Autistic Special Interests are NOT what you think...

I'd love to post more frequently on this channel because I have WAY too many ideas! To make the possible, I've started a Patreon. If you join, you'll get get 2 exclusive videos a month and access to the Discord server, even on the lowest tier:

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:

WHAT TO WATCH NEXT:

If you want some relatable autism and ADHD Memes:

Are you masking? Taking the CAT-Q Autistic masking quiz:

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):

Aspergirls by Rudy Simone:

*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!

[imautisticnowwhat]

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:

Are you masking? Take the CAT-Q Autistic masking quiz:

[zinja]

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

[lavendercanine]

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 concept of something, or specific parts of it, but nothing else about it (such as its history, technical features, etc.)?

[lexylunamoon]

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)

[river]

My special interests:
-notebooks, journals, planners
-planning every major event over and over
-cleaning
-babies/pregnancy/birth etc
-creating lists/ charts
Etc

[deadfrg]

21:03 “It’s about the intensity.”

It’s about drive, it’s about power,
We stay hungry, we devour,

[twistedreality]

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

[madaravasko]

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

[archivewarrior]

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)

[DonnaJaneSwallow]

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.

[natashawilson]

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.

[MrPotatoemouse]

It would be interesting to know how the study compares to interests in neurotypical kids of the same age.

[Njilin]

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.

[lappynet]

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.

[graymonk]

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

[bedlambelle]

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.

[CatBat]

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.

[mischake]

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.

[lizzieboredom]

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.

[wendycomet]

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.