How Neurotypicals React to Autistic Special Interests

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08 Oct 2008, 7:49 pm

I have long-term, relatively mild special interests. A whiles ago it was everything orange (the username and a liking for mac/cheese stuck; nothing else did). Then it was Wikipedia, and now it's a bunch of online stuff, which ought to last for at least one more year (the way I'm going, probably more).

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FireMinstrel
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08 Oct 2008, 8:55 pm

Quote:

"I wonder who would win in a fight: Kefka or Sephiroth..."

Sephiroth if they were in human form, but Kefka might have a fair chance in their "angel" forms.

*AHEM*
Yeah...videogames like Final Fantasy and Shin Megami Tensei are a big interest for me. Anime seemed more of a big interest about 2-4 years ago. Now, it's more like any other interest.
My other thing is classic rock. Turn on any classic rock radio station, and I can name just about every song playing, and the band that made them. If it's Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin, I can usually tell you the album and what year it came out.
All in all though, people would much rather see me play "No Quarter" on the piano than hear me tell them the detailed history of the song. So in those cases, I can meet them halfway.
However, I have another interest I keep secret: school shootings, which also ties into my desire to see compulsory education abolished(not that I think people shouldn't learn, it's just that I don't believe forcing a child to sit in a chair and listen to lectures for six hours is the way to do it). This is why I love movies like "Elephant", "Bang Bang You're Dead", "Zero Day", and "Klass".

pakled
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08 Oct 2008, 9:00 pm

Psychology is the study of how the mind works.
Psychiatry is the study of how it doesn't...

I dunno...3d art, Sci-Fi in general. But aside from posting stuff, I really don't make a big deal out of it. But then I don't have long conversations with people either..

AnonymousAnonymous
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09 Oct 2008, 10:52 pm

Electric_Kite wrote:

AnonymousAnonymous wrote:

People tell me I am an inconsiderate prick. :evil:

If this is your interest, I feel you have not pursued it throughly enough. If you were a really prime example of an inconsiderate prick, they wouldn't tell you without tears.

There is no interest less special than anime.

Currently my interests are politics and my studies.

That's all.

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11 Oct 2008, 11:58 pm

Bozewani wrote:

t in every world society our interests, because they don't fit the neurotypical interests of sports, sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, and because we behave in a way they consider "unique" however, their "normal" is aberrant to us, even if we tried.

there are NTs who aren't interested in that and vice-versa....all the "subcultures" dedicated to 'nerdy' things too.

Quote:

So, on to my interests, languages, history,politics, geography. How is that bad? I am tired of people asking me what the capital of Kiribati is. It's Tarawa, if you are interested, but that's not the point, the point is I feel like I am a nothing more then an intellectual machine for most NTs.

there are NTs interested in politics, history, geography, etc.

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Warsie
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12 Oct 2008, 12:04 am

FireMinstrel wrote:

However, I have another interest I keep secret: school shootings, which also ties into my desire to see compulsory education abolished(not that I think people shouldn't learn, it's just that I don't believe forcing a child to sit in a chair and listen to lectures for six hours is the way to do it). This is why I love movies like "Elephant", "Bang Bang You're Dead", "Zero Day", and "Klass".

post more please :afro:

anna-banana wrote:

I'm quite happy to share most of my intrerests with my mates. I do occasionally go overboard though, in those cases they just say something like "dude, who cares". I *usually* get the message lol

w00t for sci-fi forums and the like...internet in general..

Quote:

I occasionally get more specialised interests that seem to annoy people (most notably stock markets and share prices- that always bores the sh** out of the most understanding and patient people ;p), I learned not to talk about them to avoid being complately ignored...

yeah discussing city population and designs isnt too good either..

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12 Oct 2008, 12:17 am

In spurts, I design "arms" for sofas that I'll never build. I'll get the irrisistable urge to share them with my brother, until he brings to mind my stated "desire" to build them, and lack of actual creation...

By the way, I build furniture for a living, so this ain't exactly an "eccentric" interest.

Most other fleeting, but engaging "interests" of mine get condescending or patronizing remarks. Like I'm some sort of child or something.

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12 Oct 2008, 1:13 pm

Bozewani wrote:

Well, the topic title is extremely self-evident and much more black and white then most. It will be interesting to see the variables of culture and society, however my general consensus is that in every world society our interests, because they don't fit the neurotypical interests of sports, sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, and because we behave in a way they consider "unique" however, their "normal" is aberrant to us, even if we tried.

So, on to my interests, languages, history,politics, geography. How is that bad? I am tired of people asking me what the capital of Kiribati is. It's Tarawa, if you are interested, but that's not the point, the point is I feel like I am a nothing more then an intellectual machine for most NTs.

Of course, capitalism relies on intellectual machines.

I get a similar question. I've been asked countless times how to spell the word "onomatopoeia."

I'm also the FAQ person when at work when it comes to what I do and I used to be the only person who knew how to change the ribbon cartridges in the fax machine -- until they bought a new one that uses inkjet toner.

How do people treat me when I'm involved in my 'special interests?' I'm told to put away the computer or the drawing table and go outside and 'get some sun.' I'm also told that I get "too involved" in what I do and that I should do things "in moderation" (even though they never specify just what a 'moderate' amount of writing/painting/drawing is). I really hear the crap about it if I stay up too late into the wee hours of the morn working on a project. If I was left to my own devices, I'd probably get about 4 hours of sleep per day and I'd probably never leave the house.

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kuiamalynne
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12 Oct 2008, 2:35 pm

Reactions to my special interests? I suppose it depends on which interest, and who I am talking to at the time. My nearly lifelong interest has been the Electric Light Orchestra, and unless I'm posting to an ELO listserv, people tend to get annoyed with me. But I really love to talk about ELO, and I find it really difficult and disconcerting that I can't talk about ELO with people I know.

Now, I'm also a PhD student in rhetoric and composition, a subject area with which I am also quite obsessed. It's perfectly acceptable for me to talk about things related to my educational pursuits, I've found, as long as I'm speaking to someone within that same educational niche. (If I try to talk about composition theory with my parents, for instance, they groan and tell me to can it.) Of course, sometimes I get too caught up with rhetoric and composition even for rhetoricians and compositionists...oh well.

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12 Oct 2008, 5:03 pm

Their reactions are comparable to a prick of a knitting needle.

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13 Oct 2008, 6:33 am

The only difference from me is that im into trains and maps but i still love my sport particularly cricket though.

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13 Oct 2008, 7:24 am

Most NTs have special interests too - the only difference is that they believe theirs are socially acceptable. Many NT women I have known have a special interest in celebrities, fashion, body image, gossiping about other people, soap operas, food, etc. :lol:

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13 Oct 2008, 9:34 am

ToughDiamond wrote:

zeldapsychology wrote:

ButchCoolidge wrote:

I disagree with a lot of the original post. First of all, lots of aspies are interested in sports, rock and roll, sex, and drugs. In fact, I've done quite a bit of all of those things in my life. I haven't always pursued them in stereotypically NT ways - I haven't done drugs to fit in, I haven't gone after girls because I want to look cool - but the interests have been there. Secondly, you are assuming that languages, geography, etc. are not normal interests. They are in fact quite normal.

There are two ways in which AS special interests can seem weird and problematic for NTs. One is when the interest itself is eccentric. If you had mentioned a love of the mechanics of 1930's telephones, then it is understandable why a lot of people would find this odd, even though of course I and most open-minded people shouldn't have a problem with it. The second way is the way in which these interests are pursued - the depth of the interest, the pervasiveness of the interest in one's life, etc. For example, when I was a serious track and cross country athlete (a perfectly normal interest), it was the depth and pervasiveness of my interest that set me apart and at times made people uncomfortable (most people on the team thought I went overboard in my quest for knowledge about training, the history of the sport, etc., and sometimes people got sick of me talking about topics such as the greatest Olympic 1500 final of all time, which world record was most likely to fall in the coming season, etc.). These are the reasons why AS interests can be problematic, from what I gather.

This makes total since I loved learning Psychology and that interest got to the point of going to the teachers office and asking her questions daily (she was a Psychology teacher after all!! !) After being suspended for stuff I later find out from someone the teacher "didn't know how to answer my questions so she was avoiding me so she didn't have to answer my questions." This statement to this day makes me kind of sad because IMO she's a PSYCHOLOGIST WHAT GIVES??! !! !! ! (She taught PSYCHOLOGY!! !! !) I'm still shocked to this day that I never saw this issue and it's sad she really felt that way. :-(

Teachers are in a difficult position, they have to pretend to have the skill and the time to answer every question, but often they don't. Best not to embarrass the world too much by forcing it to admit that it's a liar.

I haven't had a lot of flak for my obsessions - I don't share much of my special interests except with fellow-enthusiasts. Most of it would take way too long to explain to the uninitiated. I suppose I should have some summaries ready for the general public, but haven't felt it's worth it. Even then, I'm usually trying to achieve something off the beaten track. I'm lucky to have an obsession about singing and playing music - I've been doing that so carefully and for so long that people often find the end product entertaining.

That's an interesting teacher comment. :-)

IMO if you go to lets say a Cardiooligist AKA Heart specialist YOU EXPECT answers about your heart problem IMO the same SHOULD apply to a Psychology teacher,Buisness teacher etc. IMO you should know your said field like the back of your hand!! ! It's sad that perhaps that's not the case. Come on are teachers stupid? NO! They have there degrees in said field so they in turn SHOULD AKA SHOULD KNOW more than you and yet questioning them on said feild and them being clueless is just plain sad and wrong!! ! :-(

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13 Oct 2008, 9:48 am

You know, guys, I have mentioned this before. There is a website called vintageceilingfans.com, which has a forum where so many people interested in COLLECTING old ceiling fans chat and stuff. What do you think of old ceiling fans as an obsession?

Of course, I am obsessed with ceiling fans, but I don't have much desire to collect old ceiling fans.

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13 Oct 2008, 12:07 pm

Im made aware that I get irritating and fixated. Ive basically learned to keep a lot to myself. Sometimes I cant help it and I need to talk about my interest. I get asked a lot...."cant you talk about something else?".

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13 Oct 2008, 6:23 pm

I know not to talk about my special interests all the time. However, since my parents and I all love animals, that is acceptable.

I wish I had not made my special interests so obvious when I was younger. If I had just kept them to myself, as I do now, nobody would have known anything was too different about me.

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