Autistic Special Interests are NOT what you think...
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
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Autistic special interests are not what you think! What counts as an autistic special interest? I look at the research into the most common special interests for autistic boys and girls, and also discuss the special interests I've had throughout my life.
Apologies that this study is not the most inclusive when it comes to gender. Remember that it is not all black and white and many of my (apparently stereotypical autistic girl) special interests are shared by my male autistic relatives! Also, remember that the study emphasises that, overall, the presentation of autism does not differ all that much between males and females. Aside from types of interest, the main difference is that AFAB individuals seem to mask more.
Parent-reported differences between school-aged girls and boys on the autism spectrum:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/...
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT:
If you want some relatable autism and ADHD Memes:
• Well, this is Insultin...
Are you masking? Taking the CAT-Q Autistic masking quiz:
• How to Know if you're ...
00:00 horses are nope
00:44 what I thought autism was
02:47 no differences between boys and girls?
03:34 the most common special interest
05:50 how many people REALLY like trains?
07:01 52% of girls like this
08:00 the interests choose you
08:22 26% of boys like this
09:20 horses make me cry
11:49 everyone likes this
14:12 boys don't knit?
16:55 can anyone relate to this?
17:53 do girls like dinosaurs?
18:43 WHY is there a gender difference?
20:53 you are NOT an imposter
21:41 this needs to CHANGE
I really hope this is helpful/useful to you in some way. Thank you so much for taking to the time to watch! Feel free to make requests for future videos in the comments below.
DISCLAIMER: I am a second-year psychology student and a late-diagnosed #actuallyautistic individual. I am not a qualified healthcare professional.
*Books I'd Recommend about Autism:
Different not Less by Chloe Hayden (read if you want to cry):
amzn.to/40fKx2m
Aspergirls by Rudy Simone:
amzn.to/3xSZ6Mg
*Links with a star are affiliate links. The channel will receive a small commission if you buy anything on Amazon after clicking through with this link. There's no extra cost to you and any money will go towards putting out more content. I'd love to post twice a week and put more time into research for these videos. Thank you so much - I really appreciate every like and comment!
*Links with a star are affiliate links. The channel will receive a small commission if you buy anything on Amazon after clicking through with this link. There's no extra cost to you and any money will go towards putting out more content. I'd love to post twice a week and put more time into research for these videos. Thank you so much - I really appreciate every like and comment!
Thank you so much for watching!!
Apologies that this study is not the most inclusive when it comes to gender. Remember that it is not all black and white and many of my (apparently stereotypical autistic girl) special interests are shared by my male autistic relatives! Also, remember that the study emphasises that, overall, the presentation of autism does not differ all that much between males and females. Aside from types of interest, the main difference is that 'female' individuals seem to mask more.
If you want some relatable autism and ADHD Memes:
czcams.com/video/r8G00JJWdd4/video.html
Are you masking? Take the CAT-Q Autistic masking quiz:
czcams.com/video/-RgYyi6SgWg/video.html
You should pin your comment to the top 😀 your videos are awesome. And so are you :-)
@@ikatmax ooops!! Thanks for reminding me - I meant to do that!! You're so kind - thank you :)
@I'm Autistic, Now What? you are very very welcome :-)
@@imautisticnowwhat Still not pinned 😉 😂
Great video!
@@larissapienaar2436 Whaaattt! Blame my internet, ahaha! Thank you sooo much!
As an autistic person who wrote my master’s thesis on the create-a-sim part of The Sims 4 that went on for 79 pages, I can confirm the stereotype lol
You're my new hero 🤣Any chance that thesis is available publicly?
I really wanna read that now
How many hours have you played on the sims to get to I want to write my thesis on this level? (For the record I have almost played about 6000 hours on the sims 4 alone 😅, never mind adding in sims 1,2 +3)
@@augustmcleod93 I’m not sure, but I used to watch my dad play the first game back in 2000 until he finally let me play. My current playtime on my PC is 3376 just on TS4. I’m not sure if that counts across my computers tho
@@zinja0830 if its through origin I think they would count it over different computers as long as you were logged in to the same account 🤔 I was honestly surprised the first time I saw how long I'd played sims 4 for 😅... I also started playing from the first one, after seeing my cousin playing it I must of been about 7 years old when it came out 🤔
Does anyone else feel insecure about their special interests? Not because they're weird, but because every other autistic person seems to know every intricate detail about their special interests, but for mine I just happen to love specific details about them and not the whole picture? Like I might appreciate the visuals or the simple concept of something but nothing else about it (such as its history, technical features, etc.)?
I'm far from an expert, but to me it sounds like your special interest is steam locomotive *history*, or the *why* of steam locomotives -- not the *how* of them. As in, you *do* know every intricate detail about your special interest, your special interest just doesn't happen to be how steam locomotives work. Would it maybe help if you were to start thinking of your special interest as "steam locomotive history" instead?
Could be wrong though. I don't know much about autism, and the whole special interests thing is what I'm struggling to understand the most because nowhere seems to explain it in-depth (or at all). I'm only on this video because I thought it was an explanation lol.😅
@@theredlioness2502 That actually makes a lot of sense!! Thank you for this! And hey, good luck with your research. I find that it's difficult for even professionals to explain it 'in-depth' past kind of a surface-level explanation (at least that's what happened in my case). It's just kind of something that happens, even if from an outside perspective, it's seemingly illogical or random Lol. It also overlaps with hyperfixation territory
@@LavenderCorpses You're welcome, and thank you! :)
Theredlioness2502 put it quite nicely.
For me, I just love learning about my interests, so I actually gravitate to people that know more than me, so I can learn from them. But I do feel it a bit with archaeobotany because its a field that I want to work in and my peers know a great deal more than I do. So I do get it.
One of my special interests is trains and while I do know basics of how they operate the biggest interest is all the infrastructure around trains. The tracks, dealing with elevation changes, bridges, tunnels, stations, seeing the old telegraph poles still up in some remote areas of tracks but with the wires long gone, spotting old sidings disappearing into industrial areas, etc etc. I love going to Union Station in Toronto because it's been under renovation/construction for years and you get to see behind the scenes, so to speak, like what's under/above/beside the finished platforms etc while it's exposed for construction. For example, I find the basic underground subway train to be just as, or more, fascinating as that Big Boy steam engine that used to be so famous.
i’m an asian afab person so i always find it funny that my special interests *are* the stereotype (trains, math, legos, dino’s, pokemon) but nobody thought i was autistic until i demanded a diagnosis appointment at age 17.
i fit most autism stereotypes but solely because i am asian and born female it was never a thought. i was just a weird tomboy
Oh ok😊
Similar story with me but slavic instead of asian. We still place a great deal of value on academia (in soviet times it was the only ladder to climb) but women have to be dolls at the same time.
Never went for the official diagnosis but seing how I am your run of the mill obsessed researcher, I'm confident in my self-evaluation. It just happens to fit perfectly with the job I've found for myself. Working in silence in a lab with nobody distracting me and long hours spent with homeoffice to evaluate. My readings. There's a place for people like us. Even if the world tells you otherwise as a child.
people didn’t think i had autism until I started transitioning and passing (trans masc here) which is… hilariously proving the point i guess 😂
Oh you like dinosaurs? Very nice comrade, what’s your favorite Dino and why?
Women are criminally under diagnosed
My special interests:
-notebooks, journals, planners
-planning every major event over and over
-cleaning
-babies/pregnancy/birth etc
-creating lists/ charts
Etc
As a autistic girl from gen z where 90% of my special interests are online things like video games, tv shows, and movies, thank you! I often get made to feel like I'm not "autistic enough" because my interests are more normal for people my age, but it really is more about the intensity. (And yes I know that the fandoms for all these things get intense online, but I'm willing to bet a good percent of hardcore fandom people are nerodivergent too)
* casually yeets undertale into your walls *
@@randomnoob101flyhightweek I love Undertale, and Deltarune too of course! I also love Pokemon, (mainseries and spinoffs like pokemon Unite) Minecraft, and Animal Crossing! And I used to love FNAF back in its prime, and I honestly still watch the game theories and listen to fandom songs lol
@@lexylunamoon SAME lol (game theory hits ngl)
Autism exists on a spectrum, people need to realise that everyone has different symptoms that can manifest in different ways. We are all unique just like non autistic people :)
Hardcore fandom people might be neurodivergent. Wow, I've never thought about it like that, but you very well could have a point. Might you be interested in sharing more of you thoughts on that subject?
i have autism and also maladaptive daydreaming, i get special interests about mostly video games or series i like- but i then automatically put them into my daydream world- which is really the point where i start to love it fully, so i can kinda say that my one true special interest is just my own imaginary world since that has everything i ever liked in it lol
Same!
Aye! Me too
Same
I both love it and hate it, not being able to tell who you really are sucks. But also I can vividly imagine living as Tim drake… so.
This is REALLY similar to something i do! Only i just imagine one particular topic that I’ve been obsessed with for a long time, and then combine anything else i find interesting into it!
As a Mum (of an autistic daughter) I have really enjoyed most of my daughter's special interests. Her enthusiasm has enthused me and the way they give her joy has given me so much pleasure. When she was little it was the life cycle of the frog, then dinosaurs, and then a really fabulous and intense one of dragons. It made me and her father look out for dragons and get excited about them ourselves. I would say from our experience with her that there are major interests and minor ones, rather like large planets with small ones circling round them. I think her longest standing one has been cats and they make her so happy that I will be forever grateful to all the cats in the world.
This comment made me so happy. I hope you and your family are doing well. ❤
Thankyou so much XXXXX @@winterzealot
Well...all cats have Asperger's.
It is a nice little book that shows the parallels and it is not far off.
Our housecats did double duty as bathroom gaurds to stave off demons or whatever else we are afraid of. They are great therapy animals.
I'm AuDHD, and my special interests tend to be on the more ADHD side. I will get intensely interested in something for a few months, get the materials, over-research it, then I'm bored and move onto something else. There are a few things that I don't get bored about, I just get a little burnt out and have to stop reading about it for a few months. But that doesn't stop me from talking everyone's ear off about it, like my dogs ♥️ can't get me to shut the hell up about dogs.
Hard same except owls instead of dogs, really don't like dogs because they do not respect my personal space at all! I like them in the abstract but I am really uncomfortable around them in person, which sucks because I know they're very sweet!
@@wiegraf9009 I like dogs, but am often uncomfortable about them. You just identified why, they don't respect personal space.
Same exactly, except Native American History. I won't stfu if you get me started on that. I know way too much and you can't tell me silly 8th grade nonsense about it either.
@@RavenaDenver That's really cool!
Probably one of the most relateable things I've read all year. Sometimes my special interests are weird and come out of nowhere. The two special interests that have stuck are music and making music and the Stock Market of all things, lol
As someone with both autism and ADHD, it can be hard to tell whether something is a special interest or a hyperfixation (the main difference I’m aware of is that a hyperfixation doesn’t tend to last very long)
But i have autism and no adhd and the longest intrest i had was like a year. and most of them were half a year is this normal?
A special interest is done with joy and pleasure . Hyperfocus is very intense , at moments stressful , it takes over your life ,it's almost like being on drugs and it feels like a superpower ....and it is actually .
@@Avendesora Ok!
What i've figured is that special interest is a thing that you enjoy and it brings you joy and lasts froms weeks to years, whereas hyperfixation/hyperfocus can happen on any activity/interest and can last from hours to days.
I usually differenciate the two by how much it affects my daly life/routines. If i get hyperfoused on an activity i will forget to eat/drink/sleep/go to bathroom (or only do bare minimum of those to get back on the activity). Feels a lot like an addiction if it lasts longer than a few hours (like i literally can't stop). With special interests they often occupy my brain but i can still get other things done. It's more this brings immeasurable joy to me kind of feeling.
@@Lohi42 I agree. Hyper-fixation example: deep-diving into a topic for hours on end one day (or over a handful of days) and being unable to stop because I MUST know even though I am getting stressed out but I just can’t stop. Once during an online test I got fixated on one simple question about mathematician and poet Ada Lovelace so I read her entire Wikipedia page start to finish and memorized everything. Completely counterproductive but I just couldn’t break my focus. Special interests however and topics that bring me a lot of joy and that I keep returning to, such as bats or DNA or the titanic. These are all topics which I have loved collecting information about and enjoying, regardless of if I am intensely focused on it. Sometimes the two overlap though, such as my special interest for puzzles tuning into a hyperfixation where I cannot stop focusing on it until it is finished, and I will stay up late into the hours and ignore all bodily signals to eat, drink, use the bathroom, or sleep. So they can definitely overlap. I think the difference for me is the level of uncontrolled focus + losing track of everything else, combined with if it is a recurring/lasting enjoyable topic.
It would be interesting to know how the study compares to interests in neurotypical kids of the same age.
Exactly !
@@Maison_Marion I would imagine that solo activities vs doing things with other people might be a useful metric, at least in contexts where either is theoretically possible.
@Mc Hobbit I suspect there's a bias that goes on where something is labelled as a "special interest" not based on intensity like it's supposed to be, but instead on how unusual it is to people. Like, people who collect train statistics are more likely to have that interest seen as a "symptom" than someone who collects football statistics, regardless of intensity.
Thank you. It's really frustrating how generalizing much of the neurodivergent conversation is online - watching a friend use these concepts to justify holding herself back for 2ish years - she's lost skill sets identifying with many of the pop-neurodivergent claims.
Not to mention how rarely the conversation actually acknowledges the limitations and challenges of the profoundly autistic.
Thanks to media and TV, I'd always assumed that having a special interest meant that you were obsessed with one specific topic your entire life. I really appreciate the casual and accurate debunking, and I'm so glad we have people like this on the internet.
I thought that you had one or two special interests your whole life. That is part of why I didn't think that I was autistic. Most autistic people don't stick to one interest. But some do. My boyfriend's brother has been into trains ever since he discovered them as a child. He is in his 50's.
@@Catlily5I have a couple core special interests. …but I find new ones all the time. Some last longer than others.
My main special interest is the act of research itself though, so I’m constantly finding new topics to obsess over. Sometimes I’ll research a topic for a few months and then there are some subjects I’ve been researching my whole life.
@@clicheguevara5282 Yeah, I have some main special interests and something smaller ones. Most I cycle through. A few I haven't come back to. I like researching things also!
21:03 “It’s about the intensity.”
It’s about drive, it’s about power,
We stay hungry, we devour,
This feels like it could fit as either a short poem or a chant in gamr of thrones lmao XDDD
@@SwampyTackitt-pm7sq Oh, you’re so nice!! It’s from a song by The Rock that became a meme a year or two ago.
@deadfr0g omg- that makes it even better that The Rock made it lol-
Non-stop breaking into song and finishing the hungergames saga in a week lets goooo!
@@nagerimanualidades9403 in a week? I finished it in days just a few months ago, and a few weeks ago i had a hunger games hyperfixation yet again.
I’m one of the 2.3% of girls with an interest in transport. I love it because I love studying the systems and patterns that come with public transport. Studying people’s transport behaviours is also super interesting to me. Also the fact that something so seemingly mundane is so complex (human achievement) and I get to do it every day
Came here to say this! Transport is such a broad category though, I could even include horses in transport.
As a guy who's into transport, you've nailed the description right on the head. Transport/transit is something taken for granted, yet once you dig into timetables, vehicles, lines, whatever, a whole new world is uncovered. It's like a Pandora's box
Another girl with an interest in transport here. In addition to what OP said, there's also the movement, physics, and design principles behind it.
Just a big list of questions I find interesting that exemplify those things: How does it move? How well does it move? Does it compromise certain aspects of movement for others (like agility for speed in jet planes)? How does it deal with impact, friction, weight, and other forces? How is it designed for the environment/job/context it's in? What compromises were made in the design for cost, versatility, etc? Is there anything that could have been done better? Why does X feature exist?
I used to ride the train to work, and researched the model of train, the rail system, etc, extensively lol. I love trains in general, old trains, new trains, fast trains, slow trains, airliners of the past and present, etc.
I’ve been in transportation and logistics as a school bus driver and router as well as an OTR trucker. I love the organization, time tables, passenger managing etc. But I also just love driving big vehicles. I could talk your ear off about the different school bus models and their pros and cons. Another thing I love is trying to figure out how to optimize the system and making little changes that improve everything.
'Horse girl' is one of the stereotypes that means autism in girls often goes undiagnosed!
Special interests that are seen as age/gender appropriate by neurotypical society will often just be put down to 'girls being girls' etc.
You're so right! I don't know how many professionals would see an intense interest in horses and think autism. It seems to be a super common one that I hear mentioned all the time in the community, though.
@@imautisticnowwhat I find all the differences in presentation fascinating and the (often social) reasons for them. Things like women/girls being pressured to smile and make eye contact, so they're forced to mask - in a way that boys and men aren't.
Just watching your video on 10 traits in ASD women. As so much research (including lots of an online college course I took recently) are rooted in male - usually white - assumptions around the condition, it's good to have more insights on the experiences of women. Am going to work my way through your catalogue 👍
@I'm Autistic, Now What? I've often wondered why I've had a lifelong obsession with horses 🐎
This puts my young dinosaur obsession in a lot of context.
@@xIQ188x Aha, definitely. Dinosaur kid is also something else that crops up a lot - it's a special interest, but such a common special interest that it doesn't stand out as unusual and can make identification or diagnosis of neurodivergence harder.
Stuff like being a horse or dinosaur kid also tend to 'age' a bit better - so someone in their teens/adulthood who's really into horses or dinosaurs wouldn't be seen as atypical (compared to, say autistic adults who are obsessed with children's media). And may even be likely to end up working in a field related to horses/dinosaurs
Strangely enough it was my kid’s special interest that kept me from seeking an autism diagnosis for them. From the time they were three years old to now at 15 they have been obsessed with character design. I homeschooled and literally COULD NOT get them engaged in learning anything unless I incorporated some type of character creation in it. They have always been obsessed. So at times I would notice things that made me think “maybe autism” and I’d look it up and read on the internet “does not participate in imaginative play” and then I’d dismiss the whole idea because they were so imaginative with character design. We are currently seeking an autism diagnosis now though.
Most autistics I've seen online and in person have great imaginations. I think it's theorized that the low functioning ones don't, but that could be explained by them being unable to communicate their inner world.
I’ve met many people on the spectrum that engage in so so much imagnitive play! I didn’t know this was a thing
I have an ADHD 5-year-old who won't use the toilet unless I create an entire imaginary word around it (like playing Vet).
His older brother is an OBSESSIVE reader. What are the benefits of diagnosis?
@@JungleEd17 for us the benefit of diagnosis is validation honestly. I feel like, when a child doesn’t present obviously outwardly stereotypically autistic, then when the autistic things do show it’s seen as something else, like rudeness, weirdness, bad parenting, etc. It helps just to be able to say it’s autism and have the diagnosis to back it up.
@@annie.hi. Thanks for the reply. It's the depression and anxiety I'm worried about.
I'm trying to be nicer to him regardless of diagnosis. I quickly learned that telling him to "be nice" to his friends wasn't helping. Not sure if that ASD or ADHD.
But from watching these video, the book think looks more and more like ASD. At his friend house he will march straight to his room and pile up a stack of books and then read the one by one while his friend scream "play with me" in his ear.
Of course I thought nothing of it because that friends 4-year-old brother was practicing Russian calligraphy and his aunt is institutionalized.
NDs attract NDs.
A couple of my special interests are psychology and counseling. I like seeing the patterns in people's behaviors and connecting those patterns to how thier earlier experiences shaped their view of the world.
Yeah that's also so interesting to see how people's experiences shape their perspectives!
Oh, same!!
My special interest in psychology is what led to my ASD diagnosis - because none of my doctors had ever been able to give me an accurate diagnosis.
I can relate.
Mine too
As an autistic woman, I love public transport. I put my head phones in, and form my own bubble amongst all the social interactions going on around me. I practice cold reading (something that I do as part of masking), there's mainly positive interactions happening, people leave me alone in the corner without being left out. I can sit and read, listen to music and podcasts, and no one is going to interrupt me.
What is cold reading?
I'm an autistic woman too but the exact opposite, public transport scares me so much that if I have to use it I rely on my friends and I'm a burden because I have to exactly know where I'm going and in how much time, I'm so afraid of getting lost haha
@@tacobelljunkie8418trying to predict things about a person based on their present physicality, I think
I used to take the train to go to work for a whole year and I loved it ! I read a lot of books I like stations in the morning (especially because i'm in France and you can smell coffee and fresh croissants but I wasn't fan at all of the cigarette smoke it was spoiling my pleasure)
Huh, I always thought I was just weird for feeling exactly like this??
I am male and it took me 21 years to be diagnosed with aspergers syndrome, for many of the same reasons you outlined in your video. There was another boy with aspergers at my school and his special interest was trains, he was the most archetypal autistic boy you could ever imagine and he had no issues at all being diagnosed however in my case my special interests were not in anything like that, but I did have one most notably in magic. I have been obsessed with magic my entire life and I love examining and comparing different magical systems from different universes, whenever I play a game I HAVE to play a wizard. I used to think it strange but in a way it is really not as the world can seem so difficult, strange and nonsensical to people on the spectrum that a concept like magic which when you think about it is manipulating reality through intellect, mental processes and the senses would surely be attractive to more than just me.
omg!! whos your favorite wizard from general media and why?
Dude, please share with us your top fav magic systems and why! I love magic systems too, but I’m not well versed in it (yet).
Autistic person here, and I feel you. I was diagnosed when I was SUPER young though (like before I could talk), but magic/power systems in fiction was/is one of my long time special interests to the point it lead em to develop several other special interests that are now super prominent in my life....mainly A) Tabletop RPGs like dungeons and dragons, pathfinder, shadowrun etc..... and B) actual, real world mysticism I.E. the occult, religion, spirituality, parapsychology etc... I did have some of the stereotypical interests though, as when I was a kid and even now I am utterly fascinated by biology, and loved learning about the body, cells, viruses, bacteria etc...as well as the biology of animals I liked, such as snakes, spiders, lizards, insects, arachnids etc... I even had one of those kid microscopes and would spend hours on end collecting samples of random stuff from around my home and looking at all the microscopic things that lived inside them. The magic/power system interest really came out of my earlier special interest in anime/manga, which is still one of my main special interests today, and probably the most autistic thing about it is how much its pushed me into the tabletop gaming sphere and, more importantly, the act of creating custom content for tabletop RPGs. Like, I can spend hours on end homebrewing massive amounts of custom spells or class archetypes for games like D&D and Pathfinder, and have like, two simultaneous full base classes I'm making at the same time RN, and am making both a 5e D&D and Pathfinder 2e version of each one. All of them are some form of spellcasting class. So I really feel you. Also always play a spellcaster in any RPG, though while I like wizards I also enjoy divine types a bunch as well.
Oh my god, I could've ghost written this comment. Part of the reason I've been into the Fire Emblem series for almost a decade now is because I ADORE comparing the differences in between the game universes' systems, magic and healing systems absolutely included!!
I can relate on magic, since magic is almost like a form of mythological computer programming, but for reality itself, if we are prone to feeling like we live in a "simulation" because a lot of society's rules feel arbitrary.
I just developed a new special interest (mosquitos and mosquito borne diseases) and it feels so great. I’d been so burnt out on learning since dropping out of uni last year, it feels like I’m getting back a core part of myself.
I found out that there are two colors, bright blue in this pinkish orange that are supposed to repel them.
The “I don’t want to play” thing hit my right in the heart. I’ve always had trouble playing with toys with my daughter and I have been really hard on myself about that.
Hearing that this is a part of how my brain works made me feel not so bad….
I loved playing with toys as a kid but only by myself. Other kids always broke the rules we agreed on. The rules add little challenges that make the play more interesting and last longer. For example: dinos only talk to other dinos. They just make dino noises to humans. Of course the other kids didn't want to do that and got bored quickly because we ran out of challenges. I even compromised with one raptor that learned English and that wasn't enough.
Or the worst offender: playing superheroes and one person bypasses the other kids' powers and instantly wins. Then it's over and everyone is bored again.
OMG...I rescued stuffed animals too! And have always thought every inanimate object had feelings, even though logically/scientifically, I knew better...I couldn't throw uneaten food away either. I just pictured that food in the city dump, rotting away as it cried internal tears over how unloved/unwanted it felt. (See? I DO have empathy lol!) There's a particular orange I had to throw away once at school in 3rd grade because my teacher noticed a teeny bit of mold on the outside, and I still think about that poor, poor orange to this day 😅
I did this with pokemon cards as a kid. I'd see this really pretty card and it would be all banged up and I'd try to trade to save it from getting messed up anymore Xl
I think that I might be a clone of you
I still have stuffies and dolls, and can't bear to get rid of them or neglect them.
Me with my pillows. Yes, I know they're actually just an inanimate object, but I still don't want to see someone punch one of my precious pillows. It's almost like my pillow has been hurt (even though it hasn't).
I ended up being a dog groomer. I really love animals, they accept you for who you are and love you.
I love how you go on to clarify that no, all of those hundreds of kids don't have the same 2 parents.
I myself use to always take things literally, not understanding context right.
Nowadays that'sy style of humor because it comes so naturally to me.
As someone who has a special interest in pokemon and especially shiny hunting, collecting + "same thing but a different color" fascination is so real
I'm not properly diagnosed yet, but I read and studied a lot about autism so I could have a base and, let me tell you: when I finally connected it with my feelings and life experiences, it all came together and made sense. I always felt a bit different from my peers and couldn't quite put my finger on why
One day, the school's headmaster came to my class 'cause of some fights and someone told her that I cried a lot because of the noise and she asked me if I was autistic. As much as I hate that woman, it was her that made me start looking it up to find out if I could actually be and, to no ones surprise, I actually might have it
My special interests are and always have been paleontology, history (specially World War 2), birds and my own fictional characters
I actually plan on being a paleontologist one day (gosh, I wish that Brazil would see it as a real profession)
I guess I owe that one piece of self discovery to a woman who frightens me to death lmao
Sorry for the rant, just wanted to share
I'll be going to the psychologist for the first time in a couple of days and do hope to get a diagnosis soon (or know if it may be other things, who knows?)
Thx for reading, hope y'all have a wonderful day
Hey, how is it now? Did you manage to get diagnosis?
@@kitikari1213 yes I did! And it made my life waaaaay more easier to understand now that I'm absolutely certain of it
Thanks for asking! Have a wonderful day :)
@@panzershrikecongrats!
Hello, I'm Brazilian too. I bet you are a Pirula fan, aren't you? If not, I highly recommend you his videos. He's a paleontologist and one of the best science communicators in Brazil.
Glad to know you managed to get your diagnostic, I am trying to get mine as well (I have hundreds of reasons to believe I'm on the spectrum).
By the way, your English is great.
I think tons of ASD girls love cats as their special interest, cause that’s what most kids were taking about in elementary and honestly I am obsessed w Persian, Siamese, and Scottish folds.
Siamese cats have a special modifier gene and it stops the cats from getting color and it only works in warm temperature. So when the cat is cold on their ears and tail, that’s the only parts of their body that generally get any little bits of color.
Something interesting about pointed cats is that even hairless cats can have the pointed gene. I have a tortie point Peterbald, and her few fuzzy areas get brighter colored if the house isn't as warm as usual
I love cats too. They’re so cute, sexy, glamorous, playful, fun, mysterious and adorable. They’re also better people than what people who have two legs are at times.
@@chrishenniker5944 mans just described cats as sexy
Cats are the most perfect creature imo
What a beautiful community this is
I honestly hadn't thought of my daily reading or my childhood collecting of My Little Pony and weird rocks as being special interests. When I'm asked I just automatically answer "evolution and mass extinctions"
I'm autistic myself, and lemme tell everybody right now: special interests are WILD. They can range from common stuff like transport and technology to the wildest things you've ever heard about.
One of us could tell you everything about velociraptors meanwhile the other can tell you EVERYTHING Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss got wrong about demons, heaven, hell and mythology.
Mine is one that I’ve never seen anyone else talk about ever because most people hate it, lol. Well, people do talk about it, but only to insult it and complain about how awful it is. :’)
It’s…the Blue Shell from Mario Kart. Yeah, this one specific item in the series. I can literally tell you _everything_ about it, and by ‘everything’, I mean stuff ranging from the year it debuted in (1996) to the specific shade of blue it is (cobalt). :’)
It’s ok if you find it weird, lol.
I am on both ends of this. One of my special interests is pathophysiology, this one is pretty stereotypical. I know a lot more about the human body and love learning about it! it’s so fucking cool! My parents let me have access to books at a very young age, so I was telling all my friends about this stuff at a very young age.
Meanwhile, another special interest I have is the MECHANICS OF VOCAL SYNTHS. using the phoneme panel on synthv or mechanically altering how a note sounds bit by bit makes me so crazy. I know so many phoneme tricks on so many voice engines. I like the characters, sure, but ultimately? They’re not actually why I’ve stuck around.
the helluva boss one was personal omg/hj
@@thediscodevil0949based special interest. I love the Blue Shell!
My autistic special interest is herpetology. A subset of this is that I love North American snake identification. I fucking love identifying snakes for people. It gives me such satisfaction
My main special interest is probably storytelling. I just LOVE everything about creating stories whether it's symbolism, character foils, leitmotifs in the background music, color theory in costuming, allusions, etc. i love it all, and most of my other special interests are related in that they're stories i really like analyzing. And superheroes which i think is bc you can tell so many different stories with them. I also really love analyzing how and why cultural systems (like mummification or matrilineality) function and influence other things. So really i just love anything that lets me analyze complex topics. It's like a puzzle
You kind of sound like me.x)
When I think of people with autism having special interest I think of one thing. A story I heard about a group of little boys with autism. They all loved pokemon. To the point they watched the anime in a ton of different languages. Then they started to learn those languages through the show. That blew my mind. I love pokemon and all but damn...that is some dedication. A level of dedication I aspire to!
That's what I did with Gilmore Girls. I've been watching this show for 20 years next year🤣
@@hannahk.summerville5908 I have heard of Gilmore Girls but never watched it. Or even been told what it is actually about.
@@BlindZubat It's a show about a very special mother daughter bond (but not at all just a girls show). It's full of great weirdo characters, lots of pop culture, books and music. Very smart, fast and sarcastic.
@@hannahk.summerville5908 Not gonna lie. That sounds very fun. Well...depending on the Mother Daughter relationship. That could be mildly hard for me depending on the dymanic, because...well...personal reasons. I'll definetly check it out though!
I did this with ghibli movies 😂
Didn’t really remember/retain much of anything-but it sure did drive my family bonkers hearing the same movie be played over and over in different languages with me repeating after……. Sorry fam lol 😅
🤣 the part where you mentioned being so focused on things, we forget some of the other things...
Reminded me of an incident in high school:
Boy: Hey, you combed your hair!
Me: when?
Everyone around laughed, and I didn't understand why it was funny.
When I asked why it was funny, they said, because he was trying to get a rise out of me, I shut him down with my dead pan answer.
I was just being honest 🤣 I brush and style my hair in the morning, what happens to it throughout the day is not on my radar.
Every day I wish our bodies could take care of themselves while we're busy doing what we do! Why can't we just feed and water it once a day and carry on? 🤣🤣🤣
Yes 😩
Yes! I've been wishing for an android body. Not only do I wish that I would not have to maintain it (body I already fed you! leave me alone, I'm busy), I have a lot of health problems that I would be happy to leave behind.
I love buses, night buses, rainy day buses. The feeling of being safely carried to your destination or just somwhere else in general while also being able to devote time to yourself on the phone or on the book or just rest and listen to music. Deeply calming and meditative experience for me. Trains are great too, but i don't take them that often.
Dear Friend, At the age of sixteen, I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a part of the Autistic Spectrum, but after working as a photographer and reporter while attending High School, I learned how to Better Communicate with people. I just retired from EMS, after nearly Fifty Years, and that job, as well, forced me to communicate better with people. It was Truly, my Saving Grace! My very best to you...❤ Greetings from northern Kentucky, USA 🇺🇸❗
I love talking to other neurodivergent people about their special interests because some of them just love the craziest things. I met a girl who’s special interest was water park accidents? Like she could talk about them for HOURS. I’ve also met a boy who’s favorite interest was baking and knowing him was great because I got to eat lots of tasty things that he would bring for me because he “made to much” I had a feeling that he just did it cause he liked being friends with me and liked how excited I got when he brought me food. As for me my special interest is fish. Not fishing- just fish in general. Their biology and evolution especially.
mine:
-journals, notebooks, planners
-warrior cats books
-rangers apprentice books
-pinterest
-reading (i had a onesided competition with another reader in my grade 😭)
-learning Irish
-mythology
-folklore and legends
-astrology
-fairies
-learning finnish
-witchcraft
-writing books/stories/poems
-roller skating
Of these a solid amount were long term (think two years plus) and others were short term 😅
The onesided competition! 😂
@@imautisticnowwhat No literally 😂 I was spying on his books and adding the points up in my head 😭 my reading speed is literally at over 900wpm now bc of it
as someone who’s considering the possibility that i’m autistic, i can relate to a lot of your interests; warrior cats, mythology and folklore, astrology, fairies, witchcraft, reading, and writing are all things i’ve obsessed over at one point or another. i think it’s cool how a lot of people’s special interests tend to overlap.
Aaaaand now I need to dig out all the rangers apprentice books from my storage. :D
Bro the Pinterest! Sorting little pictures that I love into boards :))
I cannot believe how called out I was by the image of the Schleich onscreen at 16:30. I had been thinking about them from the moment you mentioned collections and was delighted to see one in the video!
I literally just was talking to my friends the other day about how much I love these toys and the detail that goes into them and the durability of their construction! For most of my childhood, these were the default gifts for me, and also what I spent any allowance I earned on. Most of them are in boxes now, except for the dinosaurs that I keep out in a big diorama that I refresh every so often, and I may have lost a few in moves over the years, but at my peak, I think I had a very reasonable, um. 200 or so. I have very fond memories of setting up fancy zoos and finding items around the house to be "fences" or landscape pieces, and looking for fabrics to match the biome of the enclosure I was trying to create.
Okay, I told myself I'd be done, but I have to add that I got married last year and I got to use my Schleichs in our wedding! I took the unicorns and pegasi and some of the fairy horses, wrapped wire around them like a harness with a bit curled to hold a card, and then they were table decor with a little placard explaining some stuff about our love story/favors. My wife is also autistic, and we love telling each other about our special interests.
I can strongly relate to the woes of not being able to choose your special interest. I've always referred to it as 'the special interest fairy' who will just come and bop me on the head with a new interest from time to time, outside of my control. Of course I like the things that end up becoming special interests, but there's also stuff I would love to get good at that I just can't get that level of focus on. I've been trying to get into chess for over a year, but I can't focus on it for long enough to really improve the way I know I could. When I have a special interest, I learn so quickly, because I can spend all day focusing on it. Over a year in, my rating has just finally reached 1000, which is like. Baseline not-awful. Meanwhile I can probably recite all of Our Flag Means Death from memory, I know fun facts about every cast member, every scene, every character, every costume.
But as frustrating as that can be, the worst pain to me is noticing that I'm starting to lose a special interest. When something just doesn't enrapture me the way it used to, it feels so sad, like a friendship drifting apart and ending. Trying to keep it going just feels awkward and stilted, and even though more will come in the future, they won't be the same, and there will always be the pang when running into them again.
My ability to get immersed in weird obsessions is my favorite part of autism. And no one could ever talk me out of them. I demanded to learn classical piano. I began a chemistry club. I planted a huge vegetable garden in the suburbs when I was in 6th grade. Then there were the weirder obsession--moonflowers, the element bromine, the star Rigel. The good news was that I didn't care what others thought about my interests. Negatively, I had a lot of problems getting a job as an academic, because I wasn't thinking along the same lines as other people in the field. My graduate advisor once said "People will have to read a lot of your stuff before they understand where you are coming from."
i dont currently have a strong special interest like i did as a child with my hamsters and it makes me so sad especially because im often very depressed and my special interests when i do have them cheer me back up really effectively im just waiting for something to come up atm :(
This is so well put! I found myself nodding in recognition several times.
At 32, my biggest life long special interest has been everything to do with animals. I had soft toys and Puppy in my Pockets (90s throwback!), I took them every where with me. They had to be in pairs so that no one was lonely and I'd line them all up in bed and kiss each one before going to sleep.
I currently have 12 pets, volunteer for two different animal charities, I'm vegan and have done many online courses etc on animal welfare/behaviour etc.
I also still have many soft toys and really struggle seeing soft toys or even ornaments of animals in charity shops and feeling heartbroken that they ended up there. If it wasn't for my husband I'd probably end up a hoarder with a house of soft toy mountains.
I could go on and on haha but I realize I've written quite a bit... Oops! Apologies 😂 Great video 👍
Aww, thank you for sharing!! You sound so lovely!!
Me too, Danielle.
If it was not for canines, felines, and horses, I would hardly know myself. 👍
Im a 33 year old male. I have a similar love and empathy for stuffies. My daughter has a ton of them and I just cant stop taking them home and giving them a "family". I love lining them up and making sure they are happy and comfy. I also have a dog and two cats that are part of the "family" too. Now that my partner and I know I have ASD, it makes it a lot easier for her to forgive me for bringing home so many friends ❣ Great video btw op. You are helping me a lot with my journey 😊
Yes!! I’m all about animals. I now have 4 rescue cats and 1 dog, and help other animal associations and rescue centers. I also LOVE fiction books, sci-if movies, and crafts like ceramics.
Oof, me too, in that I love animals. But I know my limits. So I have one dog. And a mountain of stuffed animals, but my friends keep getting rid of them when they come over to help us "straighten up". They say that a grown woman doesn't need stuffed toys. Uh, lady? You just threw away my friends, my therapists. Don't do that! That hurts!
most of my special interests are incredibly specific and media-based (my biggest ones are the sonic franchise and my melody merchandise) and ig thats just because im from a generation where i was exposed to a LOT of media growing up and even now. kinda makes me wonder what my brain wouldve latched onto if i didnt have sonic or my melody
I sometimes think about what interests I would've had if I'd been born at a different time too...like pre-computers? Suppose I'd have read a lot of books, haha!
I think it's fascinating that so many autistic people like Sonic! It's such a common thing.
I also have sonic, sonics interesting cause the range and generational gaps are so wide you can be into it for YEARS and still find surprises
And vice versa, like a game, character, comic, moment etc that is /your/ big thing can be something someone else is totally unfamiliar with
felt like bringing that up cause of your surge pfp. I love her! She so new yet I feel she’s already gained a lotta traction !
But as she’s not in the games there’s a lotta fans who don’t know her, which is odd to think about. And even if you do, there’s little things you miss if you don’t know the non-IDW sonic stuff she’s inspired by too
Which to me is very cool! Idk i think it’s neat
I wonder too
I love Thomas the tank engine, and now i feel like a steriotype 😅
Some of my special interests I didn’t realize were special interests: video games (The Sims!!!), history (particularly researching Royal lineages/the Royal House of Windsor/The Russian Romanov Dynasty), music (dancing/piano/writing original lyrics), learning various languages (Russian, Spanish, German, etc) and basically every single category of crafting (sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, card making, painting, flower arranging, baking, etc). This is why I was great at my giant craft store job because I basically knew a little bit about every single craft niche in the entire store.
You would have loved Darklands. It was a computer game back in the 90's, an RPG set in "real" medieval Germany. They had done an amazing job with background research and creating the world. Everything there made perfect sense in 15th century, starting from the fact that the adventuring party didn't gather EXP, but reputation, and their reputation score affected the way they were treated by NPCs.
But I also love The Sims.x) These are two games I never got bored with, and was just forced to quit due to advancements in computers.
@@elainelouve Oh I've never heard of Darklands but it sounds really cool! I'll try to check it out! Also I'm *still* a huge Sims nerd! I own every single Sims 4 expansion and stuff pack (yes, I know that it's an expensive game if you can't afford all the expansions but luckily now the base game is at least free to play!) And I've been getting into learning how to make custom content too! I think if you used to love playing the Sims, I think you'd still enjoy the newest games too! :)
@@loverrlee I'd love to play the Sims 4, it's just that I'd need a new computer for that. My laptop is too inefficient. And yes, I tried to download Sims 4.x) I play Sims Mobile currently, and it isn't the same, but still in the right direction.
@@elainelouve oh I'm sorry to hear that! Yeah the Sims 4 is a hard game to run on all machines unfortunately. I hope you can get a better laptop in the future so you can play. Even if you just play the free base game with some mods and cc it's a cool game that can be basically free if you have a good enough computer to play it on. Honestly I wish they allowed it on public computers at the library.
"I can't word." That's one of my favourite sentences when my mouth can't keep up with my brain.
Thanks for this video!
You talking about wishing certain things were/had become full-on special interests and how the interest chooses you, rather than the other way around is honestly the most relatable thing I've ever heard. I seriously got to that part of the video and instantly texted my husband, because it was one of those "OMG is she ME?!?" kind of moments lol.
I was never big on dance (too clumsy), but I've loved reading, languages, singing, and animals since I was very young. Especially aquatic animals and ocean life in general. I was never a STEM kid, but I 100% was the "I want to be a Marine Biologist when I grow up!" kid. Because otters, dolphins, and sea turtles, mostly lol. Still probably would be if scientific fields in reality didn't require so much maths, because I'm both intimidated by them and terrible at them. And I remember taking French and Japanese at the same time in Uni, and I still have notebooks that are a mix of English, French, and Japanese from every subject I was taking at the time, because I would just self-reinforce my language lessons by taking notes in all three languages at once. It's really interesting to see that such things are pretty common special interests for AFAB people.
It's also really interesting that you mention personally having an interest in Psychology. Because it's one of my other most enduring special interests, and lots of other AFAB autists that I know -- especially those of us diagnosed later in life or still technically undiagnosed -- are also really interested in Psychology.
I also took multiple languages simultaneously in Uni! (German, Spanish, and French) High five 🙌
Psychology, medicine and a little bit of languages here!
Self-diagnosed here because it's so hard to find anyone willing to diagnose an adult without charging like 2 months rent which I can barely keep up with. I started getting interested in psychology also sometime in highschool over 15 years ago because I just kept feeling like SOMEthing was wrong and I needed to figure out what. I initially kept putting off the idea of autism because of stereotypes but since there's more info more recently, I realized that it actually fills in a lot of the missing pieces that I kept finding in other possible diagnoses that didn't quite fit right.
I also love languages and books and games and theatrical arts and other things that I just really get excited about.
I had the opposite happen to me with wishing something became an interest. I played mega man 2 "haha fun game that was cool but it won't become an interest" and then slowly the characters just consumed my brain and now look at me... the special interest really _does_ choose you...
Clumsiness is actually an autistic trait!
I’m afab and autistic/adhd, and it never occurred to me until recently that I even have a special interest. I’ve been drawing literally almost every day since I was a child, and I love character design, and it turns out those are my special interests. I never knew ART could be a special interest for some reason, I always assumed it was more sciency stuff, or a particular “topic”
Nope, it can be literally anything, I have had a special interest in gore/death/ torture for as long as I can remember. I'm glad I had an understanding, non-judgemental family who understood that I wasn't dangerous, just had morbid interests.
You're a what?
@@Wonkess_Chonkess afab (or AFAB) means assigned female at birth. Someone raised socioculturally as a girl.
amab (or AMAB) = assigned male at birth. Someone raised socio-culturally as a boy.
For many people, their assigned gender at birth matches the gender they are inside as a person. That match is called being cisgender. (Cis- is a prefix used in many words to connote being the same or near.)
For other people (e.g., trans women, trans men, non-binary people, agender people), the gender they were assigned at birth doesn't match who they are.
Hope that helps.
@@resourceress7 I'm not even going to pretend that I'm smart enough to follow all this crap there will be two genders in my head for better or for worse.
I just commented about my child who has this same special interest. They were designing characters at 3 yrs old and I homeschooled them and could not engage them in learning anything if I didn’t incorporate character creation into it. It’s actually what kept me from seeking a diagnosis for them because I thought it sounded too imaginative to fit in the autism list of characteristics, even though they were showing lots of other signs
I used to read encyclopedias and dictionaries to learn about things I didnt know yet. The internet is so awesome for learning!😊
In 1st grade, I think I single-handedly increased the usage of the Magic Tree House bookshelf.
Sometimes I wish that I could be neurotypical for one day and understand how they view their hobbies. Yk when you get asked 'what are your hobbies'? I feel insulted to call my interests hobbies, because they're my life, and almost all I know. Also, when you said that spns choose you...that's so true. I feel giddy and slightly sick when I read about something...I dont know how my brain works, but my brain goes, "this thing. this is going to be your life now." Currently, I can't stop thinking about prime numbers. I have no idea why Im fascinated by primes and not other numbers.
I have hobbies besides my interests and it's definitely less intense. Like I can read and write for hours long and forget to eat and stuff but if I play video games or watch a series I'm less focused and I space out from it a little more. You can take me out of playing by just calling me, it takes almost shaking me or yelling to get me out of a book. I guess NT just have what I have with video games.
Thank you for describir that feeling, I have it too!!
Thank you for describir that feeling, I have it too!!
@Martel Raykin ahh I see! That's an interesting perspective. Thanks for sharingg, I've never met another nd who has hobbies instead of just focuses, since my friends are all super focused on their 'hobbies"
7 is a pretty sick number ngl
As a child, aside from my massive love of books, I think my special interests seemed more like collections back then - like My Little Ponies, or matchbox cars, and as another comment just reminded me, collecting leaflets from everywhere I went! As an adult I do have some enduring special interests, which are deep dive complex topics I come back to again and again (Psychology and all related/associated areas)…but I also find myself really wanting to collect ALL the items in a given toy range when it comes to my sons toys, and really have to try and restrict this 😬
Wow, I do the same thing with my son and daughter's toys. I also get really into the toys they are into at the time. It costs me a lot of money, but gives me priceless opportunities to really really love playing with them and their toys as much as they do.
@@skdamico13 Ey at least you're creating a good bound with your son! I don't see the problem. I wish I could have such a connection with my son but I don't have a son😮
I do this too! I don’t think I’m autistic (I have adhd), but my son is diagnosed with ASD. I’m as obsessed with his collection of toys as he is. It’s a good thing I love to thrift shop. The trunk of my car is full of secondhand Little People toys that I’m waiting to give him as rewards and holiday gifts. Trying reeeally hard not to spoil him, but I love toys.
@@lizw3383 I’m pretty sure I’m AuDHD and my husbands ADHD, and we both tend to go a bit overboard on collecting ALL the toys 😅
Despite wanting to pursue a career in science, specifically biology, my academic special interest has always been writing. I absolutely loved essays, discussion posts, research papers and even spelling tests. Time flies so fast when I’m writing because I get so deep into researching, incorporating my own ideas and knowledge about the topic and drawing parallels between different things. It’s also a great way for me to satisfy my need for structure and order, as all college-level papers need to be in a specific format with precise grammar, punctuation, font type/size and spacing. I even considered having students pay me to write their essays for them 😭
Games and drawing where definitely my special interests growing up but then I learned guitar became interested in photography, software development. And even hiking it’s always been things that allow some type of control and creativity and freedom to let my thoughts just flow instead of racing 24/7. Animals are definitely a special interest if I can call it that I have 1 dog a cat and a leopard gecko. I’m not officially diagnosed but your videos do help me feel included I’m 25 and have always been seen as that weird quiet boy or kid or guy, a lot of things add up looking back and even now.
Public transport isn't a special interest of mine but do like it a lot. For me, driving is an overwhelming and frankly terrifying experience and I have to force myself, usually without adequate success, to override my instincts of hyperfixation in order to try to focus on everything at once. I think it's super neat to be able to get from point a to b without having to deal with any of that stress.
I can completely get that!
Yeah, I like public transport and wish it were more convenient, more frequent, more widely available for this reason. Other countries do it well, and I think the things listed in the video were more about badly implemented public transport than negatives inherent to public transport itself! I guess my interests tend more towards urbanism and climate change these days, and so it’s less “train goes choo choo” now and more “oooh nice, clean, convenient city where I don’t need to drive”.
The interests choose you-that's such a perfect description! I'm also terrified of (& awed by) horses. Love cats, phobic of dogs, lizards are adorable (like itty-bitty dinos ☺️). Obsessed with anything to do with language but also certain numbers, as well as music & dance, trains, public transit & urbanism. Always been fascinated by vampire lore, disaster breakdowns, holocaust history & studies of major human conflicts... Oh, and cooking and international cuisine. I also have a weakness for cool shoes, but feet skeeve me out. 😆
Oh Vampire lore, yes!
I also love cats and lizards and i am also terrified of horses and the majority of dog breeds
As a person with Asperger’s, I really like buses because I like how they sound for each different fleet of buses as well as the sounds sounding like an instrument.
I'm not diagnosed yet, but i'm at that point where I'm incredibly confident that i'm autistic. Seeing all the traits in myself and in younger me is so healing because for a really long time I felt like I belonged in a different universe and finally having the knowledge to go 'hey that could be autism' is amazing and freeing.
My special interest is definitely greek mythology. I was obsessed with Percy Jackson as a kid and growing up a very lonely child, I dreamed that one day a sign would appear over my head with my godly parent claiming me so I could start my life because I was so desperate to find a reason WHY I was different and I didn't have the knowledge to go OH AUTISM.
I could talk about Percy Jackson for hours on end, but my special interest isn't Percy Jackson. It's the greek mythology IN Percy Jackson that I was interested in. I bought Assassin's creed: Odyssey because it's set in ancient Greece and I knew I could nerd out.
I spent £80 in a single week on Greek Mythology based fiction books and now I have a massive stack of them on my chest of drawers in my bedroom waiting to be read but I can't decide which one to read first and it's frustrating because I can't make decisions and if someone made it for me it would be the wrong decision.
Talking to people about my special interest is hard for me sometimes because if someone is like 'Tell me about greek mythology' I will be there combing my mind for information because I forget EVERYTHING under pressure. It's also nearly impossible for me to summarise things because every detail is important to me and leaving even one out feels like im leaving massive gaps in the story so when my boyfriend asked me to summarise a book I was reading I ended up breaking down every single chapter instead of just a basic outline of the plot. That's the best I could do. But, then because it's a greek mythology book everything is tied into something else so I have to explain who people are and why they're relevant so then I end up explaining 4 other stories. It's a whole thing. I am definitely guilty of talking at people about greek mythology though i'm better now at not doing it without some sort of go ahead from them.
I have to admit, I actually did have a dinosaur phase when I was younger, and they will always hold a special place in my heart. But now my special interests lean towards forensics, as well as digital art.
You can’t just say that and not tell us your favourite dinosaur!
@@rabidL3M0NS therizinosaurus
they look like sloth-vultures
@@BleuOscar that makes two of us!
Same but my interest went on to science and space lol
@@rabidL3M0NSdilophosaurus is mine,of course all dinosaurs are great.
As a girl my first hyperfixation/ special interests were cars, trucks and trains. Later I became obsessed with animals and ornithology. I keep my massive encyclopaedias. Later I was passionate about anatomy for drawing. Now I’m combining mech with anatomy ti create cool creatures with floral and animal elements. Like a dandelidog! I just like seeing how things work and how to combine, build and create.
I most likely have adhd not autism, but I am so into art and making characters and writing their stories to the point sometimes I accidentally dominate conversations with telling about my art. When I find someone who is interested in my art and characters i get SO EXITED and I start happy stimming and rambling on and on and it makes me so happy! Also I don’t want to self diagnose, but I also feel like I have to so that I can figure out if I do! And who knows, maybe I have both! I know more about adhd than asd, because I’ve done research on it for a character(which she is one of the main characters of my graphic novel I’m writing!) and I noticed things that I relate to like A LOT. I love your channel so much! Thank you for making these videos!
I have sat today after getting my diagnosis and watched all of your videos - only to find you only have 14! You have made some of the best videos for me, as a fellow sims obsessed UK based 27 year old to relate to so thank you
I am the stereotypical male you described. I was diagnosed last week at age 41. Life finally makes some sense. Thanks for sharing you knowledge.
For anyone reading this that feels like their autistic traits are somehow negative, holding them back...they're not! We can use our autistic traits and special interests to thrive in life.
Our special interests are the clues!
Individually, they may seem weird, but when you put them all together, it tells your whole story.
I combined my art and math skills with my love for being environmentally friendly and I survive quite well on my own!
Once you figure out which of your special interests and other autistic traits compliment each other the best, you'll see where you can make a living doing what you love!
I spent decades career jumping because I was trying to force myself to do what was expected of me, instead of what I needed.
Hopefully this knowledge can help others to figure it out sooner!!
You're amazing, don't forget it! 🤗
I like the "I can't like things in a chill way" song: "No, I haven't figured out how to do that; when I like something, it's all I think about." So relatable! And I've come to understand that my interest in a fandom gets so overpowering that I'm actively rejecting new fandoms (despite everyone trying to get me into things that I know I'd like if I tried it) because the last time I got into a new fandom it was the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it made it super hard to keep writing my Person of Interest fics, and I just know if I start up another key fandom I'm gonna be fully invested in that and have additional trouble making progress on either my POI *or* my MCU fics 🥲
But yeah: Fandoms should definitely factor into the diagnostic criteria -- intense fandom interest could easily be one of those special interest, and it's also one of the unusual ways to get social interaction that is more in your control (since you can generally walk away when you want, and come back and interact later if you like, and aren't forced to participate because it's all digital and there are other options) but also that focuses on something you're already heavily into (special interest friendships yay!).
so like
i haven't been diagnosed or anything (too poor lol) but i'm like 80-90% sure that i am autistic, and so are all of my other neurodivergent friends lol
but finding a special interest for me is a little different. i absolutely *love* art and drawing and being creative, but i also haven't been able to draw as much as i want because i'm pretty much constantly fatigued due to other mental illness things that need to be dealt with lol. when i comes to video games, i pretty much bounce around between playing exactly one game for weeks, then switch to a different game, then another, and another, in this big cycle where i don't touch the previous games for months, but i still love them lmao
her bit about not being able to choose your special interest really sticks out to me. there are a ton of things that i'm like "wouldn't it be so cool and fun if i did that thing? and kept doing it?" but it just never sticks in my head like my special interests do lol
One of my special interests as a teenager (late 1960s and early 1970s) was human behaviour. I certainly read some simple books about psychology. I also went on at university to major in psychology where I was taught a little bit about autism as it happens. Anyway I also enjoyed fiction, and liked Jane Austen because of her humour, but also her close observation of other people. As an autistic interested in (and in social situations baffled by) human behaviour, I enjoyed Jane Austen's fictional world where you could observe the behaviour of her characters as well as read her commentary on them -- sometimes amusingly as in the case of Mr Collins and Lady Catherine. Jane Austen gave me a well-written fictional world of social behaviour to observe, along with some explanations. I soon read all her published novels. I did not read them as "Mills and Boon in period costumes" as some people apparently do, but as portrayals of human behaviour in all their quirks and ordinary moral dilemmas. I appreciated Jane Austen, the social psychologist.
OMG! I strongly relate to this A LOT, even if I'm quite much younger than you are (I'm a 2000s kid lmao). I remember also loving reading ever since I was little, I would shut myself in the little book corner at school and it got to a point where I had read all the books there. The teachers realised that I had a very high reading level for my age, and they started giving me Jane Austen and Agatha Christie books to read. And just like you said, having little social interactions I could examine intrigued me very much, so now I'm into sociology and media analysis. I had never thought about it until I read this comment :)
Jane Austen wasn’t Mills And Boon in period costume, it’s sitcom.
I stopped using the term "asperger's" because of the connection with nazi and other ugly historical things. I now just say that I am autistic (most people don't notice this with me). I am just into geology (earthquakes, volcanoes), computers and communications (mobile phones, walkie talkie and other connected areas). I also have interest in history and taking pictures and videos (I'm no good with editing videos for now). I'm not fan of public transport. I still have to use it though.
I mean in the USA they got rid of Asperger's from their diagnostic book altogether when the DSM-V came out in like 2013, the APA could not find enough difference between it and High functioning Autism and combined them into Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I know the WHO produced Diagnostic book much of the rest of the world uses still has Asperger's in it last I checked
Hey geology ! I used to be obsessed with volcanoes and rocks ! I always came back from hikes with dozens rocks in my pockets ! I'm actually a geographer now
I am not officially diagnosed. Though over the years, I can say that I think have many of those traits. Though I always excluded the "special interest". I saw myself more as a hobby-hopping type. Until recently it dawned on me: knights (this was always included in the many hobbies I had). I have been obsessed with them my entire life.
Another thing I always wondered why I am incapable of: keeping friends. It takes me quite some time "warming up" to people (I prefer to monitor from a distance for a good while), but then I am happy to talk to them. Although always only about our common field of interest whe have at that time. When that is gone (e.g. after I sold my horse, I left my buddies from the stable behind, after my daughter left her swimming club, I never actively tried to keep up with the other parents). I always questioned myself whether something is wrong with me. Such nice people, and I always loose them.
I am also often described as being loud and brisk. This is something that I have managed to accept by now. Although I very often feel that I "do not belong". As a being that is only human on the surface. I also prefer to monitor groups of people than to join them.
"Smalltalk" is a nightmare for me. I mainly consider it as wasted time if I cannot talk about topics that interest me and really struggle with that.
The biggest consequence out of all this that I am absolutely horrified about the thought of having to work as an office clerk again. I am highly trained (foreign language correspondant and foreign trade merchant). But I left the job several years ago because I got sick doing it (I gained 30 kgs during my last job. It is my coping mechanism when I feel extremely uncomfortable - eating mainly chocolate).
Currently I am fine with my life. I am at home, doing my thing.
Or am I just strange? What is the "norm" anyway?
Sorry for the long text.
Hey, hey! This was a very interesting discussion on special interests and just how many subjects people can be so darn passionate about! The statistics were interesting, but I love hearing people talk about things they’re passionate about- autistic, allistic, neurodivergent, and neurotypical. I feel their enthusiasm when they talk about it and then I get to hype them up. It’s so much fun!
As for me, my biggest special interest is animals. Whether it’s prehistoric or modern, I find them absolutely fascinating. I like learning about the science behind them, what adaptations they evolved and why. Since I’m also an artist, I like designing my own creatures sometimes. I usually take things from a scientific approach because I do like me some structured logic (I’m a very analytical type of autistic person as well as artsy). Not to mention, I find a lot of beauty in organic figures. Animals (including humans) have these gorgeously sculpted forms to them, even in the ones most people don’t find beautiful- like slugs. I also adore other organisms to a slightly lesser degree. They’re all beautiful and tell such a rich story about the environment around them.
And that’s my brain dump on my biggest special interest. Hope you liked it.
Mine was, and still is, My Little Pony. The absurd level every little detail about the toy line occupied my head, it was clearly a special interest. Can totally relate to just talking AT someone who isn't remotely interested 😂
My granddaughter who is 15 is obsessed with my little pony and Equestria girls she has birthday parties for them and takes them everywhere she watches the shows over and over and plays the music on her phone in the car and says their her friends she will draw pictures of them read books about them she was diagnosed late at nine and always took a toy cat. or doll to school and would cry if they took it away and we finally had to homeschool her cause she wouldn’t do any thing but cry for her dolls at home they sit with her and do work she also has a collection of baby alive dolls and stuffed cats but the pony’s are her life
@@nancydambrot5941shes just like me fr
MLP is such an improbable sequence of events that the only way to not have some interest is to dismiss it outright. The kind of show these products spawn typically only lasts a couple seasons and exists only as a glorified toy advertisement, so the fact that MLP as a franchise continues to exist at all is unbelievable, let alone with concrete, complex lore and well-fleshed-out characters.
OMG my little pony mentioned out in the wild
the my little pony with twilight sparkle is on top im raging at the new one
My husband's special interest is machines of war. Planes, missiles, tanks, armored vehicles, etc. He can literally identify a plane or tank by the sound it makes when driving! It's almost like magick to me. He's so cool...
Wow! That's amazing!!
It’s because it is magick, it’s In everything we do. You practice the craft yourself?
I have a theory about one reason autism persisted in the human population. Your comment gets at it in that, imagine how valuable such a skill would be in times of war. If it were in prehistory, being able to accurately interpret many kinds of danger by subtle cues would save the whole tribe that you were part of. This would be true for finding food, making things (skilled craftspersons), etc. This idea of special interests in nothing to be sneezed at.
Great video! I was diagnosed late as an almost 30 year old guy in the UK and I suspect one reason I went under the radar for so long was that my special interests never fit with the stereotypes for autistic men. My biggest passions are art, music and fashion design. When I finally got diagnosed, even some people who knew me well were surprised and said I "didn't seem autistic". I hope in future we can open peoples' minds to how damaging autistic stereotypes are to actual autistic people, because I know in my case they played a part in me spending so many years without the sympathy or support a diagnosis can bring.
I am "suspected" autistic. I had two psychologists and a psychiatrist tell me to go get a formal diagnosis during a period I was trying to get an ADHD diagnosis. That they partially confirmed but could not do formally until I'd gone and ruled out ASD...It's been 3 years and I haven't done it yet, as the first year I needed to come to terms with the possibility and do research, the second year I had to break down my internalized ableism, and now I'm in Canada and have no access, so I just research and try to give myself accommodations.
I am gender ambivilant/non-practicing female/femme and afab. I loved dinosaurs, and space, and was bad at math but loved to understand "the why" of everything. My dad wanted a boy and raised me much like one. I understand car mechanics (but am not into transportation, give me a brand new makeup pallet or talk to me about fashion or poetry instead, thnx) I loved to be alone, and make up stories in my head and flap my hands while talking to myself. I am trying to go into STEM through college right now and my English prof is trying to get me into creative writing.
My point is gender stereotypes don't matter because it's how you're socialized/what you're exposed to that cultivates your interests. That said, this list was really fascinating and I think you did a great job in talking about it.
The Sims (and lowkey, maybe Neopets) really should be in the DSM xD
I have an obsession with dogs that stems from fear of conflict and social interaction (thus instead socializing with the next best social creature), so for a long time I thought that I may be autistic, although I've found out that I'm not, I can still relate to special interests, I think.
My obsession with dogs is still there and Ive liked animals since childhood - I only had toys that were animals, only had toys that came with animal toys etc. I never played games without animal characters. Oh and I collected the shit out of animal, especially dog, plushies. So on some weird level, Im not even part of this group, but I still can relate so much?
I certainly relate to you! I've always been more on the side of cats, and getting older, I've really grown to love critters. I wanted every stuffed animal as a kid. I wanted to take care of them all, give them a good life. Even today I still have them all in my basement and I just can't part with them at all. I also have many pets that I love so dearly! It's just animals and art for me :)
I love dogs! I currently have four of them, and my daily routine revolves around caring for them. I feel that they help me socially because you can have conversations with people who also have dogs. And you can each share your pictures of your pets!
I'm half convinced that dancing is just highly advanced stimming. I can also confirm the Sims part, despite growing up as a boy. Looking back, I didn't really care about most of the mechanics, but I still remember getting excited over receiving The Sims 3 for my birthday way back.
Regarding special interests largely being things we were exposed to, and then one's assigned gender plays a large impact on what parents introduce to their potentially-autistic kids, I think there's also an element that people are supposed to outgrow much of what they liked at that age, but we just... don't. Rather than having our interests shift to more age-appropriate things as we grow up, our existing interests instead become more strongly cemented and stay with us all our lives. We get _more_ invested, not _less._ This would explain both why we'd know so much since information is collected over an entire lifetime, and also why autistic special interests are often seen as "childish," and by extension, autistic people themselves are seen as "childish" as well. Programming is something that is usually associated with the adult workplace, but being exposed to it at that age makes it just as capable of becoming a special interest. (And since we're probably more likely to spend more time on the computer anyways over socializing, we probably end up stumbling upon it by accident at some point too.)
This comment got a lot longer than I was planning, which is honestly par-for-the-course for me.
Wow, I’ve just discovered you and I’m totally obsessed with your videos, I resonate with you so much!! I’m 37 and just starting the autism diagnosis process. I am pretty sure I’m also PDA. Thanks a lot for all you share 🙏🏼
I’m halfway through and I already appreciate this throughly! I’m only self diagnosed and struggling to get official diagnosis, due to insurance and finding a proper provider that understands asd in adults, and not just if I don’t love trains, dinosaurs( I do love sharks, Way before shark week!), or d&d or magic cards. My research never stops. I’ve been diagnosed adhd/ bpd/ severe depression and anxiety etc since teenage years always told I’m not living to my potential, Hating crowds, etc..I’m adhd but rarely had the “hyperactive” behaviors and/or never felt/fit that that was it. I’ve already overshared probably. If any does read this, Any words would be Great. I’m tired of the masking and confusion
Great video
me 2 years ago: I don't have special interests
me last year: *has watched the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen over 10 times, the movie about 7 times, and has psychanalyzed every single character and character interactions*
I love Angels of Death. Game, anime (arguably the worst adaptation but definitely not terrible), manga, prequel manga, and light novels. Scoured the Internet for every fanfic/art imaginable. Currently translating the novels for my family who have zero knowledge of Japanese.
@@wintergray1221 Such a cool project, have fun with the translation! I'm currently learning Japanese, but mostly because I'm sick of having to read subtitles 😭
Yes! I have literally spent 2 hours only in CAS (the sim creation part of the sims), nvm actually PLAYING the game 😅
I have some interesting special interests. I love music, specifically finding what the songs mean to the artists, and what motivates the artists to make music and preform concerts, if they do. Psychology is a MASSIVE one, along with religions and beliefs! I've kinda put a short and easy label on it, "headology", how people's noggins work.
I'd play metal gear solid just to see the snow at the start of the game. I love snow and it relaxes me
Just an observation bc I couldn't resist: That picture of you playing Petz 5! I was OBSESSED with Petz 5 omg (and any game related to animals tbh). I think me and my brother were the only kids who played it back then because it wasn't very popular where we're from. Good times!
When I was a kid, I definitely had more stereotypical boy special interests. Martial arts, fantasy, anime, and space were probably my main special interests. Although I did like animals, but more from an evolution standpoint. But I had a phobia of trains.
I never cared for the mechanics of transit/transport, but for as long as I can remember, I LOVED transit maps. I would just stare at them for hours and then make my own. The legends were my favorite part of any map. I loved geographical maps as well, but public transit maps were my favorite. Not sure if it was because of the colors? And the labeling systems maybe? How clean and simple the maps looked...hmmm...you have me wondering why I was so obsessed too lol!
YES FINALLY SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS being into transit maps and lines is so isolating in the "public transit fandom" lmfao because everyone expects you to be into the specific engines and cars and all the content is about that too
Might I interest you into the Map Men Series on CZcams?
@@gljames24 Map men, map men, map map map men men men.
Ever since I realized I was autistic at the start of this year, it's crazy how I just keep discovering things about it that explain so much about myself and my life.
I know I have special interests in strawberries and witchcraft right now, but those are both *relatively* recent (within the last several years)... I know as a kid I had a special interest in rocks, too.
But I thought there were no special interests I had as a kid that I still really engaged with today. I somehow didn't realize until this video that writing and video games could be special interests, and that realization has just explained SO MUCH to me.
I was writing stories and poems since *at least* kindergarten. I kept trying to write ambitious books, tv shows, games, and all kinds of stories. And I still do! And I still have a lot of the writing I did when I was younger, too!
In the same kind of way, I've had video games and game design and game ideas cycling through my head FOREVER. I've been playing them since I was old enough to use a keyboard or a controller, and I still spend hours watching videos on game design.
I have info-dumped about stories and video games that I love SO MANY TIMES. I CAN'T **BELIEVE** I NEVER REALIZED.
I spent my entire life knowing something was different in my brain from everyone else but never knowing what it was. To finally have the answer is so unbelievably refreshing.
"I found this super interesting study." Gosh I love autistic people. I feel so at home listening to your videos.
I agree that exposure definitely plays a role in what one's special interests are gonna be. In fact, one of my special interests is nostalgia. It seems to me that nostalgia from the early childhood drives so much of our aspirations later in life, maybe has even effect on the careers we choose. A toy line you used to have as a child, can still cause a strong warm and secure feeling inside you as an adult. I think it's no surprise childhood exposure motivates us still in the adulthood, who wouldn't aim towards something that makes you feel so good internally? At the moment I'm wondering if anything you get exposed to as an adult, can bring similar feeling later in life, or if nostalgia mainly originates from childhood.
Also, lack of exposure can make you miss something you'd naturally be interested in, but also limited exposure can make you want the thing even more and it can become even more important to you than it otherwise would. For example, as an AFAB, I had a lot of expodure to girly toys, but the only exposure I had for boyish toys was trough the toys of my brother or the boys of the neighborhood. I was very interested in dinosaurs, pokemons, go-go dices, all kind of spy toys and experimental science toys, but I hardly had any even if I always asked for them, and people always bought me dolls and Barbies even if I had zero interest in them. This imbalance on exposure didn't make me interested in dolls and girly things, and instead my interest in dinosaurs, pokemons, and spy and sciente toys just grew stronger, and even today as an adult make me feel very excited and happy inside. I'm still obsessed with dinosaurs, I love anything related to evolution of the species (thanks to the pokemon) and I love reading about scientific experiments and reactions.
So, I guess that exposure has some effect on what our interests will be later in life (support/limitations), but still children will have either direct or indirect exposure also to the gender-nonconforming things. I don't think it's possible to prevent child from eventually getting into something they're interested in, however you limit their exposure to the thing as a child. You may even strenghten their interest by limiting it, and if not earlier, they'll finally get into it as an adult when they're free from the patents' limitations.
@Mp-wc2ch stop spamming autism-phobic miracle herb stuff, thank you.
That’s so funny, I used to love the sims, but I only used the character creator 😂 as soon as it got to actually planning and orchestrating their lives, I was out. All my special interests as a child were very gender typical for the early 00s. I was really into fantasy novels, Barbie computer games, jewelry making, webkinz, littlest pet shop, club penguin and horses. I loved collecting, having, arranging, and looking at stuff.
Would you say it is still a special interest if you like looking/collecting/organising? Asking for my own journey lol. What about name of things or facts on it, is that important??
I'm mildly autistic and I have 2 main interests.
The first interest(s) is/are psychology/philosophy/spirituality/occultism..... Basically my first interest is something that called to me since I was 5. I had my first vivid lucid dream and I thought I was actually awake. Anyway, even to this day these call my name and my gut feels right.
The second one is Pokemon... I been a fan since childhood and like playing the games, watching the anime, watching videos, and collecting merchandise.
Talking about cnc machining, our cutting tools, and an in-depth spiel on the coatings they use. Great pick up lines at the bar!
"horses are scary." yes. I've never heard a more relatable thing in my life.
My life is a series of intense interests that repeat only after a long while. I have to really work hard to work because my brain tells me I should be doing something else. When I latch onto a new book it becomes the only thing I want to do until it is complete. I need brick walls to interrupt my interests. With Genealogy for instance, I got a year of intense interest in it but then when I hit the walls I moved on.
I'd love to drive a bus, but one with an isolated driver's cabin. :) Think of the AEC Routmaster (the red buses that were an iconic part of London for a long time).
I love driving in general. I love the sounds of engines, functional designs of various vehicles, and as worded by another comment I guess I love watching everything operating as a bigger system. It explains why I got hooked on watching some Japanese bus station videos (I guess Japanese bus spotting, I couldn't learn a second language to save my life so no idea what 'type' of video it is I'm watching) that CZcams randomly recommended to me a while ago. Lots of buses all synchronized as part of a large and very efficient system. They're all functionally designed buses, no needless 'facelifting' of models to make them look 'modern' every 5 years like in the UK, etc. As the clock counts down, some stations just have waves of buses departing. Very nice to watch. The sounds of being on a bus is soothing as well if there aren't any neurotypical passengers. :)
I like trucks, tractors and other equipment too. Vintage/classic stuff has amazing variety and sounds, much better than the 'modern' stuff in my opinion, especially when it wasn't built to be scrapped in less than a decade, or at least has survived and been maintained beyond it's 'disposable' phase, something much more difficult with 'modern' stuff. I don't think I know a lot about any vehicles, but maybe know most about cars. I will remember you by what car you drive, or are associated with, before I learn your name or anything else. :)
Oh i what you said about fixating on specific authors/voice is SO real. In third grade I was OBSESSED with the Nancy Drew series so I read all 40 books they had in my school library before proceeding to doing the same with the local public library and bookstores before putting all my birthday/Christmas money on the next ones until I got hooked on Rick Riordan and had to read all his adult books after i ran out of Percy Jackson books 😂
My special interests have always been animals. First lions then dolphins then chicken then birds (especially raptors and chickens) and on top of that I've had a special interest in human brains. I've convinced my parents to get a flock of chickens (which we've added to a lot) and I've recently convinced my parents to get me two cockatiels which are going to come with me to university. I plan to become an avian vet in the future. Birds, especially chickens are a large part of my personality.
My son liked the bus. Not riding on them, but the schedule. He would tell people who were total strangers a days worth of travel info for the 25th largest city in the USA. Not a small task!
Wow!!
I love all the old pictures and paintings of you and your family 🥰
This is so interesting! I'm a guy and my two special interests as a kid were horses and dinosaurs (and then the two merged into horse evolution). I also loved My Little Pony and collected the toys, collected cuddly toys (my parents eventually implemented a 'if you get one, you have to give one away' rule), and then when I hit my teens was super obsessed by Sims (once my parents were away for a weekend and I played for 24 hours straight.... I am not proud of this in hindsight).
My special interest now is uh... vibrators. The mechanics (my poor partner has had to listen to me talk about motor changes between different batches), the history of their development, industry news, and the more anthropological side of their design (why did particular models get designed to look the way they did? What's behind colour trends across the industry). It's a weird one, but it covers the whole spectrum from the engineering/material science side of things all the way to the more person and social-centric side.
For me, it’s not “transport”. It’s complex and dynamic systems with many variables allowing nuanced control.
logistics, weather, machines, vehicles, etc.
Steam railways are an obvious combination of these systems, and little boys are not discouraged from this early outlet.
I mean, boys are typically not restricted from expressing their interest in the railway or transport systems that are frequently an Autist’s first exposure to complex and dynamic systems with nuanced control.
Yes, I'm not sure 'transport' wasn't the right word choice! Thank you for describing that so eloquently. You make me wish it was my special interest, haha!
As an autistic woman in vet school - I concur, horses ARE terrifying.
Best wishes in your study. Horses and canines have taught me as much as any human.
Also loved Sims as a teen!
Loooooove singing and music.
Was obsessed with animals for years. Always wanted to ride horses but it was too expensive.
Obsessed with fiction/literature. Read at a more advanced level too. Loved writing, still do. Started a knitting/crochet group in college. Had a huge collection of stuffed animals that all had to sleep in my bed.
Really nice to see all these comparisons and your take on how exposure makes a difference here.
Dolls and miniatures but that’s been MY special interests since I was probably 3 years old.
You blew my mind that words can be a special interest because I am obsessed with words…
Anything Art! I love art. I also love playing video games. So the electronics definitely fits with me too. I also love to sing. I was in choir until i graduated high school. I also the weather especially Tornados. I didn't find out i had ASD until my daughter was diagnosed with ADHD. I told the doc i have ADHD. They kindly pointed me in the right direction.
Wow, animal and book girl here (fiction and nonfiction). I learnt all the dog breeds in my mum's book as a kid, rode horses and have had all sorts of animals over the years. I did wildlife conservation and love the connections in ecology and natural systems. I actually remember getting unnaturally excited about sea lion whiskers during my comparative physiology assignment! Seriously though they're awesome! I spent so much time alone drawing is really high on my interest list too and usually my interests are linked like photography and wildlife and then drawing or painting from my photos... suddenly feel like a cliche 😅
Having a kindle is amazing as I can take all my favourite books with me everywhere! I’m the same as you I have to read a whole series from one author and then move on to the next series but I struggle to find new authors and series that I do not know so often read the same things over and over and over!
6:18 idk if I have autism (dxed 80HD though) but I am obsessed with my city's public transit, especially the bus routes. Not in the way where I memorize different model numbers of buses and all, but I'm fascinated with them. The grid pattern they follow, where the route begins/ends, detour routes, average intervals between buses, connections, the differences in internal layouts (which is its own subcategory of interest because omg, there are so many differences-fabrics on the chairs, material of the chairs, accessibility, announcement voice used, placement of stop buttons/wires, etc etc), the history of the routes, the social interactions and norms (which also depends on the area of the city you're in bc this city is very culturally segregated), and so much more.
Like, I don't know exactly which models of buses have what and when they were rolled out (though it sounds interesting too 🤔) but it's more about how seamlessly it was all put together to connect the city and how each bus has a story of its own etc etc. idk maybe it's just an appreciation for how I get around and pride in how it's less polluting and how well my city's managed it all.
I of course LOVE to complain about it--smelly, loud, people are fkn weird, always late, slowed by cars, etc. But idk there's just a lot to like about them! I have been called obsessive about it, my ex thot it was weird