Is it common to be embarrassed about your special interest?

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Most people I know with ASD (both in real life and in documentaries, books etc) are very open about their love for their special interest. They will happily talk about it for hours, have collections on display, posters covering the walls.
With me, nobody outside of the internet knows about my special interest. I don't talk about it because I know people would laugh. I have a small collection, but it's hidden away in boxes and I would be mortified if anybody found out. I am very worried that at my assessment they will ask if I have a special interest and will want to know what it is.

Anybody else like this?

Sort of. Well, it's more the thought of people thinking I'm weird than anything else. I am open about some of my interests; but I know that many people do share at least one interest of mine.

As for:

In mine, they did. I mentioned 2 of them I think - not including the one I don't talk about.

I'm sure you've got nothing to be mortified about Guineapigged. The person who does your assessment will be a professional who has seen possibly hundreds of people and read many case files - they will certainly not laugh at you and everything you tell them will be confidential. If they ask what your interest is then I think you should be honest.

My interests have chopped and changed over the years, but only one has been consistent (I've had it for 15 years now) and that is the one I don't really discuss with other people, as I am worried they will think it odd, childish or morbid. I would discuss it with a professional though, and with people I thought would understand - like here on WP.

I do have one or two special interests that are kind of embarrassing but when I tell people, I kind of broaden the topic and make it less specific so it's not as embarrassing.

I'm not really embarrassed by them. I'm just sure that people would not be interested, so I don't talk about them.

I'm into Carnivorous Plants. I went to a show this past Saturday. I had a wonderful time being a total dork. I suspect there might have been some Aspies there.

Yeah, me too - one of my strongest special interests is so embarrassing, only my husband knows about it of the people who know me. But I have told professionals. Not all of them, but two people who were were counselling me at different times. I'm hoping to get a diagnosis soon, and I would expect to mention it. I'm kind of a bit more at ease about it than I used to be. I know now that people with AS have odd interests and it doesn't necessarily mean they're completely cracked!

Yeah, sometimes. I like video games and just skip over that almost entirely with anyone unless someone brings them up.

Yep sure am. My husband is the only person I open up to about it but sadly I drive him crazy with it. I rarely share my interest with other people.

I'm not embarrassed about my special interests. They're a part of my colourful personality.

I'm definitely not that bad.

I try to limit how much I talk about my main special interest as it's menstruation...social taboos abound, people can get very nasty about it or get grossed-out by it, plus there's a hell of a gap between general 'knowledge' and the facts so many people don't understand where I'm coming from or dismiss what I'm saying because they don't know any better. I learned a long time ago to avoid the rhetoric on a special interest as not everyone wants to hear about it, also at times I find it hard to talk about not because I'm embarrassed or ashamed...just I'm THAT passionate about it I worry about exposing that passion and being criticised.

Last edited by Bloodheart on 30 Apr 2012, 2:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yeah... my special interests seem to change every know and then, but often I can feel embarrassed by them. Right now I'm obsessed with North Korea, and I can't shut up about it for hours. I don't think it's something I should feel embarrassed by though; many NT people also have strange special interests, at least the ones I know.

When I was a kid, I would not shut up about what I was interested in. As I've gotten older I've realized that most of what I know is probably utterly meaningless to the average person, so I actively avoid talking about it, even if I've got a really cool connection to make. The embarrassment isn't really that I have special interests so much as the fact that once I get talking about them, I can get difficult to talk to.

It happens. I love to write and draw and though I am usually very open about my literature hobbies, I had always been mortified if anyone know of the drawing part. I recently started doing better at it and I have started a deviantart page and my close friends get to see my draw. Another interest I had for a long time that was supper embarrassing was barbie dolls. I loved them and used to collect them and play very elaborate scenes with them until the age of 14 almost, when most girls where doing other things like makeup and boys. I used to do this in secret because I felt it was . . . bad. When my mom found out she made me throw them all out or put them away because it was not normal.

So I have hidden a lot of special interests in my lifetime, such as liking of certain genre of movies or collections.

I'm not embarrassed about my special interests at all, but I almost never talk about them with anyone besides my family(then again, I rarely talk to my peers). I lost all my friends quite a few years ago because I was annoying and ignorant about social rules. Blabbering on about my special interests was a large part of that. Now I just keep my mouth shut.

I was obsessed with Serbia and Croatia in 2009.Then I was obsessed with Somalia.Then I was obsessed with the Soviet Union in 2010.Then I was obsessed with Poland and Czech Republic in 2011.Now I prefer Zimbabwe,DR Congo and Ethiopia.

I'm also obsessed with North Korea, and throughout my teen years I was obsessed with Japan. My consistent obsession has been computers and video games for almost all of my life, and my friends and family are very glad of my knowledge in this area - though I sometimes wish I could forget everything I know when a family member wants me to sort something out that I know will probably take several hours! I only get embarassed if I realise the person I'm talking to hasn't said anything for ages and I've probably gone off on a monologue again and bored them, but that's not specific to any one subject. I try to avoid discussing anything related to my fixations with people I'm not close to for this reason.

My partner is NT and obsessed with Jack the Ripper and murder in general. That might be considered stranger than some of my interests but it led her to a forensic science degree which people seem to find interesting, especially with programmes like CSI being so popular (though she can't watch them because apparently they're highly inaccurate and it annoys her).