How often do your 'restricted' interests change?

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agwood
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10 Dec 2014, 9:15 am

I assume that people with ASD aren't necessarily restricted to a specific personal interest for life, but will go through periods of intense interest on a particular topic(s) that will last for a certain length of time (maybe months to a few years).
Is this accurate?



Adamantium
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10 Dec 2014, 9:55 am

I have a few long, long term interests (astronomy, aviation), though sometimes they are a bit eclipsed by a shorter term interest.

It has happened many times that I have become deeply, deeply interested in something for 3-5 years and then that has faded and something else has come in.

In general, I am interested in science and design and most of my interests somehow tie back to these.



LokiofSassgard
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10 Dec 2014, 10:07 am

There is one interest that has never changed for me for over a year now. That's my obsession with Tom Hiddleston. I do have an obsession with trains and Christmas right now. So, my second or third interests usually change quite a bit for me.


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livnah
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10 Dec 2014, 10:15 am

I've got 3 "intense, long-term" (that is, life-long) interests, plus 2-5 "passing but still intense" ones at any given time, those latter ones usually last a couple weeks to maybe a year at most. I've been told that mine are almost ALWAYS ones that cause me to focus intensely and alone, which differs from most not on the spectrum who "enjoy sharing, and know when to take breaks".


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KAOS
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10 Dec 2014, 1:24 pm

My only really longlasting interest are languages. There are longer breaks in between, however, when languages are much less important to me.

And then I have many shorter lasting interests, this can vary between some days (! !) up to some months or years. But most of them are only very short "crushes", often on political topics. They can be so intense that when it starts I have the desire to swallow every information about that topic at once! I get so obsessed and fill myself up with so much information that I get sleeping problems, and I think almost all the time about that topic. Luckily, after some days until two weeks, this gets weaker or even fades, and I got more energy for my everyday life again.
Still, I am very happy about this ability to get so enthusiastic. It just feels so good, and my life would be so boring without these interests!



JosefK
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10 Dec 2014, 2:38 pm

I have a few life-long interests/preoccupations. Since my early childhood I have been reading avidly. I used to be a fanatic football player until I was 17 years old. I lost my interest in playing football gradually after 10 years. As for other temporary interests: these tend to vary every 3 to 5 years. Sometimes, previously abandoned interests recur. Currently, I find myself returning to music (listening, reading reviews) more and more after not keeping up with the latest releases for 3 years or so.



FedUpAsp
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10 Dec 2014, 2:48 pm

My intense long-term interests are in flux right now. Currently turning toward a frustrated interest in business.



gamerdad
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10 Dec 2014, 3:31 pm

KAOS wrote:
And then I have many shorter lasting interests, this can vary between some days (! !) up to some months or years. But most of them are only very short "crushes", often on political topics. They can be so intense that when it starts I have the desire to swallow every information about that topic at once! I get so obsessed and fill myself up with so much information that I get sleeping problems, and I think almost all the time about that topic. Luckily, after some days until two weeks, this gets weaker or even fades, and I got more energy for my everyday life again.

That pretty accurately describes how it works for me as well. When I discover a new interest there's usually a period between 1 week to a month when I am truly "obsessed" with it, and find it difficult to really think about anything else. After I've gorged myself on pretty much all available information though it tapers off to a more manageable level, and I'm able to balance it with other interests as well. Most of the short term interests tend to run their course somewhere between 3 to 9 months.



Jezebel
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10 Dec 2014, 4:08 pm

Mine really haven't changed in years. When I was younger, my main interests were dolls and school conduct/behavioral systems. The conduct systems were an obsession from about kindergarten until about 7th grade (which is when I left public school and became homeschooled/online schooled). I played school all the time, and honestly, my main reason for playing was so that I could play with the conduct systems I'd made from looking at the ones my teachers had and the ones other teachers had as well. My interests in dolls stopped when all of them were sold due to them being in storage and my mother not paying the bill. I still collect stuffed animals and larger dolls (like American girl doll sized ones) though. I'm probably up to around 60-70, maybe more. One of my newest arrivals has been the blue build a bear autism bear. I named him Autie. :heart:

I also had a short interest in casts as a child (I broke both my arms multiple times). Actually, I still like them, but I'm just not as interested as I used to be.

Anyway, my current interests include the following:
Forum software and forums (especially vBulletin)
Psychology (which is one of my majors; I'm particularly interested in neuroscience, as I'm hoping to figure out some biological differences for autism) and psychometrics (mainly personality testing and intelligence testing).

Possible future interests:
Forensic science
Digital Illustration
Writing
French
Film studies
Technology (I've always been a tech geek, but it's not super strong or anything)

The forum software/forums has been an interest since 2009, whereas psychology and autism are relatively new ones (last year). I spend a lot of time researching psychology and autism; I spend significantly less time on research about forums, but that might be because I spent years researching and obsessing over them (learning them inside and out), so there isn't as much for me to learn at this point. I also have two other college majors (listed under future interests) as well, but I'm not sure if I can really call them actual interests (meaning long-term ones) just yet. But overall, my interests don't really seem to change often.


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