Signs of a New Special Interest

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I think special interests are the most intriguing thing about AS (probably because it's my most defining symptom), and I'm just curious as to how other Aspies can tell when something is becoming a new special interest. I have a burgeoning special interest at the moment, so I wanted to hear other Aspies' signs. For me, I know the specific thing is becoming a true special interest and not just a non-AS interest because I think about it/mentally quote (if it's a TV show/movie) it all of the time, I want to tell everyone I can about it and inform them of the facts I know, and I feel restless and unsettled if I don't pursue the interest.
-OddDuckNash99-

I have what I consider to be "interests" and "Special Interests."

"interests" are things that cause me to learn all I can about them in the space of a few days. These are fleeting things & my interest in them is mainly to satisfy my curiosity. Once my curiosity is satisfied, I pretty much leave the interest behind.

"Special Interests" are things that consume me. Virtually every waking moment is spent either pursuing my "Special Interest," thinking about my "Special Interest," or counting the seconds until I can get back to my "Special Interest."

"interests" come and go - I frequently have more than one at a time. I may or may not feel compelled to stop everything else until I've satisfied my curiosity.

"Special Interests" are few & far between. I can't remember ever having more than one "Special Interest" at a time. When it comes on me, there is little room for anything else - and sometimes sleeping takes a back seat & eating gets postponed. (But I have learned that not going to work is completely unacceptable )

Last edited by zeichner on 24 Apr 2009, 1:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

zeichner---I could not think of any better way of defining this. I hope many read your post. Excellent .

Recently I kept emailing my wife from work one day talking about the antichrist, the goings-on in the world today, and all this other stuff that was going through my mind that day (I am very scared for our world today). Anyway after a few of my rambling, research-soaked emails she emailed me back and said "do I sense a new special interest coming on?" At that moment it hit me: for once, I was actually watching it happen and was aware. Usually they just come on and suddenly I have that interest, but since she pointed it out to me this time, I actually saw it coming on.

When my wife starts complaining about how much money I'm spending on it.

brian

Wow, sounds just like me! And my name is also Brian. Scary!

This is actually pretty funny.

- And we're NOT supposed to have a sense of humour!! !

Not supposed to? Who said that???

In my experience it's pretty much as you guys describe it, i literally can't stop thinking about a special interest once i have it. I've had sleeping problems because of this . There is another downside though - i can't force myself absolutely at all to concentrate on other subjects once my mind has locked onto something and this has caused problems in school. Whether other people could at least memorize things that they did not have an intense interest in, i found it horrible to be wasting my time not on a special interest. The other aspect is going through several interests, sometimes this has to do with age - when i was around 9 or 10 i was absolutely obsessed with astronomy and fantasy (e.g. JRR Tolkien and D&D), later i got into ancient history and this then shifted to philosophy to linguistics then maths (yes maths ) and now it's with music. And these were proper intense interests, i would have internal monologues (which is weird once i think about it) about the Peloponnesean War as well as the finer points of linguistic discourse analysis and also Kant's Metaphysics etc.

In the end i would say that special interests are the main strength of asperger's as long as it is not denied and fulfilled.
It's also the bright spot - sometimes i think the world is a lot nicer because there are many things that i am interested in. And that every time there is an anxiety because of social communication inabilities i can go back to my special interest.

Basically what you guys said. Sometimes it comes pretty much out of the blue. Like when I picked up a bird field guide as a child... well that ended up me trying to be an ornithologist as a carrer, in school I used to carry my field guide around with me, doodle birds on everything etc.. when I got obsessed with Pokemon, I wrote one paper on pokemon in school, drew them on the chalkboards, made a program for my graphing calculator, etc...

First sign is googling it a lot and can't stop thinking about it.

Autism/Asperger's is actually one of my interests now, I can keep away from it when I happened to be interested in something else briefly, but I always end up back at this site, even though I don't know if I will ever be dxed or if I really have it.

i have no idea. mine usually switch around every so often

special interests are the second worst thing about AS

I'm sorry to hear that. But what you are saying is that these special interests are the second worst thing for you---because I believe that most of us who have these special interests enjoy them. I can tell you that my special interests are a pure delight for me. I am using my special interests toward my music ministry (my musical instrument fascination) and my writing (I use my other special interests in things like a novel I am working on). So you see---my special interests drive me through life. Without them, I would not be me.

Good question!

For me, it starts with being thrilled by something I'm accidentally exposed to (a picture, a movie, an idea, a book, etc.).

Second, intense research.

Third, developing a plan to be able to increase exposure.

Fourth, using all my free time to engage in that interest.

Fifth, allocating regular resources (money, time, energy).

Finally, it becomes a lifestyle. I love having a lifestyle!

Few interests develop into special interests, and only one or two special interests develop into a lifestyle that lasts a few years. Past lifestyles sometimes remain as special interests that co-exist with the current lifestyle. Some past special interests die so totally that I even wonder how come I was consumed by them in the past. But they certainly were the eggs from which ensuing special interests came to life.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone! I find it interesting that not many people have said that they have an uncontrollable need to talk about the new interest. That's my second-biggest symptom, after thinking about it nonstop. My best friend and my mom know that this new topic is becoming a special interest, because I mention it about every time I talk to them. It's like I have this need to educate everyone about it and to talk about the awesomeness of the topic.
-OddDuckNash99-

Actually OddDuckNash99, I often like to "educate" those I know (family) about a special interest(s). I enjoy talking about it, but I have come to realize that often they are not interested in the things I am interested in. It has taken years to find this out because I assumed that something that was interesting to me was interesting to them too. This was a problem for me when I taught high school English---I used to push assignments that were based on my interests thinking that my students would be interested in them too. Now I have switched to the gifted program at school, and my students work on independent projects. This change in jobs has worked out well for me since I can relate better to gifted students.