A special interest is, in the simplest of terms, something that an autistic person finds to be incredibly interesting, often to the point that it may be described as a "fixation" or "obsession" by non-autistics (allistics). While specific special interests very widely in topic, one common characteristic is the intensity of said special interest, which separates them from the "regular" interests of allistics. Whereas an allistic person may have several interests, an autistic person only has a few special interests.
For example, an allistic person may find alligators interesting, but to an autistic person whose special interest is crocodilians, there can never be too much to learn in regard to alligators. An autistic person may know more information about their special interest than most allistics can even fathom existing. To an autistic person, it might be astounding to discover how much others don't know on a particular topic, which often leads to us info dumping on anyone who is willing to listen.
To an autistic person, a special interest is more than a hyper-fixation on one topic. To us, it doesn't feel like a hyper-fixation at all, although to an allistic, that's what it may look like. It may be hard for allistics to understand why someone would want to spend countless hours learning more about the history of electronic music or the classification of legumes, but to an autistic person, it's just a way of being.
As an autistic person, it can be hard for me to understand why allistics don't have a special interest. What do they spend their free time doing? How can there not be something they are constantly wanting to know more about? How do they do anything without being totally and completely devoted to it? These are all things I have often wondered, although I'm sure allistics have thought the reverse about me.
Having a special interest means that there is always more to learn. There is always more to be excited about. There are constantly new things that we can and want to learn, as we exist in a day and age where there is constantly new information being discovered (as in the case of special interests revolving around bygone eras) and created (as in the case of special interests revolving around contemporary science and technology).
My special interest is something I can never learn too much about. Sometimes when I wake up at night, I can't go back to sleep because I start thinking about pigeons and I feel so incredibly happy when I remember I can learn more. My special interest is comforting and safe. It has added something invaluable to my life and to myself as a person. I don't know if allistics have the same experience. I hope they do, because the only thing that can hold a candle to my special interest is having another autistic person teach me about their own special interest. I know I won't remember everything they tell me, but I will remember and love that everything they tell me is part of who they are.
I hope allistics can do the same for us.
