London
Vereinigtes Königreich
This workshop explores how autistic people engage with and express focused interests across diverse communicative settings. Previously framed narrowly as “special interests,” these intense areas of engagement are central to autistic sense-making, self-expression, and social interaction. Bringing together discourse, narrative, and interactional approaches, the sessions will examine how focused interests shape the stories autistic individuals tell, the way knowledge is shared, and connections are formed, both online and offline. We will consider how these interests are linguistically constructed, socially received, and differently valued, and ask what it would mean to centre focused interests as a strength rather than a symptom.
Questions
• How do autistic individuals use focused interests to structure personal narratives, create meaning, and engage in play?
• What linguistic or narrative patterns emerge when people communicate through their interests?
• How are focused interests received in different social or institutional (education, workplace, healthcare) contexts — and how do those responses shape autistic self-presentation or narrative choices?
• What role do digital platforms play in enabling the sharing, performance, and development of focused interests?
• How can greater attention to focused interests help reshape dominant narratives about autistic communication and competence?
We invite contributions from linguistics, medical humanities, psychology, education, and disability studies to discuss how language, identity, and neurodiversity intersect in and through focused interests.
Keynote speakers:
Pete Wharmby, neurodiversity speaker and writer, author of What I Want to Talk About
Dr Rebecca Wood, Senior Lecturer in Inclusive Education, School of Education, University of Glasgow will give a keynote ‘Monotropism and autistic communication in schools’