“You have to unlearn your way of communicating and speak on their patterns”: Special school practitioner perceptions of autistic interests and addressing the ‘double empathy problem’

Autistic people frequently have strong, compelling interests, a characteristic reflected in diagnostic criteria and framed differently across the literature in terms of its positive or negative impact. From a neurodiversity-affirming perspective, there is a need to better understand, nurture and support all forms of autistic interests in education and beyond. Within this perspective, understanding and accommodating differences in autistic communication is also imperative, as highlighted by the ‘double empathy problem’ theory. This interpretivist study involved semi-structured interviews with 12 special school practitioners, totalling 83 years of experience, to explore their perceptions of strong interests and approaches to supporting cross-neurotype communication. Reflexive thematic analysis identified a range of perceived benefits (e.g., enhanced well-being and social connection), alongside constraints (e.g., limiting progression in other areas) of strong interests. Notably, sensory-related interests, which are underexplored and sometimes positioned as developmental barriers, were linked with meaningful benefits. Findings also highlight the mediating role of practitioner understanding, responsiveness and approaches in shaping the beneficial or constraining aspects of strong interests and communication. The study emphasises the importance of adopting a neurodiversity-affirming stance towards autistic cognition and communication, outlining practical strategies and future research directions.