Do you consider ASD to be one of your special interests?

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Just curious how many people are on this board for whom ASD is NOT a special interest...

It went from my having never heard of Asperger's / High Functioning Autism to being a special interest in less than a day last year when I found out I have it, and has been a special interest ever since...

I think so. I like talking to other aspies about Asperger’s, and I know pretty much all the symptoms, including those that most people don’t even know are symptoms.

I do, though increasingly I wish it wasn't. I hate seeing AS people continuously abused as political footballs, used to raise money for haters, and the largely overall passivity of AS people in response. I couldn't care less about chicken nuggets or many of the topics now, which is different from when I joined WP.

Not at this point, but it was when I first had a clue what it meant. I was diagnosed when I was in third or fourth grade, wasn't told much at all besides the name, and didn't get much Internet access at that age, so I pretty much dismissed it. When I was around fourteen, one day I thought "Oh yeah, don't I have something called Asperger's syndrome?" and decided to look it up. From there, it stayed at "special interest" level of interest for a few years, but as of now, it hasn't been that much of an interest of mine for several years - kind of like my brain decided "Okay, we know enough about this, time to move on to something else" - most of my interests seem to center on learning or figuring things out, except for the ones that are just completely random.

I think it is a special interest of mine but it also seems a little narcissistic to me as although I find reading about every aspect of the spectrum riveting , I latch on to things that pertain to me i.e. I don't think I've had a meltdown so it's not something I did a lot of research on.

^^^SaveFerris, I don’t think that’s narcissistic; I’ve seen a lot of people here with an interest in “autism and how it affects me.” I like learning about things I deal with more than things I don’t as well.

I would definitely consider autism a special interest, at least at one point, although my obsession with WrongPlanet has certainly died down quite a bit. It used to be all I thought about or did, so that’s probably a good thing . Now, I mainly watch videos, talk about it, read about it, etc.

I love researching about it and finding new information and seeing people point of view and all. But I wouldn't go that far to call it a special interest.

It used to be my special interest but not so much anymore. I feel I grew & learned alot about myself & am a better person from it but it's gotten to the point where things become kind of repetitive. I keep coming across similar kinds of things & it's getting kinda boring.

When I was first told six years ago that I was on the Spectrum, I had no idea what the Spectrum was. I began to research it intently and when I finally starting to understand my own life for the first time, it became a special interest of mine and it has been ever since.

Interest, yes, special interest, no. It was an obsession when I first got into it though.

My interest in it lies in what it means for me personally and how I am compared to other aspies, like are my traits/ this or that trait severe, moderate or mild, what traits do I have or not and in what situations. It's all about understanding myself and my place on the spectrum, how I'm typical and atypical, where the lines are drawn between Asperger's, personality, traits/characteristics anyone might have etc.

Yes. Asperger’s quickly became my special interest after finding I’m likely on the spectrum. It’s unlike other special interests because the info I’m finding is very helpful to learn about myself.

It was definitely one of my special interests when I was in junior high, which is when I first discovered this website, but I don't really think of it as a special interest anymore. Back then, I would do lots of web searches on Autism every day and related topics and was always reading different books on the subject. I don't really do that much any more. I still like reading things and posting here, but I spend more time on other special interests now.

Yes. I have been researching the topic of autism/Asperger syndrome for many years.

Yes I find that I have a great interest in ASD as it intrigues me to no end. I feel blessed by being an Aspie, although I dislike the meltdown side.

Yes. I'd be denying it if I said no lol. If it wasn't a special interest, I wouldn't have read more than 10,000 pages about it, figured out what causes & how to treat it in myself.

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

So, neuropsychiatric disorders were one of my big special interests many years before I was diagnosed with Asperger's. Bipolar mania has always been the one that I've focused my attention on the most. When I received my diagnosis, I was more interested in ASDs for a year or so, mainly because I was exploring myself, what it meant to be on the spectrum, and wanted to find others like me. That's how I found this forum initially (back on my old account, OddDuckNash99). But even when I was more into ASDs than I am now, they never reached the level of interest I have for psychotic mania/bipolar disorder.

Now, I'd say that the aspects of ASDs that I like to focus on are special interests and sensory issues. For one, I don't think enough research is done on either, and those are how my Asperger's affects me the most in day-to-day life. Secondly, I just think they're really interesting. I'd love to see more special interest research studies. But other than that, no, I wouldn't call ASDs a special interest for me.