Special interest (autism)
Highly focused interests / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Special interests are highly focused interests common in autistic people.[1]
A request that this article title be changed to Autistic special interests is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
Special interests are more intense than typical interests, such as hobbies,[2] and may take up much of a person's free time. A person with a special interest will often hyperfocus on their special interest for hours, want to learn as much as possible on the topic,[3] collect related items,[4] and incorporate their special interest into play[5] and art.[6] Some interests are more likely to be seen as special interests if they are particularly unusual, specific, or niche.[2] Autism rights advocates and psychologists say this binary of acceptable "passions" and pathologised "obsessions" is unfair.[7][8] Terms like circumscribed interests,[9] obsessions, or restricted interests[10] have historically been used to describe special interests, but these terms are discouraged by autism rights advocates.[7]
Special interests are sometimes confused with hyperfixation.[11] Hyperfixations are short-lived periods of strong interest in a subject over a few days to months which can occur in anyone (although are especially common in people with ADHD),[12] while special interests are an autistic trait and usually last years.[13] A person may hyperfixate on a special interest.