Narrow interests can be used as motivators to encourage children to participate in certain non preferred activities.
In academic settings, a child’s preferred interests can be embedded into academic activities. For example, books about a highly preferred topic can encourage a child with Autism to read more, or be more attentive when completing a reading comprehension task.
You can help a child with ASD expand their interests by using a visual schedule and agreeing to talk about or engage in their preferred interest after you finish talking about a current topic.