
children’s response on:
Task performance –
Child 1
Meltdown intensity –
Child 2
Personal space – Child
3
Child 1 – Improved writing productivity and stamina and
began completing tasks along with peers (see Results)
Child 2 – Decrease in intensity of meltdowns and improved
recovery time (see Results)
Child 3 – Decrease in complaints from peers about child
invading personal space (see Results)
Child 4 – Behaviour improved, more willing to participate
in lessons and increased amount and quality of independent
work
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
16
Negative behaviours –
Child 4
Koegal,
Fredeen,
Kim,
Danial,
Rubinste
in, &
Koegal
(2012)
11-14
3 males
Not specified
RI incorporated into
lunch clubs in an
attempt to improve
engagement with and
initiations to typically
developing peers
Intervals engaged with
typically developing
peers (%)
Frequency of initiations
toward typically
developing peers (per
session)
Baseline result: 0-3%
Intervention result: 85-100%
Baseline result: 0 initiations
Intervention result: 2.6-16 initiations
Koegal,
Vernon,
Koegal,
Koegal,
&
Paullin
(2012)
9-12
2 males
1 female
All had IQs
above 90
(severity not
specified)
Interests of children
with ASD
incorporated into
lunch clubs in an
attempt to improve
engagement with and
initiations to peers
Engagement with peers
(mean %)
Unprompted verbal
initiations (per session)
Baseline result: 0%
Intervention result: 60-100%
2nd intervention period result (child 1 + 2 only): 100%
Baseline result: 0
Intervention result: 1-21
Porter
(2012)
5-8
(study
lasted
3
years)
1 male
Verbal
(severity not
specified)
Parent used RI of
child with autism to
increase his
engagement in pretend
play
Engagement in pretend
play (qualitative data)
Increased engagement with peers and unprompted
initiation of verbal engagements (see Results)
Kryzak,
Bauer,
Jones &
Sturmey
(2013)
3-14
3 males
Not specified
RI used in an attempt
to increase responding
to others’ joint
attention directives
Joint Attention
performance (%)
Ratings of RI Intensity
Amount of time
engaged in RI
Baseline score: 0-30%
Achieved mastery (80%) at 19, 23 and 29 intervention
sessions
(High values indicate high RI intensity, scale 1-5)
Before intervention: 3-4
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
17
Difficulty interrupting
or redirecting
Interference with
socialising
Preference for RI
compared with other
activities
Ratings of Social
Interaction
Child’s interest in
engaging with
interventionist
Child’s engagement
with interventionist
How communicative
child appeared
How happy child
appeared during
interaction
After intervention: 2-4
Before intervention: 3-5
After intervention: 1-4*
*Child 3 increased by one point on the scale
Before intervention: 3-4
After intervention: 2-4*
*Child 3 increased by one point on the scale
Before intervention: 4-5
After intervention: 3-5
(High values indicate better social interaction, scale 1-7)
Before intervention: 1-3
After intervention: 4-7
Before intervention: 2-5
After intervention: 5-7
Before intervention: 1-4
After intervention: 4-7
Before intervention: 3-5
After intervention: 7
Before intervention: 1-4
After intervention: 4-7
TEACHING CHILDREN WITH RESTRICTED INTERESTS
18
!
How interaction
compared to that of
other peers
