A Different 'Type' of Special Interest?

Post Reply New Topic

I've most commonly read about the fancy, eccentric special interests that involve the massing of facts/information of things such as headache pills. I've also heard of the more standard, but still extensive obsession some people can have with something like trains. I've read that they can last from a few days to a lifetime, and are 'all-encompassing' to at least a degree that is more intense than what is considered to be typical. I've read that some people experience a sort of 'high' when they are mesmerized by their special interest. I've read that others have special interests to satisfy a missing need in life (lack of social interaction).

Something I'm not so sure of is the prevalence of each of those statements existentially in the autistic community, but that doesn't really concern me right now.

What's on my mind is a 'type' of special interest where there isn't just a fixation on one thing, rather an individual becomes fixated with essentially everything they find enjoyable (they are still restricted in that it's hot or cold, but not as much as the stereotype). Could the term 'special interest' be used to refer to the drive of an Aspie/Autistic to investigate their interests to a far greater extent than their peers without necessarily cataloging or something similar? I'll use an example:

------------------------------------------------

Lets call this person 'Perry':

+ When he/she plays video games, they attempt to push the game to its limits. They explore EVERY part of the game, read the manual, constantly talk about it and/or play it. They do this for every video game they like. They return to these games throughout their lives, discover more about them etc. May read the manual more than once, those types of things. May give up the game if they have felt nothing is left.

+ When he/she is interested in an object, they attempt to explore a great amount of aspects relevant to that object. For example, if they liked paper-planes they might constantly make them, try different designs, experiment on how weight, wetness and wind affect how it flies etc BUT not research them. They do the discovery THEMSELVES! <-- IMPORTANT as a related personality trait may underline this type of special interest, if these could indeed be referred to as that!

+ He/she 'falls in love' with a sound/movie/video. They will watch/listen to it multiple times in a row or perhaps all day long. They might come back to it all throughout their life (perhaps nostalgic or addiction for all interests). If the sound for example is something that is, again for example part of a video game, they leave the video game stay where it is to ensure that the sound keeps playing. [This may be related to sensory seeking instead].

+ Their interests may be 'on and off' all throughout their life. They will always love returning to what they have sort of obsessed over in the past, as a result they may be 'stuck in childhood habits' or something along those lines.

------------------------------------------------

Could something like this be considered 'special interest', or is this more simply extreme curiosity or something like that? How could you even define and distinguish special interest that would globally fit everyone on the spectrum? If something such as 'all-encompassing' fits, are there parts of the day where they aren't thinking about or relating to the special interest? Loose terms are hard to deal with.

Overall I also have a hard time distinguishing 'special interests' from 'normal interests', as they both vary greatly. Neurotypical individuals often seem to be 'obsessed' with some interests of their own moreso than someone on the spectrum.

What you are describing is how my interests work. My brother once told me that my interests weren't like other Aspies he'd met.

My interests are definitely too obsessive to be called "normal", but they aren't the typical "special interest" that is for sure. It is the closest thing that I have.

I guess it could be compared to "fangirls" or groupies. It's not really normal, but it's not pathological, either. (Pathological in this sense meaning indicative of a disorder.) In the context of diagnosed AS, like me, it gets compared to special interests. My NT siblings get just as excited about certain things. However, those obsessions tend to be more socially acceptable.

If you don't mind me asking, could you please provide an example of one of those, less socially acceptable special interests that you have?

Not sure why it matters, but I really like swimming pools.

My interests are just like that too.
You wanted examples:
-I do it with games, if I like them. First I read all the rules and manuals (people find it funny cause no one read the manuals ) then think of strategies. For instance, with Age of Empires 3 I read books about it, wrote down all the steps of strategies I thought of and the time required to do each step to keep track etc. But unlike normal players I was more interested in learning everything about the game and exploring the possibilities than winning. For instance, I would know the time difference of doing one thing instead of another and wanted to see all the cities of all civilizations with all personalizations unlocked, rather than going online to beat other players. That's weird because I like more the civilizations portrayed and the graphics and details and the songs than actual playing. I was more like an AoE encyclopedia than player.

-I do it with songs. if I like a song I'm going to listen to it repeatedly for like 20 times. I'm addicted to frozen right now so I've been listening to the songs for days in lots of languages, in a short time I'm going to be able to sing them all, just like tarzan's songs which I know how to sing from swedish to mandarin (I only learn fast though if I can see the lyrics, my memory is visual). I watched a video in youtube of a girl with aspergers doing the same thing, so...

I don't know if my reply helps though, I don't have a diagnosis. But rather than sheer obssession, I think the interests are pursued in a very unusual manner. Like, lots of normal people are addicted to Age of Empires (or computer games), but in a very different way than me when I was obssessed with it.

Last edited by linatet on 23 Jan 2014, 8:24 am, edited 2 times in total.

Special long term or short term interest in video games or a particular video game. Pretty common these days.



Special interest: paper planes.



Playing the same sounds/music repeatedly. Very common for ASD people. Could be a long or short term special interest in a particular song..



They are special interests.

I am struggling with my interests right now as I don't have a particular favourite but a number of them all competing for my attention. I say struggling because often times I can't make up my mind which interest to pursue so end up doing nothing or going to bed for a nap instead (decision making...not my strong suit!). Usually I have one interests that outshines all the others, but will have several other interests trailing along behind it with some more minor interests in the background. My interests are not all that unusual though, more intense than weird.

Right now I have interests in health and fitness, playing piano and Evgeny Kissin, needlecrafts (knitting/crochet, tapestry and cross stitching), sharks and shark movies and old classics (such as those starring Norman Wisdom...am collecting Norman Wisdom films at the minute). My brain has not picked a favourite out of these interests yet but is leaning towards needlecrafts and piano playing with Norman and sharks coming in at a very close second. My interest in fitness is becoming a daily routine rather than something I research now (ie go to the gym either to weight train or swim every morning) although I do feel a need to know enough to put my own exercise and diet plan together so some research is required either way. I am fussy and like to be thorough when I do things.

In the background I also like taking pictures of the coast and learning to sketch and paint but I don't really spend much time on these activities. I mostly just ponder doing them when I get around to it. They don't fire me up in the same way as collecting Evgeny videos and tracks and playing piano does for example.

I used to have a thing for certain Tv programs which I would watch back to back over and over again for days on end such as 'The Incredible Hulk' with Bixby and Ferrigno. I still enjoy that series now and still own the box set. I also have a liking for Xena: Warrior Princess, Knight Rider and Starsky and Hutch, all of which I still like and still watch frequently.

I don't play computer games often but did used to like arcade classics at one point. I don't have many consoles now, only a PS1. I do sometimes like to play GTA but not very often. I am not much of a techno geek, I prefer books and board games and jigsaw puzzles which also used to be one of my loves!

I used to have a huge collection of jigsaws, some of which got lost when I moved I still have a portapuzzle and at least 15 jigsaws left though, some of which I have not done yet. I still go back to them occasionally.

I do collect things related to my interests such as cross stitching for example. I have 3 years worth of magazines with charts in, books, aida, threads, nearly 100 kits and so on.

The last few days have been spent watching Normans films though. I do like Norman Wisdom. I am collecting them from youtube right now but I want to get his collection on DVD too. I also like the Carry on movies which I also want to collect.

oh I am collecting Evengy tracks and videos too if anyone knows of any good links. I have a youtube downloader.

Although I am not sure it counts as an interest although I have an interest in playing the piano myself and listening to his piano playing I also seem to have a bit of a crush. He is so cute. He pulls the cutest faces when he plays....

See:

I don't know if people with ASD's have crushes though. My therapist thinks I have Asperger's but I may just be a weird NT.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH-z6wXqB-s[/youtube]

I am a male, and I may be bisexual.

I'm not sure if I can relate to this or not but growing up I had no idea what a crush was either. I went into my early teenage years not knowing what a crush felt like (I presume I am bisexual now), as all I had ever felt was a super strong desire to be the best friend of a guy that I perceived to be socially successful. A guy that was socially successful was often attractive (though I do stress not always) and I look back and see that I smothered so many of them in awkward ways either got rejected or rejected myself each time because I was outcast or something like that. I also didn't want them to like their other friends more than me. If I wanted someone to be my best friend, I HAD to be their best friend.

I sometimes wonder if what I had felt all those times was actually a crush on a guy, though it seems sort of weird in that it started in grade 4 (perhaps kinder though I can't remember) and from then on always followed the same trend that they were socially successful in one way or another. I still don't know, but I do know for sure that I'm either straight or bisexual as I was involved sexually with a female two years ago (I never thought would have happened to me, she sort of used me) and I liked it for more than just the pleasure. The strange thing is, I still have those obsessions with guys. It's really confusing.

EDIT - I should also add that I never really needed to be friends with anyone else except one guy. I didn't need any other female friends, or any other male friends. It was always just 1, and that's how it still is. I enjoy the company of other friends but I never talk to them selectively (other than the 1 main one) unless I feel as if I will lose the connection if I don't or have a specific reason to. I will always obsess over the 1, and I have to fake a lot of enjoyment for the others as to not be outcast etc. My friends that aren't the 1 I am obsessing over are basically tools that I use for my own comfort/social requirements, with one slight exception that only came recently - I have one solid friend (aside from the one I'm obsessed with) that I developed a relatively deep connection with as he was my first real friend in essentially my whole life. Maybe that happened because he told me I was his best friend one day, I dunno.

To be honest this factor of my life still really confuses me so if you read it please take it with a grain of salt. Also when I say one guy, I'm not referring to the same one throughout my whole life, as I obviously got rejected etc constantly.

-------------------------------------------

Anyway that aside, I was also wondering in addition to the OP.. can a special interest be something that is not so apparent? As in could it be something such as personal influence/manipulation over the environment? Could it be self improvement? Could it be something even more vague than those, underlying all other interests you have? I have read for example that an individual on the spectrum may have a special interest in writing, but have a lot of interests where the common ground is that they write about them. What I mean are special interests centered around something even less obvious than that.

Last edited by Norny on 23 Jan 2014, 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

There are other possibilities other than crushes. I feel like that to my girlfriends too and I'm straight. Let me explain, jealously is a common thing, specially if your're socially insecure. My case, and possibly your case too if you have aspergers you were probably socially rejected many times or feel akward. In the specific case of those socially succesful guys, it could be that you admire them because you wanted to be like them - it happens to me too, or you unconsciously want to be their friends because they are power in the social hierarchy, pretty common. Another option: you fixate on those people, just like you get obssessed on some topics as an aspie you can get obssessed about someone, not necessarily a partner. If you do some research you will find it's pretty common for aspies to get fixated on a person.

So, a few options: 1 - crush; 2 - jealously; 3 - admiration; 4 - social hierarchy; 5 - obssession
It can be one of those feelings (or others, or combinations) depending on the specific case, but all those are common among aspies or NT's alike.

Last edited by linatet on 23 Jan 2014, 10:17 am, edited 3 times in total.

They can. I have no proof that all do, but it happens all the time.

This is what I've been wondering, because although I have fantasized about guys before (I don't care what information I divulge, AMA kthx) they have never turned me on in real life, like at all (though it could be social stigma). What you say makes a ton of sense to me, especially the bolded part. After getting rejected multiple times by them for been my annoying self I basically created a false persona based on them, and at times that was blatantly obvious. Back in the days of MSN Messenger, I made my contact name almost exactly the same as the person I was obsessing over at the time, just as an example. I ended up rejecting myself when I was fake most of the times and I remember them clearly.



EDIT - Just saw this part. It definitely wasn't/isn't number 4, I never cared for social hierarchy. In fact I always preferred being in a small quiet group of 3-4 people (that didn't really happen until recently though, but it still isn't as good as it might sound). I have considered that maybe I am this way because I have always needed someone to 'carry' me in social situations. They also made/make me feel secure provided I feel they like me more than others, and I'm not sure if that's jealousy or insecurity about losing the friendship or something like that. I don't think it's admiration, but I do think I have wanted to be like them, so it's really narrowed down to a crush or obsession. Is it possible to be both?

I never bother to collect any data or stuff about anything really. The only stuff i "collect" are the empty beer bottles at the interior sill I now only live in present and basically live one day at time.

For sure one of my obsessive interest was and still is Fish/reptiles. I had 7 fish tanks, 4 lizards, 8 frogs and a turtle. Only reason I still don't do it is because I moved out of my mother's and got married and now live in a studio apartment. I told my wife when we move to a bigger apartment I'm getting at least a 120g fish tank with Sting Rays. In the Fish/ Reptile hobby they call this Multi tank Syndrome.

Fireworks. Buy fireworks and put on private shows. I don't know if I obsessed about because most people in the hobby obsessed over it.

Ham Radio. Never really obsessed on it.

Scooters. I boarder line obsessed on it. Had 2. One was a 300cc Vespa and I had a top case, windshield, side crash bars, aftermarket Exhaust, under body lights, chrome license plate frame with reflecting bolts and a Ham radio.

A special interest can be anything. The main point is the super obsessive nature of the special interest. If someone only mildly (not obsessive) likes doorknob model numbers (obscure topic) and flips through a few pages of doorknobs sometimes when they see a catalog at home depot, then that is not a special interest. If someone is super obsessive about baseball (mainstream topic) and watches all of their team's games and fills out scorecards during tv broadcasts and knows all stats for their team and division and maybe all of mlb and automatically remembers and recalls the order of plays during specific games as well as which pictures of which players were on the espn game summary webpages for those games and the specific inning when pitcher X's ERA dropped below 2, then that person has a special interest. A special interest could be verry merry berry powerful if applied to a profession. Also, a special interest doesn't have to be entirely cataloging knowledge, it could be discovering new knowledge like in science research or creating things.