How Neurotypicals React to Autistic Special Interests

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Well, the topic title is extremely self-evident and much more black and white then most. It will be interesting to see the variables of culture and society, however my general consensus is that in every world society our interests, because they don't fit the neurotypical interests of sports, sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, and because we behave in a way they consider "unique" however, their "normal" is aberrant to us, even if we tried.

So, on to my interests, languages, history,politics, geography. How is that bad? I am tired of people asking me what the capital of Kiribati is. It's Tarawa, if you are interested, but that's not the point, the point is I feel like I am a nothing more then an intellectual machine for most NTs.

Of course, capitalism relies on intellectual machines.

I'm seen as a know-it-all.

I disagree with a lot of the original post. First of all, lots of aspies are interested in sports, rock and roll, sex, and drugs. In fact, I've done quite a bit of all of those things in my life. I haven't always pursued them in stereotypically NT ways - I haven't done drugs to fit in, I haven't gone after girls because I want to look cool - but the interests have been there. Secondly, you are assuming that languages, geography, etc. are not normal interests. They are in fact quite normal.

There are two ways in which AS special interests can seem weird and problematic for NTs. One is when the interest itself is eccentric. If you had mentioned a love of the mechanics of 1930's telephones, then it is understandable why a lot of people would find this odd, even though of course I and most open-minded people shouldn't have a problem with it. The second way is the way in which these interests are pursued - the depth of the interest, the pervasiveness of the interest in one's life, etc. For example, when I was a serious track and cross country athlete (a perfectly normal interest), it was the depth and pervasiveness of my interest that set me apart and at times made people uncomfortable (most people on the team thought I went overboard in my quest for knowledge about training, the history of the sport, etc., and sometimes people got sick of me talking about topics such as the greatest Olympic 1500 final of all time, which world record was most likely to fall in the coming season, etc.). These are the reasons why AS interests can be problematic, from what I gather.

People tell me I am an inconsiderate prick.

Our pastor loves spending time with me because he never knows when I'll come up with the obscure odd fact.

I was absolutely obsessed with cryptozoology up until around ninth grade (still more interested than most people, but it used to take up every moment of the day). People really hated that one.

My mom likes my special interests. She thinks anime is neat and enjoys hearing what I have to say about it. Recently, she's really gotten a kick out of listening to me talk about Axis Power Hetalia.

My brother likes hearing about anime, too. He likes a lot of the characters that I like; especially the Major from Hellsing and Abel from Trinity Blood.

The rest of my family members are pretty much indifferent to it.

I'm quite happy to share most of my intrerests with my mates. I do occasionally go overboard though, in those cases they just say something like "dude, who cares". I *usually* get the message lol

I occasionally get more specialised interests that seem to annoy people (most notably stock markets and share prices- that always bores the s**t out of the most understanding and patient people ;p), I learned not to talk about them to avoid being complately ignored...

I have a great interest in music (all kinds of popular styles). My best friend told me recently that I'm into it "more than most other people." (She is NOT interested AT ALL and lets me know it.)

When I would even try to introduce it to a conversation with other people, I get a kinda halfhearted, "Oh really?" And it was like, well, if you have to try that hard to seem interested in something I love, um, never mind. Nowadays I find other ways to pursue my interests.

My oldest sister listens to me, although she's not as much into music as I am. We had a good time awhile back, though, obsessively collecting X-Files game cards. THAT was fun!

I remember the days of people asking me trivia questions about things I knew. It made me feel smart and superior.

Sometimes my parents will ask me when something happened and one time they even called me just to ask what year we moved to Montana. Whenever my parents ask me about something, it's always about dates.

My boyfriend doesn't mind hearing mine, especially when I bring up Life After people like every couple days. That show was so fascinating I keep thinking about it. Every time I see something abandoned and it's falling apart or I see a road that is going back to the ground or a parking lot, I say "Life after people."

Mine is horses. Always has been.

There is a veritable cult of horse freaks though. So I am not alone. I will usually glaze even their eyes over eventually though. Live. Breathe. (I won't say Eat someone will get offended.), Exist. Equine. There is nothing else.

My daughter is the same way.