Would Geography be a special interest with Aspergers?

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I ask this becasuse, I have a very special interest in finding out everything about countries, I know all the capital cities of Europe, I know most of the time zones that countries are in, the main languages that people in a particular country speak, I know a few phrases i.e. Hello, Good Evening, How are you, what's your name? in languages such as Greek, Mandarin Chinese, Italian and Japanese etc. stuff like that would be my main hobby, flags of the countries I know pretty well, I am studying Travel and Tourism but I knew most of this stuff before I started studying it, I speak 4 languages native English, intermediate French, basic Spanish and basic Mandarin Chinese (The French I knew for 5 years and I am studying it again now at basic level, I didn't pass it at GCSE), the rest I studied through the 2 years of Travel and Tourism, I'm in the 3rd year now.

I remember when we were doing a map of Europe and most of the class didn't know where the countries were located, I was very shocked.

Would this be a sign of Aspergers' or is this just normal behaviour?

Its hard to say if a particular interest is an aspie special interest or not. Thats the disclaimer I probably should start with. Lol!

But to me it sounds like an aspie type special interest. I was a geography geek as well. Aced tests in geography class in eighth grade without trying. Knew ever country on every continent.

My passion waned a bit but then got reignited by looking at an historic atlas, and seeing how countries boundries changed over time. I can not only name every country in Africa, but name its former European colonial master.

It'd be an Aspie special interest if people around you yelled, "All right! That's enough about countries already!!"

this

Indeed, because it's my special interest as well. I know the capital and largest city of every country in the world, the ten largest cities in every state, as well as the flag of every country, territory, state, and Canadian province. I don't know every country's time zone, but I'm pretty accurate when guessing. Have you used Sporcle? That's how I learned all the capitals and flags.

I have always had an intense interest in geography, both geopolitical and cultural. It started in elementary school. I still have it today, though I don't spend as much time with it as when I was younger. I started cooking food and listening to music from other cultures in high school. My parents even bought me some National Geographic board games (though they got tired of playing them with me!) I memorized facts and figures, read about famous people from different places, collected post cards and maps, etc.

That whole "wrong planet" feeling? I also felt a "wrong time period" and "wrong country" feeling. Perhaps the fascination with other places was in part due to the fact that I never felt like I fully assimilated to American culture, though I was born here. If I don't fit in *here*, maybe I would fit in somewhere else...

My husband and children share the love of geography with me. In a way, it is our "family special interest." My daughter said the other day "Mom, we're white...but we're not *really* white." I said, "I suppose that is true in a way. Maybe we are calico...white base, with splotches of color." (Please, no offense meant to anyone who is not white!! !)

I have spent hundreds of hours on Google Earth. I think it is about making connections.

I've been into geography since my dad bought me a globe when I was 7.

ANYTHING can be a special interest.

The only difference between an autistic interest and a "Neurotypical" interest is the autistic person depends on and needs the interest while a neurotypical just likes a topic and its usually fairly narrow.

I like to use my sister as a example, when she was younger she had a great interest in the Holocaust, she loved watching documentaries and reading books on it but thats where it ended, when she came home from school she didnt research the holocaust she called her friends and went on the internet to talk to people, it didnt really relax her it was just an interesting topic to her.

The interest can be reasonably vague or narrow but the special interest is usually used as a sort of safety blanket or way of feeling safe in a hostile environment. SPecial Interests tend to become more intense the more a autistic person is stressed out. Most psychologists consider the special interest therapeutic in a way and encourage it, my psychologist definitely does- he believes in Stimming as well.

I haven't memorized capitals and such, but I love poring over maps. When it comes to Internet surfing, I can just as easily go down a rabbit-hole by doing a Google map as I can by any text or image based search or site. I used to do a lot of Internet chatting, and I invariably wanted to know a person's approximate location because it helped me organize information about them. That way, I could remember them better.

When I was 8, I knew all the capitals of the world, and enjoyed sharing that knowledge. I thought I was so smart!

Absolutely, yeah, I've worked in geographic information systems (LiDAR mapping) as well as simpler web-based mapware. Geography was also my 2nd or 3rd best HS subject.

What's the official capital of Sri Lanka? (Not that commercial capital, Colombo). I love it, but not as much as the hill in New Zealand called Taumatawhakitangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

yep. i was thoroughly obsessed with geography for a very long time. even now it's still a strong interest of mine. i have a world map inside my head.

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (yes, I did look it up LOL).

When I was 8, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, and the capital was Columbo.

You had to look that up? Pffft, amateur.

My friend is also an Aspie who loves geography. We have a collection of flags of the world in the hallway of one of our campus buildings that shows where all of the international students are from, and we spent about twenty minutes identifying all the flags. It was Asperger's geography nut heaven.