Interested in connecting more with clients through special interests? Looking for ideas to include strengths of your neurodivergent client into treatment sessions? Check this out!
Lydia Davey released an article in 2020 about using special interests maps to assist teachers and educational team members with incorporating special interests in learning targets.
Essentially, you compile a list of the client’s special interests, as well as their strengths using a questionnaire or interview from caregivers, clients, and/or team members. Each special interest goes into a bubble, and you branch into activities and learning concepts that you can utilize within that interest!
What’s intriguing about the map is that you can see how many ways a child could learn new topics from one interest and helps to put the team on the same page! Teachers reported that they felt like they could connect to the student easier, and that they had options in either incorporating a special interest or noted strength in the curriculum assignments and teaching.
Teachers have gone through so much these past few years (and before that) so I love that ease of use was important in this study!
Browse this article to see my example that I tried in the outpatient setting, (that gave me so many ideas),
Have you tried this or done something similar? Let me know!
