Do not all autistic people have special intrests?

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EVERY case worker I have had always sooner or later asks...no badgers me about starting social activities. Even after I have made it very obvious I do not enjoy socializing with people. If it were a group of meerkats or something that wanted human attention, I'd SO look into that...but only if I were the only human they were interested in interacting with at a time.

An autistic friend of mine is slowly starting to not be such a friend anymore because they are like "You only talk about your special interests!" I remind them that they do as well but I don't complain. And seriously, I only became friends with you in the first place because we shared interests.

Won't break my heart if I never hear from you again. Seriously, I've lost so many friends as a kid (maybe they were not actually true friends) that whenever I do make a friend, I'm wondering when it will be over. Doesn't phase me anymore. I get more joy out of my special interests anyway and after Covid is over, I'm going back to school to peruse being a veterinarian; which in itself is a special interest. I suppose I could kill two birds with one stone and be a meerkat specialist.

So called friend I mentioned previously doesn't think I can even be a vet...but they can go jump in a lake. They are the one who gave up on their vet dream when society pressured them out of it...that's not going to be me. They also say it kinda disturbs them that I only think about meerkats and being a vet and don't want to interact with other people when it isn't necessary. They're like "God wants you to be this way!" I'm like, "Well, God is the only one who's opinion of me is the only one I actually value. Plus if God didn't want me to be a vet, why do I want to be one to the point of obsession? And if that's not what He wants of me, what exactly am I supposed to do?" And then they can't come up with an answer.

I might just count my losses and cut off all contact with this person. They never contact me that often anyway. If they were an NT, I could understand, but they are not an NT. I've also known NT's who didn't have a problem with this and LOVED to hear about meerkats or give me advice on getting into the vet field and tell me how good they thought I'd be at it. But this person is autistic. They used to have special interests, or so I thought, but they say they never loved that as much as I loved meerkats.

Good luck in your pursuit of the veterinarian degree.

There is a lot to like about Meerkats, especially magic ones. Sorry to hear about your friend though

I don't have special interests, only casual interests.

Special interests were always my STRONGEST my main autistic trait. This person USED to have special interests and the way they talk about some things now, they apparently still do. Maybe they just don't realize it's a special interest...but they say they don't love it the same way I love meerkats and perusing being a vet.

I wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of becoming a vet specializing in exotics!

And I'm not sure about others, but I'm a bit obsessed with dogs and always talk about how important animal therapy and service dogs are. I especially love Great Pyreenes and German Shepherds. My profile pic is one of my furbabies who is a mix of the 2. And my mom's service dog is German Shepard/ Belgian malinois mix. The German shepard I had before was the love of my life and she saved my moms life 3 times. She passed away 2 1/2 yrs ago from cancer at the age of 12. Me and Appa (my profile pic) were so depressed the vet suggested we get a puppy at the shelter and get them trained as a service dog for my mom. We did just that. During the training I realized I'd found my calling and havent looked back! I apprenticed with Aria's trainer and am now looking for a new person to apprentice with. Ive read multiple books on animal behavior etc, watched videos erc. I guess it became my special interest. And yes, I talk about it a lot, especially when I take my mom to her doctor appointments and we have Aria with us.

I don't think special interests are a bad thing, especially if you're doing something productive with them. Therefore, don't listen to the negativity and hold your head up high and become an awesome veterinarian.

When I used to have obsessions, NTs were the ones that complained about me talking about it too much. It doesn't make them bad people, it's just that nobody likes talking about the same subject every time they see you. It was an impulsively for me to talk about my obsessions even though I was aware of how bored people got. I lost lots of (NT) friends because of it.

Would you get fed up if I talked nonstop to you about football? (Just an example of something you're probably not into).

If you talk about meerkats in moderation OR people judge you for having a special interest in meerkats then that is not very nice of them.

I sometimes get told off because I tend to steer conversations towards trains but I do that so I can relate to the subject being talked about as I use train or railway related subjects.

I have many special interests, but they rotate in and out of the foreground, and I am subject to adopt new obsessions as well.

Does anyone feel like people on seem interested in your special interest out of having a motive or agenda to seem interested in your interest? Like not actually because they have a genuine interest in you or what it is you're interested in??

In case your purplexed by this concept. I can assure you it's most definitely real. People are superficial and do these things I find very bizarre. I couldn't be falsified into making it seem as if I'm interested in someone or their activities of interest out of not actually being interested genuinely. I'm not sure if it's just every person I seem to bump into or if it's just how NT's are!?! Very strange indeed.

Does anyone feel like people on seem interested in your special interest out of having a motive or agenda to seem interested in your interest? Like not actually because they have a genuine interest in you or what it is you're interested in??

In case your purplexed by this concept. I can assure you it's most definitely real. People are superficial and do these things I find very bizarre. I couldn't be falsified into making it seem as if I'm interested in someone or their activities of interest out of not actually being interested genuinely. I'm not sure if it's just every person I seem to bump into or if it's just how NT's are!?! Very strange indeed.