Are special interests autism specific?

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When I was younger I used to memorize field guides for birds and animals and plants,. Then I had bird feeders, eventually earning a bachelor's degree and having several past ornithology jobs.
As an adult I've been so obsessed with a video game franchise that in the past I was almost fired when I borrowed a company vehicle without permission to get a game that just came out. These are not normal preoccupations or hobbies (or are they?) but I have heard that geniuses can get these too?

Basically are special interests autism specific?

Aspies tend to enjoy the company of static things more than the uncertainties of social interaction, so special interests develop. I don't see any pattern regarding topic, though. My specialty is flexible structures.

I would say that not many neurotypicals would have many of the "special interests" which autistic/Aspergian people have.

However, I have noticed some exceptions to the rule that any particular "special interest is "autism specific."

Mentally cataloging things is pretty typical for autism, especially in children. It's both a special interest thing and a system of maintaining order.

Special interests are way more common with autistic people, but NT's can be extremely passionate as well.
I have a friend who is very neurotypical (if that's a thing) and also so passionate about animals that her apartment is like a small zoo - as if working at the actual zoo wasn't enough. Last time I visited, there were more water than air in there because of all the fish-tanks. Not to mention cats, reptiles and insects... Her level of obsession is almost higher than mine.

I know several NT females obsessed with caring for various animals. They are all oblivious to the greater harm they do to wild animals when they feed pets from a store.

I think that most special interests are autism specific. I prefer the predictability of my special interests over the risks that I'm constantly taking in the social world. A special interest can't call me stupid, misgender me or make a huge deal about not being able to understand me over the phone. A special interest can't abandon me for not being able to follow it's hidden social rules. A special interest can't exclude me from a prolific group.

I've always loosely believed that they are, although it would depend on your definition of a special interest. The most common I've seen is: "an interest or hobby that differs from normal patterns of behavior either in the narrowness of the topic or the extremity of the obsession." The way that a person goes about engaging with this interest seems irrelevant, according to most sources. By that definition, though, the latter criterium could easily be applied to many people, depending on your definition of "extreme obsession." Apart from the obvious gray areas, however, I do know that people with ADHD often have areas of interest that involve "hyperfocus," which could be a parallel to special interests.

i guess it depends.

its typical for many non autistics to engage in fandoms, hobbies or topics of interest. and its something i asked myself,

When i was young my sister had a facisnation with the holocaust, she would research it and enjoyed movies on the topic. she would share the information with my family members.

at that same time i had a interest of my own. frogs, specifically Yellow poisonous dart frogs. how was it different?

my sisters research was during her spare time; mine was anytime i could. even if i had to be doing something different like math or showering.

My sister only talked about the holocaust a little when it was appropriate; i talked about frogs all the time, actually looking back i only spit out the same information over and over, i would exhaust anyone i spoke to and they would literally beg me to stop.

basically from my own personal experience, a special interest is always just a little bit more intense than a typical interest.

back to your question: is it autism exclusive?

well.. yes and no.

its almost expected in any autistic person however other conditions can present with "obsessions" and "attachments" and the two can be indistinguishable.

From what i have read here and observed amongst NTs:

* Having special interests is not unique to Autism. Normal people have them too, but they are called "Hobbies".
* Having odd and inappropriate special interests is rather striking with Autism.
* Having many special interests that vary over time is common with Autism.

Special interests does not have to be odd or useless, i remember a guy here on the forum that had a special interest in door openers, could probably land that guy a job with said special interest.