Abstract
We conducted an ontological exploration of how teachers at special-needs schools establish social interaction with
students with ASD. A total of five fieldwork studies were conducted in a “Food Production” class at a special-needs
high school from December 20xx to February 20xx+1. We observed and videotaped scenes of social interaction
between teacher A and teacher B and X, a third-year high school student with ASD. From the recordings, we
compiled a total of 10 minutes of video clips that recorded “disturbance” situations, which we used to conduct
two interviews with the target teachers. The interview data were analyzed with reference to Benner’s method of
interpretive phenomenological analysis. From this it emerged that the target teachers were more concerned with
generating an appropriate “frame” than with student development. In addition, it became clear that the target
teachers’ expertise was applied to creating a “frame” that was a good fit with the intentions and characteristics of
various subjects, such as the target teacher and the target student, and with the “objects” involved in the interaction.
