Are special interests really a defining feature of an ASD?

Post Reply New Topic

^^^ this is true. I use reading as a coping mechanism and when I read often I refuse to be distracted, I will either willfully or unknowingly ignore you. My parents had to get a bell to call me to dinner because I wouldn't hear most sounds while I was reading.

Also I used to wake up at 5am before school and I am still 10+ years later reading just as obsessively. My average reading speed is 1 350+ page (80k+ word) book a day, and when I was depressed it was way more.

I read walking places, on the tube, on the train, when I get home. It's literally like my sanity relies on it, esp on a bad day. I also find reading subtitles relaxing on TV shows. On the loo if I don't have something to read I read the cleaning product labels .

So yer I think Fandom has a point xD this is way more extreme than most NT's I know.

Um, don't most people do that? I do.

I think like with many autistic traits it's not so much the what as the why.

Most everyone has special interests. But do they have them for the same reason as someone with autism? Same goes with stimming etc.

Most everyone listens to music. But a blind person might listen to music to make up for not being able to experience sight related enjoyments.

I guess how I can explain it in my experience is like this...

With my special interests for fictional worlds, fictional characters like from video games, I take a more serious/personal approach with it. For many fictional characters from video games and cartoons, I tend to many like real family and friends. Being so focused on fictional realities from video games and other medias is what helps me feel like I have a purpose in existing, especially believing that I'll be able to travel to these worlds and be with the ones I love once I die someday.

It's also where most of my social interaction comes from. These fictional characters like ShadowTheFluffhog, JackTheRadiaution and Clouse help me throughout my life with the struggles I face such as preventing me from suicide, social-anxiety, cooking, cleaning, dealing with an emotionally abusive biological mother and so forth. I can talk to them about my troubles and I don't feel judged. And they accompany me as if they were right beside me when I go out somewhere in public. Yes, like any supportive friend, the remedy to daily pains isn't always perfect or instant. But I know that without these guys and the other soulbonds I have, I may not be alive right now.

Fictional worlds help me to feel a sense of belonging, a means of escapism from this crummy biased culture in a way. To know that there is a world just for me that isn't typically bounded Earth's mainstream society norms and physics makes me feel a sense of peace and freedom - a way at looking at the bigger picture of existence to find the meaning of existence within myself... It's hard to explain... It's also the similar idea when it comes down to me being a fictionkin of Maria Robotnik from the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

To reach out to other sources to find someone who understands you and relates to you despite them not being physically present on this Earth is a blessing.

Most others who may be "obsessed" with a video game character or series doesn't typically have that sort of attachment to it. Their "obsession" (special interest) tends to have no significant meaning in terms of coping and in which is used to help add padding to someone's life. I really don't know how to explain it better...

If that special interest was taken away from me some how...I honestly don't think I could function in life anymore.

....This was really hard write out in a way that could make any sort of sense.

If you think that's bad try getting a job! The rest of your time will be taken up by housework.

When I told my Mum that I do this, she admitted that she does it too (she's not ASD diagnosed, but lots of traits, including stims and compulsive reading.) Is this a new "defining feature" !?


Spot on! That's the best response to the inevitable "But everyone does that!" from people who won't believe our diagnoses.

Similarly, my cousin used to listen the same song seven times when he was about two. Maybe it's just a small child thing, I don't know. Glad he outgrew this though, it was driving everyone mad.

He developed excellent verbal communication skills and motor skills, they seemed to just skip the crawling stage and go straight to walking, haha. My cousin's teachers were shocked at his large vocabulary and ability to hold a lasting conversation, when most of the other kids could speak only a few words.

Recently I was surprised at his level of sass and sarcasm, I have to wonder where he learnt that.

My childhood was not as plain sailing as his seems to be so far (he's 7), and sometimes I almost feel jealous.

I had a stammer growing up, which led to me being selectively mute for a period of time, as I was very self-conscious of this, so I became slightly isolated and was certainly nowhere near as talkative and capable as my cousin was at the same age.

Not to mention the fact that I was fairly clumsy, to the point where my counsellor may or may not have been doing tests on me for dyspraxia.

One thing we do have in common though is some of the same things that both me sensory wise, also bother my cousin.

My Grandma often comes to me to ask why a particular food is bothering my cousin, so I explain why it bothers me and that seems to give her a better understanding of why my cousin acts the way he does. I guess picky eating runs in the family.

Hmmm... so what I'm getting here is that highly focused interests don't mean anything unless you know why the person's doing them. But even here, I think that NT's do them for very similar reasons to the ASD's. NT's might obsess about whatever all their friends are obsessed about so that they have something to talk about, and then that's how they relax and unwind. The ASD crowd go straight from the obsessions to the unwinding, and don't require anyone else to be interested in what they're interested in. From a resource perspective (if you consider friends resources -- hope I didn't offend anyone saying that) that's actually a more efficient way of going about business.

If my summaries bother you, I'm sorry, but that's just how I focus my thoughts when reading longer threads.

I have a long history with "special interests". When I was a toddler, around age two or three, I was obsessed with the movie 101 Dalmatians. I think it's pretty typical for a small child to love a particular movie and watch it a lot, but I did not stop talking about it (as someone earlier said, I would actually go up to people and ask them about their favorite dalmatian from the movie. For the record, mine was Lucky) and I would even refuse to wear clothes that weren't related to the movie. It drove my family nuts because I had three outfits because of that. I think that was one of the earliest signs of my ASD and possibly led to me getting my diagnosis at three.

Later on, it became Powerpuff Girls, Full House, The Simpsons (which I still like a lot), and then Doctor Who and Torchwood.

I used to do something similaf to this when I was living with my inlaws and husband and very isolated. It was a bad time and so I had an imaginary conversations with trees and the moon in my head. I get how you do this. I wax not allowed to go on walks so it was justva distant kinship sort of feeling, and intensely needed comfort could be derived from brief moments in this reality.

It may have to do with reduced brain flexibility and pattern detection.

Special interests have always been my strongest autistic trait. My mom tried to encourage them (buying me meerkat things) but also tried to discourage me (not letting me talk about meerkats or telling me I could only talk about them during certain times of the day. But everyone else was allowed to talk about the same thing whenever they wanted).

She often said she wished I had an obsession with a different kind of animal such as horses or dogs because it would be "easier" to find a career with them. I was in contact with a lady who ran a meerkat rescue and was even invited to go out there several times but my mom never let me go or procrastinated the trip. Whenever I did have an opportunity to pursue MY interests, she would find a way to sabotage it.

Excellent point!!

I loved reading through these posts - very illuminating! Can I say how wonderful I think all of you are, and how glad I am to share some traits in common with you? (Dr. Bonner’s castille soap has a humorous label!) I really wish this website had been around when I was a kid!

As I look back over my life, I can see how my special interests intensified during stressful periods. I remember coming home every day after work to immediately watch an episode or two of X-Files (on VCR tape!) before I could deal with life again. I don’t have one right now, and I miss that experience.