Eliciting rich dialogue through the use of activity-oriented interviews: Exploring self-identity in autistic young people

The ability of children and young people to form and express their perspectives through qualitative research studies can be constrained by difficulties that they can face in typical interview situations. This article describes and evaluates an interview method using concrete and engaging activities designed to enable autistic young people to voice their abilities and perspectives. Participants’ sense of self-identity was explored using traditional semi-structured interviews and novel activity-oriented interviews. The latter method provided a context within which autistic young people were better able to voice their perspectives. The efficacy of this method and considerations for its use are discussed.