Motivating
Students
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One
frequent characteristic of individuals on the autism/Asperger's spectrum is an
obsessive interest in one or a few particular subjects, to the exclusion of
others. These individuals may be near-genius on a topic of interest, even at a
very early age. Parents have described to me their ten-year-old child whose
knowledge of electricity rivals that of a college senior, or a near-teen whose
knowledge of insects far surpasses that of his biology teacher. However, as
motivated as they are to study what they enjoy, these students are often
equally unmotivated when it comes to schoolwork outside their area of interest.
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It
was like this with me when I was in high school. I was totally unmotivated
about schoolwork in general. But I was highly motivated to work on the things
that interested me, such as showing horses, painting signs, and doing carpentry
projects. Luckily, my mother and some of my teachers used my special interests
to keep me motivated. Mr. Carlock, my science teacher, took my obsessive
interests in cattle chutes and the squeeze machine to motivate me to study
science. The squeeze machine relaxed me. Mr. Carlock told me that if I really
wanted to know why the machine had this effect, I would have to study the
boring school subjects so that I could graduate and then go to college to
become a scientist who could answer this question. Once I really grasped the idea
that to get from here to there-from middle school to graduation to college and
then to a job of interest to me - I realized I needed to apply myself to all my
school subjects, boring or not. This understanding fueled my motivation to
complete the work.
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While
students are in elementary school, teachers can easily keep them involved by
using a special interest to motivate their learning. An example would be taking
a student's interest in trains and using a train theme in many different
subjects. In history class, read about the history of the railroad; in math
class, involve trains in problem solving; in science class, discuss different
forms of energy that trains utilized then and now, etc.
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As
students move into middle and high school, they can get turned on by visiting
interesting work places, such as a construction site, an architecture firm, or
a research lab. This makes the idea of a career real to the student and they
begin to understand the education path they must take early on in school to
achieve that career. If visiting a work site is not possible, invite parents
who have interesting jobs into the school classroom to talk with students about
their jobs. Lots of pictures to show what the work IS like are strongly
recommended. This is also an opportunity for students to hear about the social
side of employment, which can provide motivation for making new friends,
joining groups or venturing out into social situations that might be
uncomfortable at first.
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Students
on the spectrum need to be exposed to new things in order to become interested
in them. They need to see concrete examples of really cool things to keep them
motivated to learn. I became fascinated by optical illusions after seeing a
single movie in science class that demonstrated optical illusions. My science
teacher challenged me to recreate two famous optical illusions, called the Ames
Distorted Room and the Ames Trapezoidal Window. I spent six months making them
out of cardboard and plywood and I finally figured them out. This motivated me
to study experimental psychology in college.
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Bring
Trade Magazines to the Library
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Scientific
journals, trade magazines, and business newspapers can show students a wide
range of careers and help turn students on to the opportunities available after
they graduate. Every profession, from the most complex to the practical, has
its trade journal. Trade magazines are published in fields as diverse as
banking, baking, car wash operation, construction, building maintenance,
electronics, and many others. Parents who already work in these fields could
bring their old trade journals to the school library. These magazines would
provide a window into the world of jobs and help motivate students.
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Temple
Grandin "The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism &
Asperger's" (2011)
