Talking about special interests...

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Do all Aspies talk a lot about their special interests?

This is not a criticism, I actually don't mind when someone talks a lot about some thing as often it means I don't have to speak. I actaully prefer to sit quietly most of the time and am actualy not always comfortable giving people long speeches about my favourite hobby. I prefer to do my interests rather than talk about them unless the person inquires or the topic comes up, at which point I'd rather give them a demonstration.

If I were teaching someone about the paleo diet for example, rather than just tell them about it, I'd be tempted to want to dress up in a Cave woman suit and actually take them around the supermarket whilst giving them a mock documentary style tour whereby I discus different aspects of the paleo diet as we encounter each related aisle. So it would be a sort of field trip. I often think of shopping as modern day hunting and gathering anyway...except I hunt at Sainsbury rather than out in the wilds.

If they want to know about Cross stitching Id rather get my stash out and show them.

But I don;t really talk about my interests much in person (online and in blogs yes, in person, not unles I am probed) as when being social I would rather do an activity (go to a theme park for example) or just sit quietly whilst everyone else natters unless I have a one off comment to make. Doing anything else is a strain and leaves me exhausted.

Can you be aspie if you don't like just talking about your special interests? Also do you have to try to know everything about your interests to be ASD?

Most of my hobbies are doing things anyway...needlecrafts I know how to do various stitches but know nothing of the history and have little interest in that side of it, but I do have interest in designing my own charts, playing piano (I don't spend time researching the history of the piano though and don't know many pianists. MY interest in is in playing the piano myself and in learning to read music.

When it comes to sharks I like to watch shark movies, documentaries, read books and visit sea life centers and I am slowly getting around to joining the campaign against shark finning as well. I have some interest in conservation. I don't memories lots of facts about them though such as how long they all are (or i have not yet anyway as that has not been my main focus) although I can name a variety of species. I'd be more interested in having a map of the uk to mark areas where they have been sighted on. I'd like to visit those areas. I may learn their lengths via the process of spending time reading in general and watching documentaires but I have not attempted to memorise it for the sake of doing so. I am somewhat more interested in learning to understand their evolution.

The paleo diet/lifestyle again more of a doing thing and often that is the only way my interest manifests itself. Whilst I know some basic science about fats and types of fat for example I don't research deeply enough to know anything about their chemical structures (I hate chemistry) I just learn what I need to know to actually do the diet and make my own choices when it comes to personalisation. I am interested in doing some paleo themed art work/needlecrafts though and I would like to collect paleo recipes.

I will however, read every book on the paleo diet and lifestyle/fitness I can get my hands on...I love reading and watching documentaries about the subject (I really love my paleo diet the best at the moment...it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and I get a loving excited feeling in my chest when I think about it..I know I am strange) and I have even had the library buy several new paleo related books as they did not have them in! But, whilst I am happy to read about the health effects according to studies on the good or bad side of fats, I still don't want to know about the chemical structures of fat unless I absolutely must do. I realy hate chemistry it is so boring.

It seems to indicate to me that I am not aspie as even though I collect things related to my hobbies and am very intense about them, I don't research all areas related to my hobbies (I have particular aspects that interest me and I tend to ignore the other aspects unless I have to pay attention to them) and my hobbies are not unusual. They could actually be quite functional.

How do your special interests manifest?

I would disagree with your assessment that you can't be autistic unless you talk nonstop about your interests. One of the other symptoms of autism is a lack of social reciprocity and engagement of enjoyment with others. Most NTs would talk with people about their interests as a means of communicating and forming social bonds. An autistic however, does not talk about his interests to form social bonds, rather, to have an audience with which to share his stockpile of fascinating information. An autistic who is less inclined to seek out that audience though is no less autistic than the one who does. I only ever talk about my interests if someone brings them up in conversation first, at which point I can go off the deep end and spend hours immersed in my facts. I do not however, walk up to a friend or acquaintance and suddenly start spouting off facts about dinosaurs, Star Trek, or the X-Men.

I don't like to talk about my interests.
I like to do my interests.
I hate talking, but I love chemistry.

I (rightly I think) assume that nobody wants to hear about my all-consuming obsession with chainsaw repair, firewood, my own music etc so I never talk about it. Not even when asked.

I used to play in a band that had some success and I would never talk about it when asked. If questioned I would want dive headfirst into the nearest hole.

It feels like being asked to display my naked bottom or something. I assume that the questioner is asking out of kindness and will gain absolutely nothing from my response.

Of course Aspies like to talk about, or perform, their Special Interests.

That's what makes them Aspie!

The key, really, is learning when to rein it in.