Special interests, according to some people, can also be called hyper-fixations. The truth is that there’s a difference–and I’ll get into that in a different post. For now, what you need to know is this: Special interests are particular "fascinations" that autistic people have. They can last days, weeks, months, even years, but they can also be lost. Some people have more than one special interest at a time. For example, I used to be focused on crocheting, then it was knitting and crocheting, then it was only knitting, then it was painting and pastel art and then it was coloring, etc. It’s always morphing, but in some way, it’s always connected to your next one. After all, you have to find out about it somewhere!
Some people find out about things through research, and through that, it becomes a special interest of theirs. It can be anything from an interest in the chemical composition of different dirts and how that helps plants grow to highland cattle in so-and-so country to writing. But the common factor between them is that it’s the centermost “fixation” of the person’s life. People have called special interests—and hyper-fixations—”obsessions” on occasion because of how intense they can be.
Q. Can they be obsessive, or more like loving something a lot? Or a spectrum?
A. Usually, they’re fairly obsessive. It’s when a person is solely focused on their special interests. So in all their free time, they may be knitting or crocheting or painting or looking at pictures of highland cows or writing, etc. Whatever their special interest is, they probably devote a lot of time to it.
That said, everyone is different and each person responds to each of their special interests differently.
Q. Can special interests be less obsessive? Like what you described, just slightly toned down?
A. Absolutely. Sometimes people just thought that my special interests were things that I liked. Like books, they thought I just liked reading so I’d get a ton of books. They didn’t realize the inward extent to how much I loved books. They just saw that I always seemed to be reading. It looks tame, but internally, it’s a bit more like… okay I love books, but I don’t NEED them right? …. no, I need them. Which, as a writer, that’s probably a bad example, but you hopefully get the point.
(Basically, what I mean by the need part is that externally, it looks like just a want, but internally, it feels like more of a need. Like you must always have a book with you, just in case you need it. You always need to have a list of backup books to get when you run out of current books to read. You're spending more time on books than you probably should and it's no longer a wanting as much as an obsession.)
Q. How long do they normally last?
A. I don’t think there’s a “how long they normally last'' as much as a “how long until you find a new one?” And that really depends on the person and what they’re doing.
Q. How does someone usually feel about their hyper-fixation or special interest? Do they get super hyped up about it? Or ramble-y? Or if someone seems to slight it, do they get defensive?
A. Yesssssss! We get super rambly and sometimes it’s the only thing we want to talk about. It’s one of the only things that can really give us mental energy back sometimes and it’s like the thing our world centers around. We live and breathe that hyper-fixation. While we’re eating, we may be thinking about it. While we’re working, we may be distracted by the want to engage with it. If someone slights it, it really depends on the forwardness of the person. If they’re willing to fight back, yes, they would. It’s more of a “does fear beat the want to defend what you love?” type of thing.
Q. Is one of your special interests teaching others about special interests?
A. I think my special interest is just psychology in general, so technically yes. I get rambly, can you tell?
Q. Is it rude to ask about a special interest? I know you said you like to talk about it, but is that only if you bring it up? Or do people typically like it when others ask about it?
A. Nooooo. Not at all!!! I mean, some people might think it’s rude to have someone say, “I know you’re autistic. What’s your special interest?” but asking what people like and finding out that something is someone’s special interest isn’t rude at all. Kinda just treat them like people still though, you know?
I think it really depends on the person. Something I like to do is just ask if people mind my asking about something, and if they do, say that they don’t have to answer me.
Thanks so much to C. for her wonderful questions about this topic!! <3 They were really helpful in guiding me as to what I needed to explain here.