Special Interest's V NT's?

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Saw a psychologist today and the mention of special interests came up as a child, i mentioned water and she promptly mentioned most children are drawn to water, so i stopped there, if i had carried on, it would have gone something like this... Was naturally drawn to water before i could even talk, jumped in swimming pools and waited to be picked up from the bottom... where i have lived has always been near water or a beach, at 6yrs started surfing... had to surf every time i had spare time.. for many years i probably spent more time in the water than on land, even sleeping in a frozen car in a sleeping bag just to get the best mornings surf.... When there was no surf , i would be mountain biking, often 60+Miles at a time. and Coarse fishing was my main 3rd interest...I was born and lived 100mtrs from water, moved to England, and again lived a walk from the ocean, sent away to private school and i chose the school that was right on the water, moved back to NZ and have an ocean view and a stone throw away from water...

I tended to put all my focus into sports in my early days and twenties, i was able to hyperfocus to the point that things seemed to slow down ( if that makes any sense to anyone out there?) I became good at almost any sport i played... County Rugby, England rugby trials, Offered scholarship for swimming, rugby and athletics at several different senior schools.. South west of England representative in Athletics, Nationals clay Shooting 3 times.. just to name a few...

Spare time when not playing sports when i was younger...
Dungeons and Dragons! hehe

Today and the last 20 years, IT, web design, and graphics design... Always on the computer in the comfort and seclusion of my room... I love information about anything and often play Multiplayer technical games, ie ARMA, so my IT Interests are broad, but i get really excited about a new things. Learn the heck out of it, but then can often loose enjoyment and focus and move onto something else but come back to it a little later..

leg bouncing when sitting down in public ( always thought it might have been my hyperactive side of me, but find it soothing if a situation starts to get overwhelming)

I dont tend to correct people on there grammar mistakes ( as mine is terrible in anycase !) and in honesty i dont see many correcting peoples spelling mistakes in here...
So what it comes down to is that My psychologist seems to think i don't or didn't have any special interests that would be tied to the AS spectrum but more the SCD.

I don't correct people on their grammar as apparently that's a common aspie thing, to correct ( as mentioned don't see that in here to often!)

Oh yes, thats another thing, apparently i scored lower than would be expected on the imagination questions/ which perplexes me as i do graphics design, have managed to solve people technical issues on subjects i am not familiar with by ""Imagining"" the picture they give me and can often solve the problem to their dilemma. I think in pictures etc..???
but i am highly within the Neurodiverse range for everything else..After thinking about what she has said i thought about the questions given and there was one i remember that seems related to that and that was "" Are you good at making up stories?"", not for me!! i see two outcomes to this, can i imagine things in my head! yes... also to me it also meant can you make up stories in the sense of lying..... i wasn't too sure what the question was referring to, so i chose the safer option and circled ""Never"".... So looking back on it it could have meant the other and there for my answer was not a true reflection of myself, giving me a possibility of a false reading, so to speak ( as it goes against the mensa test i did at school 20 years ago where my imagination was Very high!)

Oh.... and she thinks sheldon from the big bang theory is a good example of aspergers.....


A little confused by all of this!... Could go on about my traits etc, but trying to hold back! hehe

Oh and one more thing.. I lose myself in this instrument i play... the video if you dare to view was made only a few weeks after recieveing the instrument and no i have never tried percussion or drumming before. ( and yes its a very old video! and yes the graphics i did aswell..

What are your thoughts?

Hello!

I have a question, if I may? Do any of the things you describe bother you or interfere with your life in any way?

hi Edenthiel, and thanks for responding ... As far as the water and surfing goes, no... However my computer IT related interest does bother me somewhat, i spend alot of time on the computer and as soon as i get home from my usual routine its the first thing i switch on... It bothers me, i think in the sense of feeling guilty... I love the outdoors, but i find Computer related things soothing... I also think in this case societies view on time spent on such activity would be seen as excessive, this is where i think i have fallen foul to societies view point on time spent on such activity... But i just cant help myself..... Also the Knee bouncing bothers me a little and am very conscious of it when i am out... i have learnt not too do it too much in public, but again i still do it alot! this i also find soothing... and as far as my hang playing goes, no it doesnt bother me at all, the sound just hits a certain spot!

I dont know if any of this makes any sense?

I think that's a good question to pose in that a lot of people say the only reason something should be considered a disorder is if it is interfereing with an disrupting real life. HOWEVER, I would like to point out that people don't consider autism a disorder, just a neurotype. That being said you wouldn't be able to change any aspieness you have. I did watch in a "documentary" the other day that apparently aspie traits fall on a bell curve and that there's a thresh-hold for how many people exhibit said aspie traits in a "significant" way. Not sure how I felt about that, but it is food for thought.
I get lost in music too.
Water is an interesting special interest to have! I know that a lot of Autie people fixate on water as a part of stimming, but yours doesn't sound like that exactly.That's cool! Sounds like it would be healthy too!
I think sheldon from big bang theory is just another tired trope of what "autistic" looks like and something that people can laugh at >.> I'm not a fan of the show however...

I also understand the feeling from the pull to go outside and do things versus the doing IT/computer things.

Thanks... I have been left in a little conundrum, mainly my fault i think, because when she first asked me how much time do i spend on the computer, i just said without thinking about it 4 hrs... In reality its between 8-12 hours a day... This is probably the only thing i may have bent the truth on, i just felt a little ashamed to metion i may spend more time on the computer than what i had originally mentioned... So feeling quite bad about that at the moment, i do feel i need to tell her the real hours, or i feel i might get misdiagnosed... As another thing that became an interest was Bitcoin.... I studied it thoroughly for 2 years, always having to find more information to fully understand its concept, and from that i have online to trading... When people ask me about it, i suddenly get excited and talk about it in such depth and detail that it tends to lose people after about 30 seconds! haha, but cant help myself when its something i love? confusion, confusion

I don't think it's the special interest per se that's the difference between an NT and an ASD person. I think it's a matter of degree, and repetition...not the interest itself. Your example of water above shows exactly this. It's true. Many, many people, including NTs, absolutely love water. It's the degree of focus that's different from the average NT's interest.

I don't think my special interests (history, for example) are any weirder than any NT's. It's just that most NTs I know wouldn't spend four months of 3:00am bedtimes researching to confirm one specific aspect of a certain culture in a given time period and locale in history.

One very famous "hallmark" of ASD in toddlerhood/preschool, and for some people, well beyond, is a fascination with spinning objects. Either the child will want to stare at the spinning object, or will want to spin it him/herself; or will want to stop/start the spinning, etc. When my son was being assessed for ASD my mother-in-law kept arguing that "every child likes spinning objects!" Actually, that's true. An object in motion will attract practically ANY toddler. For a few minutes. Mother-in-law couldn't get the distinction that while yes, most kids will look at a spinning object and perhaps be delighted with and play with it, no NT preschooler I ever knew wanted to sit on the floor stopping, starting, stopping, starting the spinning...for 90 minutes without pausing for breath. (And then only stopping because Mom took the object away so he could go have lunch or whatever.)

The interest in and even activity of spinning isn't "ASD" indicative. It's the degree of focus, the length of time and the repetition.

This is true!
I did that too as a kid. Anything in motion had me captivated and I would loose sight and vision of my environs until my mother or someone else shook me into reality, (literally) it was like that for reading (especially) watching water droplets, watching a summer breeze rustle grass- I would then focus on one grass stem in particular... ANYWAY, point being I would if allowed do this for forever honestly. Sometimes I could pull myself out, usually as long as I didn't get too involved to begin with such that I lost awareness.
And yes- my mother is NT and likes the beach in a similar manner. But "normally" so. Not "with an abnormal degree or intensity". that's the distinction.

What I would like to know is how many special interests people accumulate over a lifetime, and how they can wax and wane for people. I haven't heard as much about that.

My interests tend to vary, but generally IT related at most part.. I will find an interest in a particular or the interest finds me ie Tesla, then research the heck out of him, then realize there is a pattern in his behavior, ie the location he put his towers to pull electricity from the ionosphere, i then realized it was similar to how the Egyptian pyramids were built, on certain ley lines, i would then search to see if Tesla had a fascination with the pyramids, which he apparently did, this would then get me even more excited and i would look more deeply into the pyramids construction, and my brain would be wired on the subject, and intense excitement feeling on the inside, i would not be able to come off the computer till i was literally falling asleep at the keyboard, just in case i forgot something in the morning, or rather i was intensely engrossed in the specific subject that i couldn't pull myself away from it, so yes, most nights i am awake till 3-7am, researching all matters of things, and just feel so excited on the inside i would just keep going till i dropped, get some sleep and the first thing i do in the morning is switch the computer on...
As for blades of grass, i can totally relate! i would venture into the fields as a child and sit on my own looking at a blade of grass trying to imagine its atomic/molecular structure... I still do this today with EVERYTHING i see, i don't just see an object, but in essence whats behind said object!

So again, i think i may get confused to what is classed as ""Normal"", as to me this is, and as i have never had to relate it to anything before i only have my view of it, so when asked about special interests, to me they are not so much as special as to me a generalization of what i enjoy! So very hard to give the lady what she wants as far as my own perspective goes as i have nothing/no-one to relate said activities to..

Another example, was when i once was getting engaged... I researched everything about rings, from the gold its content, ie added copper/impurities, then learn about the grading of diamonds in depth.. My folks thought i was obsessed with finding a ring but to me, i just thought i wanted to get the right one that made me and the girlfriend at the time happy, i didnt want to leave any doubt inside of me, so i was not just looking for a ring, but learnt everything about rings and even its geology.. This then led on to the interest of gold, where it is from, how to find it, it fault lines, quartz, iron deposits, gold found at bedrock level, on the inside of river bends, methods to extract gold, world locations of gold, metal detecting, what type of metal detectors etc, this then led me onto lost treasure and lost ships, learning about the spanish codes that were used in the Appalachian mountains for example, certain keystones, symbols and their meanings, certain rock formations, carvings in trees, even trees that have been cut in a certain way, ie in the US civil war.... This then led onto Free Masons as many of the symbols used were free mason related/jesuit, which then led me onto the fascination with the Knights Templar, which led me back to Pirates (pirate flag/ old masonary symbol/templar) and the fact that most pirates were actually commissioned by the military at the time to hunt down Spanish galleons, so diverting any wars that may have been created if an English ship tried to attack the spanish galleons, Middle age mercenaries, so to speak... This led me onto the excommunication of the Templas, and their sudden disappearance and the few ships that did manage to sail from portugal, around the north Of UK, past Roslyn Chapel, via north america/oak island, etc etc etc

In some ways seems like the psychologist is fixated on the ""WHO Bible"" and is basing a decision on one small aspect of the questioning of which i have already outlined as could be misinterpreted in a number of ways... Therefore her criteria is far from coming to a correct diagnosis!?

So in essence what is defined as an interest by a psychologist? A singular interest, or maybe multiple interests?

Hello - first time posting saw your post and became intrigued!

Just wanted to say that you sound EXACTLY like my husband about the whole engagement ring thing lol. I think he has ASD (never been diagnosed and not pursuing a diagnoses, but certainly agrees that the shoe fits!). It sounds to me like you have ASD. It is all about the intensity of the interest and not about what actually interests you, so I think your suspicions are definitely founded.

I am also attempting to get a diagnosis and find that the biggest defining thing for me is the fact that I have very intense interests - and emotions for that matter. Many girls have interests in dolphins I was told, but my degree of interest went beyond the norm. I call my interests obsessions because that's what they are - I do not eat or sleep and I get impatient about not finding my answers... Currently obsessed about ASD.

In regards to imagination, I think it's wrong for some professionals to assume people with ASD don't have imagination. I love stories and writing and have always done so (which is apparently common in ASD girls!), but find my imagination is limited in other ways I guess. For example, I remember setting toys up to play with them but I never actually did the playing bit, so I was more interested in the ordering of my barbies than in the actual social play (however, I did mimic at times, or talk to myself as if I was someone else). On the other hand, I had a wonderful imagination with imaginary friends - I'd sometimes get so lost that reality would disappear - sort of like how my special interests make me feel as an adult today. So I think people with ASD can have wonderful imaginations - just not in the same way maybe.

From my research, people with ASD have differing presentations of their special interest. Some people have the same interest throughout life (like water for you) whereas some may be interested in a specific area, but the interests revolving around this topic changes throughout life (like my interest in people which has created interests in psychology, history, stories etc). Some interests may be considered age appropriate some not. Some may get people's attention in a bad way others not. It's not about that though - it's about intensity.

Hope you get your answers soon! Good luck!

Thank you, yes my interests have changed over time, as i love learning new things, So it would be fair to say my interests vary... But might come back to them months later... I just find i get very excited ( not necessarily showing on the outside, other than talking about it, then arms are everywhere and i am trying to get it all out like a bullet train!)... And will often get frustrated if for instance i am absorbed in a particular interest online and have to be pulled away from it while i am in full swing so to speak, but as i am 39, have learnt over the years to hide certain aspects that may seem odd to some... also love Photography, which is great when i feel like going outdoors, but as time goes on i find my energy levels are getting less and less, so midway through the day i already feel like i have done a marathon.... So right now, it seems my diagnosis hinges on whether i have interests or not, as the psychologist mentioned under the old criteria, i would have been diagnosed as Aspie, but under the new criteria SCD as she doenst think my interests are ""Deep"" enough, but then, there has been no in depth conversation about such interests, seems to move onto something straight away... Another interest to me i think is relationships, i will do anything to try to make a relationship work, and will always go out my way for anyone especially those i care about.. It just takes time for me to work an individual out to start feeling comfortable, but unfortunately when i do start feeling ""myself"", i either get the old, sorry but i used you, or you used to be soo confident,.. so i realize the confidence thing is in respect trying to fit in, the second NT persona if you like, but at the moment due to the fact i got used twice in the space of a few months i just feel totally shell shocked, sad and depressed, as both openly admitted to using me... and before that i was single for 10 years, no intamacy at all!.... never felt a click with anyone, most of my friends are female, and i like that, i rotate, so as i dont spend too much time with one individual, as i find people tend to only cope with me in small doses... I hate shops and even as a kid i would scream going into a crowded shop, i am better now, i just tend to avoid going into them... Sensitivity to florescent light, i sneeze in bright sunlight and funnily enough when i feel nauseous , flourescents in supermarkets and especially squash courts tend to spin me out.... locking myself under the stairs as a kid in the dark, because it was comforting, not many if any friends, bullied throughout life, used throughout life, feeling alien to everyone on the planet, as if here just to observe mankind, and even when i do slightly connect, still feel inside my own bubble not quite being able to reach out and be a comforting part of a persons life, untill my last girlfriend, and was made to feel she understood me, my barriers came down somewhat and i felt soooo good, still feeling sad and anxious inside but to a level it felt i was outside my bubble and part of someone elses sharing the bubble so to speak, untill she had her own breakdown and told me she seduced, and used me, despite me emphasizing on soo many occasions, just to be straight up with me, asked only 3 rules, honesty, communication and mutual respect... This has left me feeling totally devastated and i cant shake it off, as i remember everything just like it happened moments ago... People say let go, but that just infuriates me as they have no idea, the levels of stress i have to cope with every minute of every second of every day... yes would love to feel real joy, but the sadness and anxiety is always there, so the happiness can turn a little sad very quickly as the reminder is still there to haunt me.... I often freeze in large crowds, like i am paralyzed, forehead sweating, want to get out, but cant seem to move... people will see this and stay clear, so often i am the one in the dark corner observing everyone or if they do talk, my responses dont make sense or it comes out all tongue tied, because i am soo selfaware and aware of my surroundings i am getting overloaded..... My comfort comes from being online, i get engrossed with what i am doing, creating new designs via photo shop, hence the reason i think the psychologists ""Exam"" is flawed as i already mentioned that i changed my answers 4 times as some of the questions had mixed outcomes, so if i dont have an aspie imagination, why then do i only think generally in pictures, have done graphic design for 20 years ( which needs imagination and spatial awareness!), and be able to work peoples problems out emotionally or in a specific field i have no experience in... But despite mentioning that i think the test gave an unreliable result, it only seems logical, the test needs to be revised, just because it has been used for 30 years+ doesn't necessarily mean its accurate! but hence they dont want to change their, view, hers was ""well that's what the results said, you are aspie in all areas apart from not quite the imagination and interests, which are both in essence wrong!
Even when I mentioned about the relationship break up, she didnt ask anything other than, thats life, breakups happen.... Im there in front of her, but she seems to take her diagnosis based on an outdated test that i have already proved, my answers were based on my interpretation and not what they apparently meant!... i have come this far, i dont want to get wrongly diagnosed... Its just starting to get a little stressful, Now she wants to take me out and do social exercises!, No way!! !! seems to be moving away from what i instinctively feel to an area that seems foreign! Yes , when i have the energy, i can put the smile on, and look them in the eye, then look away when i have to, but right now, to be honest i cant be arsed playing that game!

Sounds like you have gone through a really tough time - I'm sorry to hear that.

It does sound like your psychologist has "tunnel vision" when it comes to your symptoms. Have you considered seeing someone else (especially if she's not too well versed in seeing adults with ASD)? To me it sounds like you do have it from what I've read but I'm no expert of course. I do think you have to be careful with some psychologists/health professionals as there are some who have outdated ideas - I'd know as it wasn't too long ago that it was considered almost impossible for girls to have ASD and yet many women are getting diagnosed now, but many professionals still doubt that girls can have it!

At the end of the day you know yourself best and she doesn't. If you feel like she doesn't "get" you, I'd look for someone else. You need to feel comfortable with your psychologist and it sounds like you don't trust her judgment or methods.

Your suspicions may be right about the tests too as I have heard many are not accurate because there are girls that have ASD but the tests miss them as ASD presents differently in girls. The theory is because girls are expected to be social butterflies, they have to learn to adapt. It's totally possible then that the classic picture we have of boys with ASD isn't accurate either as everyone is different and has a different upbringing. I think it's easy for people to look at the symptoms and not the underlying cause. Afterall if you've met one person with ASD you've only met one person with ASD.

Have you read about Tony Attwood? He's an expert in Aspergers and may help you find answers.

Thank you for taking the time to put your thoughts down, yes i do feel she has a little tunnel vision as her comments now dont entirely match the descriptions i have given, also as this is in effect a new discovery for me, what may have seen normal to me as a child may have been seen as excessive to others, so to answer that question can be a bit hard... Also my Mensa test when younger graded me with a very high imagination, my life is based around pictures, even explaining that as a child i wold imagine the atomic/molecular structure of grass or anything else for that mater doesnt seem to fit in with an NT's thought process of 7 years old!, and all this is based on imagination, or using the imagery in my mind to create a picture of an issue or a problem to solve, i have also mentioned i have trouble sleeping due to exactly this, i come up with all sorts of ideas/inventions, and problem solving which becomes obsessive in my mind therefore hard to get to sleep, my body will feel tingly and drained but my mind just keeps going, all this is based on my mind/images/imagination... So it to me doesn't fit the jigsaw puzzle of what she now thinks based on the WHO report as to what i have tried to emphasis.... After 39 years trying to work out my differences/indeferences to the general population, i am not going to diagnose my self with what generally fits, there is no point! but what fits entirely.... and since been made aware i might be on the spectrum, it has generated a total light bulb effect... I didnt have the sensory issues as a child as i had extreme hearing issues from the age of 4 almost to present day... So certain sounds would not have effected me as much , however on visual sensory overload i totally fit the picture... I am very self aware and aware of my emotions, but compared to what!? as this is all very new.... I do feel somewhat frustrated that she seems to have fully focused on what another organisation has declared as ""fact"". I mentioned ICD-10 ( i think) which classes my symptoms entirely on the aspie spectrum, i put this to her, and mentioned i suppose i depends on what bible you want to believe! she just smiled, but it does also seem to show in my mind that she has had little experience with people on the spectrum as she has emphasized her view based on alternative literature and not through her own experiences with dealing with the mind frame of someone on the spectrum... This is again backed up by the quick online check i did of her, in her Linkdin profile, where she has dealt with ""Corrections"" , forensics, homelessness, but nothing really on the spectrum... To be honest i came into this trying to understand myself, but now am focused and intrigued by her thought process! So in effect both analyzing each other... Also now at 39, i have probably masked many of the so called ""typical"" traits ( if there really is any such thing as those on the spectrum seem to vary individually and differently to each other)..

Would love to hear the view of those that are diagnosed on the spectrum, i value your input! and be more than welcome to ask me anything you like, i am an open book


and yes i have heard of Tony Attwood, the first videos i checked out were of a young lady called ""TheAnmish"" on youtube, this was my lightbulb moment, as after watching all her videos and that of others, i had more of a relevant connection with experiences as she has, which led me on to Tony Attwood, and yes i have watched 90% of what he has posted video wise, i have also checked out his Australian website, and found that he has become so popular that he has had to close the door to new people seeking his help, i do have the link to his Amazon site to maybe download his book on kindle... I wold love to meet him, as he seems to be someone that has used his own mindset to understand and listen to those on the spectrum as opposed to someone that takes a singular organisations view on what is factual to them..

Oh, and another thing, is nail biting seen as a stim? as i last had the cut when i was 2.

And another thing, when doing the multiple question test given to me by the psychologist, should she have been there to answer any questions i may have had? as mentioned in previous post, there were many questions that had possibility of more than one outcome, giving different results... sorry for all the questions! am learning a lot in a short amount of time, and this for me like anyone else that may be getting diagnosed is important information for myself, anyway... Thank you all for your patience!

hyperfocusing takes up most of my focus! I know what you mean about "time slows down"...people have asked me how long it took to do something or another, and I literally have no clue.

this is how I am with welding and metal working, it suits my focus type well because the dimming helmet creates a barrier between me and other people and stimuli, and I can focus in on the forming weld and my physical movements and the other nuances and that's it

I know quite a few nts from the shop who enjoy welding, but don't seem to get sucked in as much as I do..like they'll come in and work for a couple hours then leave in the middle of fabrication, and not come back until the next weekend. and there are many people who don't stress about details and so they finish their work a lot faster...while in a way I envy their relaxed and "f**k it, as long as it does the job" attitude, I can't help but be aware of how much better my work is. *queue fanfare*