Hi, I have no special interests.

I don't think I have a 'special interest' either as such. There are things that I know about and things that I do regularly but I don't think I'm any different in that regard from someone who's neurotypical.

I am however, like it sounds you are, interested in a huge variety of things. I love sciencey things but also arty things and physical things. I'm currently into fixing and making things and growing things (since it's spring!). Like SpaceOctopus says, I wouldn't worry about not having this specific trait, it's just a common misunderstanding that all autistic people should have all these traits, we're actually a hugely diverse bunch :)

To some degree that's true. The thing that autistic people most share in common is their struggles. There is no autistic culture in the same sense as a race has a culture. But there is a shared set of issues many autistic people share dealing with the society and culture they find themselves trapped in.

I would say people with autism do seem to be attracted to sub cultures. But not the same ones. And history has shown again and again different subcultures often find it harder to get along with each other than with mainstream culture.

There is no tribe - just a bunch of different people, that doesn't fit anywhere.

Sporadic Sparkly said:

competition with each other.

while they should compete with themselves

out_of_step said:

I think "neurotypical people" I have found sometimes like to blag their way through

They do. I think some do it to make it seem that they are somehow superior, or because they feel it will help them get further in life.

out_of_step said:

I think some people place too much emphasis on intellect like it should define who they are and they feel in competition with each other.

I agree.

Ah thank you for your reply- it’s nice to find a community where I can speak as I’d like to and know that others will understand and be able to relate, or at least, not judge negatively because of difference.

I do agree with you comment about people potentially needing to appear more knowledgeable in order impress or convince others of their enjoyment of a thing. An instance I can remember is of two friends I used to have trying to one up each other about their knowledge of a band to almost prove who liked the band more. I initially tried to join in as I also enjoyed some of the music, but then saw what was really happening so took a backseat. It seemed like a stressful situation to be in, proving your interest and competing like that. It then came to me that there should not be winners and losers in a hobby, rather there should just be like minded people sharing and interest in something. Perhaps this is something that they personally found difficult, but then again I think I can think of many more instances of seeing this type of behaviour so perhaps it is wider than that.

It’s great to hear of your university challenge success- if that isn’t cause for celebration I don’t know what is! It must have been great to recall that information and to know exactly where that knowledge came from. I enjoy hearing of when things like this happen. I was in an escape room once and it was themed around Ancient Egypt, I was able to solve part of the puzzle without many of the needed clues due to some prior study I’d done on the ancient belief of the afterlife. My friends were happy with the knowledge I had shared, but we’re perhaps less interested (but in a very friendly way) in hearing about when/where/how I’d learned what I knew. What that information was though, I could no longer tell you as I have forgotten it!

I can also entirely relate to the feeling of being lost that you describe when not having something to focus on. It’s nice to be learning and focusing just for the fun of it and purely for yourself.

exactly

freedom of thought

freedom of speech

freedom of looks, moves and futures

that is what we need

Haha! It’s funny, I probably would have stayed quiet and just had that thought to myself whilst others were socialising, but I’m finding this a great place to ‘vocalise’ the thoughts.

MelonCauliflower said:

I only used to be interested in and like things that my older brother liked.

my 1 year younger sister used to follow me everywhere and do what I do, play with me games I came up with, using boys toys not dolls, until about I was 9 and she was 8, when my way of thinking was begining to give me an unfair advantage in games that were based on logic, like checkers, I would mercilesly crush her and second sister, 3 years younger then me, I did not know back then that this way I will lose a sparring partner eventually, it went on and on, game after game, for a year, until we started Blockout competition on a PC, taking turns, week later they left my room without word, to never return, when they realised I'm not stopping after 30min, while their games were taking about 15min,

you could say I cured them of an unhealthy interests just on time before adolescence

they are not autistic, but I suspect my mom

I really enjoy reading your threads because I can relate to them.

Oakling said:

Sometimes when speaking to someone about an interest I feel a bit like an imposter if I can’t recall information and I start to question how into the thing I actually am. I begin to question whether it is an interest at all. Without revision I can’t talk at length about factual information and so doubts start to creep in.

Yes and I think "neurotypical people" I have found sometimes like to blag their way through so they try to come across as knowing more than they actually do. It's a social thing maybe. I think for autistic people it's more about the knowledge and the facts. The course I did on future learn about Gravity was one of the best things I have ever done in my life but I would not be able to explain back (which might show how much did I actually learn. ...) but it was there in my head so much so that I got a question right on university challenge because of it (altho I had to dig deep into my brain). I celebrated by getting a piggy back off my partner around the flat.

As an aside,  I think some people place too much emphasis on intellect like it should define who they are and they feel in competition with each other. You hit the nail on the head when you say interests are for yourself and no one else. I think for autistic people they are a way to unwind and find control in an uncertain world.

Lastly there are times when I've had nothing to sink my teeth into and have felt a bit lost.

Oakling said:

but this series of thoughts just occurred to me and I ended up typing them

that;s how my stories happen, it is just a bit problematic to focus on them only for long enough :D

I think your post is very honest and the last sentence is funny too

All autistic people are different - it’s not a failing not to have a special interest! 
You are who you are - maybe especially unique because you are autistic and DON’T have a special interest!

Whilst I have many areas of interest, I would argue that I’m not hugely knowledgeable in the areas and therefore I question if they are special interests. My memory doesn’t allow me to retain any factual information. Well it’s probably not retention that is the issue, but rather I just can’t access the information when it’s needed e.g. when having a conversation about my interest. I like rocks and minerals, small objects, and wood. It’s quite hard to explain to people why, as it’s not really the information or facts linked to these things that I like, it’s just that each of these things are interesting to look at and experience. I have collected examples of these things since childhood. Sometimes when speaking to someone about an interest I feel a bit like an imposter if I can’t recall information and I start to question how into the thing I actually am. I begin to question whether it is an interest at all. Without revision I can’t talk at length about factual information and so doubts start to creep in. But then I remember a comment I overheard once along the lines of ‘hobbies and interests are supposed to be fun, not a test’. I think of this and then reflect on the enjoyment I get out of my interests in the way that I personally enjoy them and how I can lose huge lengths of time to them and my worries start to ease. Just because I cannot recall information as an expert would does not mean that I don’t enjoy those things. The time I spend on them is for me and therefore it is time well spent. But as to having special interests as such, I don’t know if I do. I think I’ve potentially rambled and also maybe missed the point of this thread, so apologies if that is the case, but this series of thoughts just occurred to me and I ended up typing them.

When I was little, I only used to be interested in and like things that my older brother liked. I remember being bought a Polly Pocket by a friend for a birthday and liking it briefly but then my brother told me it was rubbish and I took that literally so I decided not to like it anymore. It made it hard for me to make friends at school because I knew all the comic book heroes and lots about dinosaurs but no of the girls at school wanted to talk about those things. But I will try and sift through my memories and see if any childhood interests survived my brother's vetting process (I mean dinosaurs are cool and all but I really was only interested in learning about them because I enjoyed my brother's enthusiasm for them so much. I think that's a common theme for me, I like learning about what other people like. I think I would make a good friend for other autistic people to info dump their special interests onto but I'm bad at bringing anything to the conversation myself so initiating friendships is hard)

Futurelearn sounds really cool, I will check that out. Thank you for sharing that, I love free learning

Hi Adam, Thanks for your reply. It's cool to see that just talking about not knowing what to talk about has started something and hearing other people's experiences has helped me feel a bit less down about myself. I had hoped this would happen but I wasn't really sure that it would. 

Welcome to the community, I hope you find good stuff here like I have.

I have, prefer documentaries, but I do watch Crime Shows like Dexter and other similar shows 

Have you seen Dexter TV Series? I know it's fiction, but unlike other serial killer movies

If anyone was to look at my streaming history from various sites, it would be about 85% Crime Documentaries. I have also got several books on crime 

One of my past interests was serial killers, Peter sutcliffe yorkshire ripper. My local library used to think I was a bit odd, but why have the books in the first place.

I totally get this. I do the same, zone in on something and then at no given time, move onto something else. I suffer with recurrant depression and actually want to hold onto an interest a bit longer than I do. I'm into religion and faith atm but this will soon disappear.