how to introduce new hobbies?

yes, get him what he wants for Christmas.  Merlin do some great Dr Who sticker books and you can order them all on their website (might admit to having a few myself....)

in the longer term, I agree with Scared woman that you can mix things in.  Maybe start talking about something in Dr Who which could lead on to other things.  Maybe space travel. Or a period in history - many of the episodes are based on historical periods even if they're not written as Earth in the 19xx or whatever.  Or some element of physics like electronics or astronomy, wasn't there a TV show advertised on the science of Dr Who?

If the hobby is not damaging in itself then run with it, but try to stretch it a bit wider. 

My son was mad about Henry 8th, and everything revolved round Henry 8th at one time, but if you put Henry 8th into something else ie pirates then the pirates get interesting as well because of their association with Henry 8th. You have to mix them in.

zone_tripper said:

[quote][/quote]

my 9 yr old son is obsessed with dr who, from the day it started in the 1970's to today. every  book/card/dvd/toy/curtains/bedding/clothes. you get the picture!!

how do i get him to try something new. he has eveything. its his bday soon. i dont know what to get him, he asks for yet more dr who!! he has everything. i know this is normal with asd children but i feel he could be so much happier if he looked further . i tried giving him the laptop and argos book to look for things he might like. but hes not interested in anything. i bought him things i think he will like, un dr who related. he never plays with them. bless him 

any ideas please?

I first watched Doctor Who in 1981, aged five.  

I am now almost 37 and I am still a massive Doctor Who fan!  I have large collection of books, models, videos, DVDs, replica props, autographs, photographs, roleplaying games, and lord knows what else Doctor Who related!  (My parents tremble with fear when they see the postman laden with parcels!  LOL!!!)

I have Doctor Who badges on my wide brimmed hat.  I have a Doctor Who ringtone on my mobiles!  I am on Doctor Who forums on the Internet.  

I have been buying Doctor Who Magazine since the 1980s and going into my local W H Smith to buy it is still a highlight of my month to this day. 

* * * * *

If his love is Doctor Who, then I would respect it, especially if it makes him happy.  You cannot force people to like something if they don't.  

As in my case, it is not unusual for people with Autism to have narrowly focussed interests, and for an interest to be lifelong.  

I was lucky growing up, in the sense that I had an inspirational teacher who encouraged us in whatever hobbies interested us.  I also had relations who were encouraging (especially one Aunt in particular).  Friends had similar interests.  

smileforlife said:

my 9 yr old son is obsessed with dr who, from the day it started in the 1970's to today. every  book/card/dvd/toy/curtains/bedding/clothes. you get the picture!!

how do i get him to try something new. he has eveything. its his bday soon. i dont know what to get him, he asks for yet more dr who!! he has everything. i know this is normal with asd children but i feel he could be so much happier if he looked further . i tried giving him the laptop and argos book to look for things he might like. but hes not interested in anything. i bought him things i think he will like, un dr who related. he never plays with them. bless him 

any ideas please?

I first watched Doctor Who in 1981, aged five.  

I am now almost 37 and I am still a massive Doctor Who fan!  I have large collection of books, models, videos, DVDs, replica props, autographs, photographs, roleplaying games, and lord knows what else Doctor Who related!  (My parents tremble with fear when they see the postman laden with parcels!  LOL!!!)

I have Doctor Who badges on my wide brimmed hat.  I have a Doctor Who ringtone on my mobiles!  I am on Doctor Who forums on the Internet.  

I have been buying Doctor Who Magazine since the 1980s and going into my local W H Smith to buy it is still a highlight of my month to this day. 

* * * * *

If his love is Doctor Who, then I would respect it, especially if it makes him happy.  You cannot force people to like something if they don't.  

As in my case, it is not unusual for people with Autism to have narrowly focussed interests, and for an interest to be lifelong.  

You could see if you can get a Dr Who thing with some other aspect to it such as making a Dr Who related something. It may seem very 1-dimensional to you but there is the potential to include different activities within the theme. Try and use it to introduce new activities/experiences.  Like the others have said, if it's not Dr Who it will dissapoint.

Hi - I agree with Scorpion0x17 - there's no point trying to interest him in something else at the moment - get him what makes him happy + doesn't disappoint.  The nicest thing can be to see a big smile on your child's face when a gift hits the mark.   Over time he may slowly lose interest in Dr Who, but when will be his decision.   My son has had some  obsessions over the yrs + still has. His delight is apparent when he gets something related to it but his disappointment can be acute if he is expecting something + it doesn't appear.  If it's tv/vid etc then you may find that when something important changes then he may lose a bit of interest.  For example, if Matt Smith morphs into a new Dr, then that might put a damper on the prog.  Maybe not, but I've found my son loses interest when something significant to him changes.  I know it can be difficult to keep finding things related to an obsession but if you can think of anything related to it then get it!

smileforlife said:

any ideas please?

Yeah.

Get him something Dr Who related!

If that's all he likes then why on earth would you want to get him anything else?!