The complete question
Let’s say you have a child who is passionate about or really strong in one particular area, how do you build on that area of strength, value it, and capitalize on it inside the classroom?
Expert answer
Our students on the spectrum have specific interests and strength areas. So I have a friend who is really interested in weather, and if his teacher had used concepts around weather to teach him about math or reading that would have been a strong major motivator for him.
So you want to know what these children are really interested in and then teach to that to motivate them to learn — make it meaningful for them.
Let me give you another example. I went to see a young man whose area of interest was state capitals. And the teacher wanted to make sure that he was included and felt included in the classroom. So she made the decision to have units on states. And the first question that she would ask would be about the state capital.
And this young man knew the state capital of every state and she would announce that “tomorrow we’re going study Delaware,” and then they all knew that the first question was going to be about the state capital. So they would talk to this to young man with autism and find out the answer, and it kind of made him a rock star of that classroom, and helped him feel successful.