Do you have any of the classic Aspie special interests?

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One of the things that bugs me a little about my adult diagnosis is the fact that I do not have any one particular special interest or ability that is supposed to be a big part of having autism.

However I guess what I do have is the tendency to become obsessively interested in something for a while and then get bored and move on to something else. An example would be that I discovered a computer game I like at the start of this year and 8 months into the year I have already played 1300+ hours. That must average what, 5+ hours a day?

I'm generally interested in computers (but not really any other tech) and I would love to train to work in I.T security, ethical hacking, forensic computing or something along those lines.

Doesn't the computer game count as a special interest?

I'd say that I have some classic Aspie special interests. My lifelong special interest has always been science. However, I've always leaned heaviest towards medical science rather than physics or mechanics or engineering. In mid-late childhood, besides science, my focus was on my Archie comic book collection (I started collecting again in 2013), my favorite book series (like Babysitters Club), and my Barbie dolls. So, during this period, I fit the "female Aspie" interests in that I mostly was all about my book collections and intense fixation on normal girl toys/interests. I had to have EVERY Barbie outfit and EVERY comic book. And I lined my books and dolls up and such.

Trains fascinate many Aspies for some reason, myself included. But I prefer freight trains--more car diversity.

As this is your first post, allow me to welcome you to WP. Sounds like my toy robot collection LOL. I always need another one.....

Thank you for the welcome, drwho222. I'm actually a WP veteran. I used to go by OddDuckNash99, joined in 2006. I lost my account when the site crashed and everybody had to re-register. Couldn't figure out how to do it without making a new account. Been thinking about the site recently and thought I'd try to rejoin again. I'm sure some of the older members will remember me, like CockneyRebel.

I have used my new user name on many sites since. Thought of it after I joined WP. The user name (and my avatar) is an homage to Cedar Point's Magnum XL-200, my special interest within my Cedar Point special interest.

Have had several. Going way back it was dinosaurs, of course. Then egyptology. Poetry. Engines, machines in general. Grew up around tractors and farm equipment, was always fascinated by airplanes though. And music theory. Once I figured out what it was I just blew up on it. Practiced no less than twelve hours a day for a while. Never played with other people, though.
Martial arts, and through that meditation and some kind of philosophy. I suppose martial arts isn't one of the classic obsessions.
Culture. Kind of like an outside perspective on humanity.

I collect recorded music; vinyl, Cds, digital:



I'm almost as bad about movies. And I love comic book art.

My GOD man do you LISTEN to all those?

He probably does....he's an ex-D.J......

I thought I had a big CD collection and its pathetic by comparison.

I own virtually no CD's lol

I know fellow collectors with even more than that. Keep in mind that when you work in the industry for over 30 years, you get a lot of free "promotional" issue goodies. it's one of the few material perks of the job.

That said, I did spend at least half my paycheck on new vinyl every payday when I was young, and had no financial responsibilities beyond my rent. In those days, my BFFs were also record-obsessed Disc Jockeys and we got together to talk music, and trade records and trivia and often went shopping together at second hand record stores. The nearest import shop was a 90 minute drive and we'd save up to go there twice a year. Now you can do all that online, but this was before the Internet went public, and even before Cds were available on the open market.

I remember the first time I read about Cd technology in a science magazine. I also remember the first day I walked into the neighborhood record store and they no longer sold vinyl records, because everything had been replaced by Cds. Doh! I hated that change.

There's still nothing as awesome as rubbing an album cover on your jeans to snap the shrink wrap, and the smell of cardboard and ink when you opened a new LP for the first time. It's a sensory experience that burns itself into your memory, and Cds can't offer anything remotely like it.

And yes, I listen to them. They keep me sane. Okay, maybe not sane, but stable.

Last edited by will@rd on 15 Aug 2017, 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Vinyl still exists, but cassette tapes don't. Is that because vinyl has better sound capture than CDs?

I believes it has to do with the "retro" essence of vinyl records.

Yeah I guess it could, although I know sooner or later I will get bored of it and move on to something else.

I don't have the stereotypical special interest that NTs expect us to have, like collecting old bus timetables or train spotting or whatever and nor do I memorize tons of facts or information out of context.