Special Interests Are My Life Savers

By Clara H

A Special Interest is something you are passionate about to a higher level of intensity than what you would define as a hobby. ​

They can be helpful among the autistic community in many different ways. ​

​Sometimes, they can get to the point where they could almost be described as a personality trait. We may do as much research as we possibly can and never be able get it off our minds.

Many people talk about autism in a way that makes it seem like everything about it is bad. We often look past the positives in which can set a negative representative about our community.

Special interests are one of the multiple things about who we are that proves that idea wrong. Some may look at Special Interests as an obsession that should get abolished. I have to say I don't find that to be the case for all of us.

​The main Special Interest I have is anything film-related. I've been into this topic ever since I was a very young girl. I get hooked onto specific movies and shows for years.

That does seem like something quite typical for someone to be into, but mine is at the point where it's all I can think about no matter what I'm doing.

​If I'm laughing, most of the time because I'm thinking of something I just watched. People may think that I'm laughing at a joke they made, but in reality, that joke reminded me of something I saw in a film or on a TV show.

Yea, I know it seems like I'm constantly distracted, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives.

​Just like how it's helped me meet some of my closest friends who also find enjoyment in the same topic. ​When eating lunch together, we often recite movie lines instead of having an actual conversation.

Special interests are our happy place. It's our outlet for when life gets upsetting. It's great to have others in your life who can connect with others in that way. ​

Being apart of a society that's not built around my type of functioning we often get overstimulated. Special interests are a technique that I and many others on the spectrum use as a way to block the rest of the world out.

When we get home from a long day, for example, we can calm ourselves down from all the stress we went through with the help of our interests. They can even help us avoid unwanted meltdowns that may be on the urge of coming out of our system.

​Another plus side to Special Interests is that they can translate into a career. ​

Many parents have mentioned to me that worry that their autistic children may never be able to get a good-paying job. If their child has a Special Interest, they can turn out to be very successful by finding a career in which they can continue to participate in what they love.

There are not very many careers involving my Special Interests. I think that having a job separate from what I am always thinking about actually could be a good way to learn how I can switch that topic off and focus on something else.

​Who knows, I may be able to develop a new one from whichever path I decide to take in the future. 

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash