NOT having a special obsession?

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From what I've read, many people on the spectrum -especially aspies- have some kind of obsession, sometimes (not always) to the exclusion of just about any other interest.

I don't. I get obsessed, but it changes. Anybody? How common is the obsession factor? Can it manifest in other ways? Thanks, guys.

I've just recently posted in a thread about this: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt131195.html
Basically, AS without special interests and "preoccupation with parts of objects" is NLD. It is not in the DSM yet, but apparently it will be introduced in the 2012 edition of the DSM.

My interests switch, but I usually stay wrapped up in the same thing for at least 24 hours at a time.

I agree that special interest is core to the identification of the disorder and without that, you're looking at something else, whether its PDD-NOS or whatever.

There may be several obsessive interests that come and go, but if you really think about it, there should be one that has been with you as long as you can remember.

Mine is recorded music. I have collected, listened, stored warehouses of trivial data in my head since I was in kindergarten. I can't recall any of the activities I participated in in preschool, though I still have drawings that I did then, but I remember all the records the teacher played for us and what their covers looked like.

Lots of other obsessions have come and gone, some staying around longer than others, always with that 'stay-up-all-night-focused-to-the-exclusion-of-all-else', 'purchase multiple examples until the house is cluttered', 'read every available written detail on the subject' rigidity, and once in a while I just realize one day that a subject no longer holds any fascination for me.

But I think its part of the very heart of AS, that irony of being virtually unable to focus on any subjects other than the one (or few) that we can focus on so intently, we wouldn't hear a fire alarm.

I have been into electronics since I was three. I could open, repair, and close toys before I could speak.

I agree, although it doesn't have to be a specific interest that has material ties to it. It could be just a fascination with something specific.

I've always had a fascination with words. I enjoy any form of language, hearing and repeating words or phrases, playing with words, deconstructing them. The bulk of my special interests were particular languages - Ukranian, French, Russian, Chinese. My interest right now is a domain of psychology, but it's also a subject that involves a lot of reading and writing, and thus involves a lot of language. I really like expressing myself verbally, hearing my own voice, and hearing other people's voices, dwelling on their unique inflections and pronunciations.

You sure? I haven't done that much research on the criteria, but it never seemed like you HAD to have an obsession.