Identifying the needs of middle school students with autism for an interactive e-book designed to improve their sustainable development awareness: insights from teachers’ perspectives

The purpose of this research is to identify the needs of middle school students with autism for an interactive e-book designed to enhance their sustainable development awareness from teachers’ perspectives. To determine these needs, this research examined students’ learning needs in science, their needs related to sustainable development awareness, and requirements for designing an interactive e-book to support their awareness. This research adopts a qualitative descriptive approach. The participants consist of ten science teachers and ten special education teachers, all with experience teaching middle school students with autism. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. The findings regarding students’ learning needs in science highlighted a necessity for integrating concepts related to sustainable development awareness. Specifically, the study revealed that students with autism need to learn about using resources efficiently, recycling, and protecting the environment. To support effective learning, participant teachers recommended visualizing these concepts and incorporating technology-based interventions. Based on the needs identified in this research, an interactive e-book will be designed to enhance the sustainable development awareness of students with autism. © The Author(s) 2025.