Do you forget your past special interests?

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I can still remember a lot about dinosaurs (my second interest, around the age of 4), deinonychus was my favourite.

I remember all of my special interests and the emotions that were involved. If the special interest was a happy one, I'll go back to it again. If the special interest brings back unhappy memories, I don't go back to it.

I remember quite a bit about most things, including past special interests.

Though I will often never return to my past special interests, I can still provide fairly good information on them.

Mostly, the information I absorb stays with me. Especially (for whatever reason) if I focus on a certain type of music or a particular group. In my teenage years I was obsessed with the first wave of late-Eighties thrash metal bands, and I can still recall trivial details about band members, song lyrics, album art, track listings, import releases, so on. Twenty years later, a lot of it is still here in my head.

I can forget parts of recent special interests. I can't believe not long ago I understood trigonometry and basic physics. I remember some so if I do some revision it feels like I know the stuff but in less detail, that I get bored and stop it.

Some interests that are older such as animation and web design I can forget huge chunks of. I've managed to keep most of my knowledge of art intact and it's easy for me to get back into photography.

I do have the problem of forgetting my past interests or not remembering enough detail. I feel like I just have to brush up on my knowledge once every six months, if even that.

No - though some memories of what I learned on those things in the past do evaporate from my memory over the course of time, it's normal. But after some refreshing my memory, I would remember everything again.

This is a difficult question. Unless you use some skill or knowledge often, you won't retain it. I've forgotten entire programming languages. So I don't see why a special interest would be any different in this respect. If an interest is ongoing, it won't fade as fast as one that is abandoned. At the same time, many people with AS seem to have much more vivid and clear long-term memories than most people, meaning they probably remember stuff long after it would have faded from other people's minds. My guess is a special interest from long ago would be more vivid than a more recent one in some cases.

For me, in particular, I am interested in things that have some connection with my own past. So it's kind of self-reinforcing. I remember my past through interests, and my interests stay relatively fresh because they're in my memories. That is probably not the general case, though. I tend to like things that are connected to me in some way - I explore subjects, read books, etc that connect to my past - probably because my memories are still quite vivid in most cases. (Although I also try to find things in the past that are not familiar, hoping they'll trigger some impression from that time that's been locked away.)

I've forgotten most stuff about many of my special interests (I imagine I've even forgotten what many were) but I still remember every detail about some of them, even if I'm not actively studying them.

I also have to use my knowledge often if I want to retain it, otherwise it fades with time, especially when it's connected to some routine that I don't practice any more. Giving up or changing my work routine would be such an example. Sometimes patient pondering over a subject can help bring up long-faded memories, but it's not always clear what triggers may help.

I usually remember better when the information is less specific. My long-term and short-term memory is about equally challenged. Verbal information is the most difficult part for me, both to learn and to recall. I don't remember well names, poems, dates. I have some jumbled knowledge about them, and many times I just can't recall them properly. Regarding programming languages I think I can refresh my memory in oder to use them again but it would take some time.

All the above applies to my special interests, accordingly.

So, overall, I would make good use of a better memory, I think.