3.2 Special interests

Many autistic people, both children and adults, develop an extremely intense special interest in a particular topic, sometimes becoming so absorbed that they fail to do other things, including eating and sleeping! Sometimes, the interest topic itself may not seem unusual, but what sets it apart is how strongly and for how long it is pursued. For instance, many young children love Thomas the Tank Engine, but they may not watch their favourite episodes incessantly and to the exclusion of any other children’s programmes, or still watch them when adolescent. Some autistic special interests are markedly different from those that most people favour as hobbies and leisure pursuits, focusing on unusual topics such as washing machines, or the Titanic passenger list, for instance.

Neurotypical people may struggle to understand the attraction of these unusual special interests, and parents may express frustration at the amount of time their child spends on their interest to the exclusion of other activities, and at the incessant questioning that may accompany it. Some autism practitioners argue that special interests are detrimental because they exacerbate social isolation and suppress other opportunities for learning. Yet the individual with the interest may find their chosen pursuit fulfilling and comforting (Grove, Roth and Hoekstra, 2016), and other practitioners believe that special interests can serve as effective building blocks for learning. For instance, teachers can make use of the special interest to develop reading, writing and other skills, or simply as rewards for attending to other tasks. Finding others who share the same interest may also lead to developing a circle of friends. There is much still to be explored in this field.