Interests of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Budući da interesi velikim dijelom određuju ljudsko djelovanje, oni već više od stoljeća privlače pozornost istraživača. Interesi u osoba s poremećajem iz spektra autizma (PSA-om) osobito su zanimljivi jer se svojim intenzitetom i fokusom razlikuju od interesa neurotipičnih osoba. Takvi posebni interesi jedan su od važnih kriterija za postavljanje dijagnoze PSA-a. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati sadržaj i intenzitet interesa djece predškolske dobi s PSA-om te dobivene rezultate usporediti s podacima iz trenutno dostupne znanstvene literature. U istraživanju je korišten Upitnik o interesima djece predškolske dobi koji su ispunjavali roditelji 56-ero djece predškolske dobi s PSA-om. Rezultati su otkrili kako djeca pokazuju podjednako visok interes za žive i nežive aspekte okoline, iako se prijevozna sredstva i vozila na raznim česticama upitnika ističu kao područje posebnog interesa. Pronađen je i visok interes djece za elektroniku, unatoč neočekivano maloj količini vremena provedenom u upotrebi elektroničkih uređaja. Podaci dobiveni ovim istraživanjem ukazuju na djelomično slaganje s podacima iz postojeće znanstvene literature, no istovremeno govore u prilog tezi da posebni interesi čine klinički značajno obilježje PSA-a koje valja uzeti u obzir pri oblikovanju intervencije.Since they greatly determine human behavior, interests have been attracting the attention of researchers for more than a century. Interests of persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are particularly compelling because they differ in their intensity and focus from interests of neurotypical persons. These special interests are one of the important criteria for establishing a diagnosis of ASD. The aim of this research was to assess content and intensity of interests of preschool children with ASD and to compare the obtained results with current scientific data. Preschool Children’s Interests Questionnaire used in the research was completed by the parents of 56 preschool children with ASD. The results revealed the children show equally high interest for animate and inanimate aspects of environment, although means of transportation and vehicles stand out as an area of special interest on various items of the questionnaire. A high interest of children for electronics was also reported, despite the unexpectedly small amount of time children spent using electronic devices. Data obtained in this research point to partial agreement with current scientific data, but nevertheless support the notion special interests are a clinically significant feature of ASD that should be taken into consideration when developing intervention