Measuring Social Motivation in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Development of the Social Motivation Interview.

Elias et al. (2020) built a short kid-friendly interview. It asks children with autism why they join, stay, or skip social moments.

The team tried the tool with 18 children. They checked if kids could finish it and if answers stayed the same when asked twice.

Children finished the interview without fuss. Answers lined up well on a second try, a first hint the tool is reliable.

Parents said the questions made sense and gave new insight into what drives their child to approach peers.

Cunningham (2012) warned that most social tests for young children miss inner thoughts. The new interview fills that gap by asking the child directly.

Bakhtiari et al. (2021) showed youth with autism can give valid self-report if IQ is 80-plus. Rebecca’s tool uses the same child-first idea, but focuses only on social drive.

van Dijk et al. (2026) interviewed autistic men and found motivation swings with context. The child interview mirrors this complexity, giving clinicians early signals that context matters.

You now have a ten-minute interview that lets the child tell you what social moments feel worth the effort. Use it during intake to pick goals that match the child’s own reasons, not just adult guesses.