Entry 4: Finding Motivation

Entry 4: Finding Motivation

Me 'n the baby bump catching some sun rays while working.
The sun motivated me to step outside the confines of my apartment. 

As I was studying the commentary on motivation in work placements in the article entitled "A Conflict of Interests: A Motivational Perspective on Special Interests and Employment Success of Adults with ASD," I came to realize that, as pedagogues and educators, we are sometimes limited in our thinking. We get so focused on one approach that seems to work best, that we can sometimes forget to consider other approaches.

In my experience, matching the special interests of students with ASD with the skills developed in class has been a practice in most special needs teachers' classrooms.  Although it isn't without its faults and doesn't mean that the student will want to carry out the tasks at hand, I've seen the approach yield positive results in terms of increased participation. At times, matching the students' interest simply required integrating a particular character from a movie into the activity, other times, it required modifying the data entry activity to include sports statistics instead of the original content. Either way, the students were suddenly much more interested in completing the task.

When it comes to finding work experiences for the students, we often try to match their interests to the tasks required of them at the employment site. Reading this article provided a bit of a different perspective. Goldfarb et al. (2019) highlight the lack of empirical evidence that exists in the practice of aligning special interests with vocational careers. They point out that consistent, predictable, and rule-based jobs "that also matches the special interest may be ideal, but in maybe cases, is not feasible, due to labor market demands, and the adult's cognitive characteristics and emotional aspects" (p. 3917). This statement, which seems fairly self-evident reinforces some of the approaches I have taken in my class. I don't believe that every assignment and task should be targetted at the students' special interest. I believe that the students need to be able to carry out tasks even if they are not particularly interested in the topic. The challenge is to point out what aspects of a task can be satisfying despite perhaps not being interested in the content.

Furthermore, the suggestion that the special interest may lose its positive calming effects on the person with ASD puts into further question whether it is the best approach to workplace integration. AS they suggest, "despite the benefits of intrinsic motivation they carry, special interest may not be the only and not even the main consideration when pursing paid employment" (Goldfarbe et al., 2019, p. 3918).  Most interestingly, they also suggest that motivation is a basic concept that requires further attention. [Note: I am finding it motivating to find these articles that clearly state that there are shortcomings in the research regarding the topic I am digging into.]

That being said, when a person with ASD is completely uninterested in a task or topic, it is very difficult to motivate them to participate. This sentiment is echoed in the article, highlighting that "other motivational anchors might need to be substantiated in order to achieve the goal of stable employment" (p. 3918). Ultimately, I would argue that much like in the classroom, relying on the motivation coming from the special interest simply isn't enough.

Self Determination Theory of Motivation (SDT) expands the dichotomy between intrinsic and extrinsic  motivation, using self-determined behaviour, "acting with a sense of desire and having an experience of choice," to distinguish between different types of extrinsic motivation (p.3918). This model suggests a continuum based on the level of control and decision making a person has, as well as internalization. SDT assumes that "goal-directed self-determined behavior can be achieved only when three psychological needs are satisfied: competence, relatedness and autonomy"

The feeling of autonomy provides a sense of authenticity, choice, volition and self-regulation; Social relatedness is the feeling of being connected to others in a meaningful way. Workers often describe their satisfaction in seeing friends and co-workers as being a source of joy in an otherwise meaningless task; Finally, the need for competence is related to a person’s basic strive to experience success and a feeling of mastery. Accordingly, SDT suggests that frustration of these three basic needs can lead to a decrease in motivation. (p.3918-3919)

This remind us that choice and autonomy are extremely important, as much in the educational and vocational sector for people with ASD. I would like to infer that these observations are also applicable to adults with IDD who are not diagnosed with ASD.

Although this article was focused on the employment of adults with ASD, its focus on motivation makes it extremely relevant to social integration teachers. This type of information needs to be shared with potential employers or workplace supervisors. There is a willingness to hire special needs adults, but the accompanying education of all players is another factor I believe we need to consider in order to make this experience successful. 

Thanks for tuning in!

(I think I caught a sunburn! I know it's not ideal, but during these times, I'm finding some solace in its normalcy.) 

Kim

References

Goldfarb, Y., Gal, E., & Golan, O. (2019). A conflict of interests: A motivational perspective on special interests and employment success of adults with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49 (2019), 3915 - 3923. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04098-7