Interviews and observations. After experiment one, 61 students were interviewed. The interviews were semi- structured with several open-ended questions. The students were asked upon their experience with the whole experiment and how they believed they could become motivated in general and for language tasks in particular. The first author was present during all data collection sessions and observed. During these sessions, everything that could be noteworthy was noted.
Interviews and observations. Interviews lasted between twenty minutes and two hours. Professional interviews averaged forty-five minutes and parental interviews averaged one hour. Both groups completed demographic forms identifying household members, education level, employment status, ethnicity or caste, yearly income, and religion. When asked, participants were told that they should only provide information they felt most comfortable revealing. Demographic omissions occurred more frequently in Kerala and primarily included income and caste information. Based on observation of homes or comments made during interviews it is clear that these omissions came primarily from lower class/caste families in India. Autism behavior checklists were most often read to caretakers during the interview to gain more detailed descriptions of the child’s behaviors and to assess caregiver perspectives on these behaviors. At the conclusion of the interviews, informants were asked if they would like to participate in the observation portion of the research. Like the interviews, observations occurred at a time and location that worked best for the informant. Most informants who agreed to observations, and for whom observation times could be arranged, were only observed once, however occasionally several observations occurred. Multiple observations most often occurred due to overlap of participants (e.g., came to observe one teacher and returned to observe another teacher in same classroom) or because certain families invited several visits. One family in Xxxxxxx participated in three formal and several informal observations.29 Most 29 This family became friends of myself and Xxxxxxx and so we visited with them several times. During these informal visits, I did not bring my notebook and only recorded notes once I returned home. observations lasted between one and three hours and took place in homes, schools, clinics, and out in the community (e.g., restaurants, cars, stores). Several Keralan and a few Atlantan families were unfamiliar with an observation format, meaning some observations were more interactive than others. It became clear rather quickly that the family was unsure as to their role and my purpose, despite frequent explanations. I relied on my previous experience as an interventionist and consultant for autism services in order to give the observation session purpose and to ease the discomfort felt by the families. Noting a family’s unease and changing my behavior and purpose during an observat...
