Eccentric interests not an ASD primary symptom

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I have a theory, or rather an assertion, that intense and eccentric interests are not an ASD primary symptom as some sources are claimed, but rather a by-product of being shunned due to the primary symptoms of nonverbal communication and theory of mind deficits, rigid posture and poor motor skills etc, which translate into being excluded from activities that they really WANT to participate in. I really wanted to play tennis or golf in my youth, which are by far mainstream hobbies, but was ridiculed out of them and given pat responses such as "well, we were thinking...maaaayyybe this isn't the best thing for you."

Same could go for other mainstream hobbies such as anything art-like or organizing events like a charity casino where there' s a group setting that requires social finesse - Aspies would get pushed to the margins of the group due to the primary symptoms described, and would be compelled to retreat to the more eccentric interests that don't require navigating unspoken group norms and expectations.

In essence, it isn't accurate to say that Aspies choose to retreat into the interests that they do as a direct result of their condition. This is the corollary to the stereotype of Aspies as loners who don't crave social contact. Thinking about magnetic force, society "repels" them in the direction that they drift, if one could put it that way.

Even though that may be your experience, that doesn't cover everyone's experiences. I've never had any interest in doing sports or anything that would be typical of other females my age. I spend time and money on my interests because I genuinely love them and want to indulge in them.

Well, to be fair and frank, I too have had no interest in team sports...it's the one-on-one or rotational small group sports that I pursued. Anything team sports related, I just stuck to collecting statistics and using that as a chat basis

I don't think so. I mean, one does likely impact the other, but my interests go back to before any such experiences on my part, and before caring about such experiences. And before understanding that other people were not as enamored of them as I was.

I find my special interests are a little like falling in love. I want to be with my beloved special interest. When I am with my special interest, the world feels right and whole. I can work at my special interest for hours. Even if I go away, I just keep coming back ... I cannot let go. In a world of stress and angst, the special interest is a haven of peace.

^^^ omg. What he said! The "falling in love" analogy is perfect. I fall in love with my special interests.

I had obsessive special interests long before I was even *aware* that others weren't the same way, let alone thought it was strange. There was no retreat or self-preservation -- other people just weren't sufficiently interesting to notice or care about.

Last edited by dr01dguy on 30 Mar 2012, 9:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This does not apply to me. I love my special interests, and I have always been far more interested in solitary pursuit of my special interests and activities than playing or socializing with others.

I'm another person who has to say I my experiences don't match that at all. I still don't understand people wanting to do most social activities (though I do want to do one social activity per week (that I enjoy), this is partially so I don't swap into avoiding them completely).

Doing things to do with special interests have always been because they're things I want to do rather than the silly things other people were doing. Why would you want to play tennis when you can do math?

Eccentric interests themselves are not. It's the duration and strength of the interest that matters clinically.

Not at all true of me. If anything, the direction went the other way - I had no shared interests with other kids, and they got annoyed when I talked about what I was interested in, so the interactions tended to break down readily. Having friends is nice, but if it interferes with pursuing my interests, I'll pick my interests over friendship.

I second that

I third it.

I agree here. I don't want to invalidate the OP's experience, since it's entirely possible that for at least some people, special interests are, or become, a way to cope with social isolation; but I don't think that's the case for most people with ASDs. I think we are natural specialists, and that it is pleasurable for us to specialize much the same way that it's pleasurable for anyone to engage in an activity where they're talented and well-suited to doing that activity.

Not to say that a behavior can't have multiple purposes. I bet there are a lot of autistic people who are alive and sane today precisely because they had special interests to turn to when people rejected them for being odd. A person can't live without some purpose in life, and special interests fit the bill nicely.

From an objective diagnostic standpoint, no single symptom of AS is "primary."

AS is a collection of symptoms one must have one of several different combinations of in order to be diagnosed. Which of the symptoms each of us has, out of the several combinations of symptoms that would qualify one for diagnosis, that qualifies as "primary" would differ from individual to individual, even among those that actually posses the exact same set of symptoms.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Pick any one symptom of AS. Lack of that one symptom does not disqualify anyone for AS diagnosis.

The narrow interests came first, the realisation I should maybe be making friends came 20 years later.

It's going to be hard to find a primary reason because each of us is affected in different ways.

For me it's always been about having an attention to detail even in my interests and repetitive behaviour which made me fearful of anything slightly different. The sensory issues got worse as an adult and for most of my childhood I was hyposensitive. I never had an interest in people so my communication skills were lacking behind.

The repetition and routines part has always been a primary symptom to me and is how I tend to see autism, with the communication difficulties of course.