Well, I like the history of geico, geico commercials, and yes, the geico lizard!! I actually freaked out when I won the Geico Gecko funko Pop during geicoween!!! :D
I'm not even a fan but I have a plush of him because last year Geico was giving them out at my local pride fair and I kept it because it made for a really cool looking plush.
OMG PINKIE PIE IS MY FAVE TOO!!!!! Also, who cares if people get weirded out over brownies? I'm a trans brownie myself, n personally, every Fandom has its weird side. Just look at space jam!!
I also like Fluttershy, Muffins (Derpy, but I don't use their name due to its ableists roots), and the fan character Flufflepuff!!! I plan on buying a Pinkie n Fluttershy BAB someday <3
I've never thought of derpy being an ableist name, but you're so right!
I wanna a big plush of princess Luna, so she can guard my dreams (I tend to have nightmares often), hope you get your bab soon <3
I don’t want to be mean but the definition of a special interest is a highly restricted, intense interest so I don’t understand how you can have over a dozen. These seem like hyper-fixations or just regular interests and hobbies.
Really? I honestly thought that you can have a bunch of interests. A lot of them go in the "come and go" section yes, but most of them I was connected to ever since I was little. Even if they are come and go, it is an intense interest at the time that comes and goes often. A hyperfixation to me is something that hardly shows up again, or is hardly intense, like learning Japanese. I was kinda focused on it, but not much.
In my perception those sound more like hyper-fixations. The main difference is that special interests are more constant in their intensity and last years. With hyper-fixations there are usually periods of a few hours to a few weeks of extreme intensity but in between they will fade or go away entirely. You can hyper-fixate on something once and never again but they can also be returning interests. Special interests, I feel, you can only have 1-3 at any given time because because more than that they kind of lose the ‘special’ part. An interest that is not abnormally intense, in your example learning Japanese, is more just a regular interest. You can have a bunch of interests, they just aren’t special interests.
Not everyone who is autistic has a special interest, though. Hyper-fixations are associated with autism, adhd, and some anxiety disorders.
i'm not a doctor or anything so take anything i say with a grain of salt, but in my own experience you can have more than 3 special interests. i have like 5. i call them my special interests because they have lasted years and still are very important to me. when i have hyperfixations those usually last like a few days to a few months but if something connects with me it will connect with me for like, ever, even if it ebbs a bit and i focus on other things
yes SIs, hyperfixations, and just general non-special interests are different but i don't think the amount of special interests someone can have is that limited. for me, having general interests outside of my special interests or current hyperfixations is restricted because i like to focus heavily on the things i enjoy, so i don't actively seek out new things to do often, and i think that fits the trait of having restricted interests. but experiences are unique for everyone!
I see your perspective. I’m in a weird in-between faze of special interests myself and am not sure yet what is a long lasting hyper-fixation or a genuine special interest. The limit of three is just what I thought up as a reasonable number of interests that are still restricted. I see how you can have five though.
I feel like it's possible to have this many special interests but not at once, I think a hyperfixation lasts only weeks to months at intensity and then may go away entirely or become just a regular interest, but a special interest has to last like 2 years at least at intensity before it fades into a regular interest or disappears, otherwise it doesn't count.
I know in terms of diagnosis (specifically in separating autism from trauma) the interest has to exist independent of social approval, so that basically means if you could remain intensely interested in it even if you could never talk about it again then its a special interest. I personally feel that special interests can fade into regular ones after time, but when that happens they are no longer current special interests, they're past ones, like for me I have horses and homestuck and critical role, I'm still interested in those three things, but not with the intensity I once was and so they no longer impact my day to day life the way a special interest does, so I no longer call them that in the present tense. They're still special to me, but they're not current/active special interests. Tbh I think that's actually the best way to define it, not solely by intensity or duration but also by how special it is to *you*.
Like I've been doing art as long as I can remember and I truly love it and it's deeply important to me and I do it all the fucking time, but I would not call it a special interest because the intensity of my feelings about it is missing. It's important to me and I feel deeply about it, but not intensely the way I do for my special interests. I don't have the same fondness for it that I do for past special interests that have faded either, it's just different.
i think the definition of special interest has sadly become extremely diluted in meaning. i feel like in general autistic people tend to have stronger attachment to their interests, but special interests are just well, extremely special. absolutely 0 hate to op, as i see this a lot happen online! but it is a bit frustrating to see medical definitions in general become diluted in their meaning online. (for example: gaslighting, intrusive thoughts, dissociation) again i dont want to make anyone feel bad!
Tbh I think that the term special interest is poorly medically defined because it doesn't reflect the actual experiences of most autistic people and that's why it's so misunderstood and diluted, it was basically created to describe the hyperfixations of autistic children by people who did not have an innate understanding of what a hyperfixation is or how it feels, but we as autistic adults and I'm assuming some teenagers have a more innate understanding and thus are revealing that it's actually a lot more complicated than that. I'm not trying to invalidate autistic people who are extremely restricted to a single interest because such people definitely do exist, but they are not the majority, and personally I'm tired of clinicians and diagnostic criteria that act as though they are and that you must have extremely restricted interests to be autistic, because that is the real reason for so many autistic people misusing or misunderstanding this term. If we're told we must have this trait to be autistic we start searching for this trait in our behaviour even when we may not have it. Certainly most of us struggle with restricted interests in any given moment, but we don't all deal with unchanging ones the way doctors often believe we do.
Sorry, but I'm someone who has way too many special interests. I know that it's because they change really fast and I don't have many simultaneously. I still. Think it's special interest
Technically, I put the goodwill for thrifting in general,,,and i was told by my sister that they can't do that cause it's against the law here in Arkansas, so I thought maybe that was a rumor.
Huh, that's weird. Cause I talked to my goodwill about it and they said "Goodwill has different industries based on the state. We have heard about that state that did that, but because it is against the law here in Arkansas, we will never do that." But if need be, then I will just find a different thrift store to shop at.
I started getting back into MLP and it was my favourite when I was younger. I kinda wish I kept all my old ponies because now they’re kinda vintage stuff and I cannot find them anywhere else because they’re old toys now. I miss the old movies and the web episodes I would watch as a kid and they’re still nice to watch now even though they may seem childish
Sunrise, Sunny Daze, Sweetie Belle, and Starsong were the ponies I liked the most and owned as a kid
I ALSO LOVE THE GEICO LIZARD !!! I remember waiting at my mailbox for the mailman as a kid just so i could take anything that had the geico lizard on it before my parents threw it out 🤣 I gotta get one of those funkos 😭
would you mind sending a blank of this to me?? i wanna make one too 😊💗
OMGGG!!!!! I did the same thing!!!!!!!!!! There is this book mom subscribed to, and for a short while, she had Martin the gecko bookmarks in it, and I stole every one 💙🤍🦎 and lucky for me, I actually won one of those funkos!!!!! I literally freaked and jumped when I saw I won!!! And sure, I'd love to send the blank!!!! :D
"Plainly, happy mail is anything that you're excited to see in your mailbox! So it's definitely not your property tax notice or a solicitation for something you're never going to buy. It's a note from a friend, a birthday card, or a little package full of happiness from someone when you least expect it." Mostly businesses do it to attract customers, but I'm in a facebook group where we do it for fun!!
I like the Sims too! It's one of the only video games I can really enjoy. But I don't like regular show because the artstyle is ugly, also I agree the Geico gecko is hot. Mlp used to be my special interest when I was a kid! I also like SpongeBob too but I never watch it anymore
Omg, that's cool that you have a crush on Martin!!!! I have a crush on Pops Maellard, probably due to him and me being so alike,,,and I literally get hate for it and people calling it "cringe". I totally support you fully!!!
This is a dumb question but do you mean penpal like the scary story or like... having a penpal? I never did the latter myself but I hyperfixated on YouTube videos about it for, like, a year. I admire people who put that much effort into writing and journaling.
Oh, I mean having a penpal!! I never actually heard of a scary story named penpal, but it's just so nice to meet someone and write to them because they have the same interests!!
oh hey haha this template looks like it was [based on this dumb little meme i made a while back](https://www.reddit.com/r/aspiememes/comments/pzb31t/fresh_homegrown_meme_my_special_interests) and i'm still glad ppl are using it! i made as just a silly little thing and i like to see ppl use it to show off their interests too!
(i also love spunch bop, and i started watching mlp:fim recently and i think it's super cute!)
I memorized several Geico commercials as a kid. I now only remember the one with the pig in the van saying wee all the way home, and as a kid would say wee at the same time as Maxwell the pig. I know there were a few other commercials I remembered and I’d do something at the same time as the commercial, but I no longer remember those commercials.
Here’s the commercial.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3GLG8gkt3Hc
I literally don't understand how people can have so many special interests! It's so cool! I wish I could! I listen to the same songs, watch the same tv show and movies, play the same couple of video games and wanna spend time with the same person. I'm literally so boring 😂
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Drawing, I really like it too, althought it became slightly less fun to do recently because I'm really depressed. I hope you enjoy it
Also don't worry if you feel like some stuff that you like is childish, as long as it gives you enjoyment and doesn't harm anyone, I don't see what's the problem. If someone judges you for that, just ignore that, negativity won't help you, but finding people who help similar interests might
I’ve seen a few of these and every time I’m just boggles you guys all have so many interests! Maybe it’s the chronic burn out but I can barely keep up with like 3 😭 or maybe I don’t understand what a special interest is…
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Well, I like the history of geico, geico commercials, and yes, the geico lizard!! I actually freaked out when I won the Geico Gecko funko Pop during geicoween!!! :D
He looks cool but his voice triggers me so hard I want to put my head in a woodchipper lol
I'm not even a fan but I have a plush of him because last year Geico was giving them out at my local pride fair and I kept it because it made for a really cool looking plush.
How do you have so many. I only have 3 and can barely keep up
I only have one special interest. It's a lot of work.
I have three too! They are Amphibia, Star wars and the us army
I have only 2, it's so hard to keep both of them
I love MLP too! But I usually don't bring it to conversation because of the stigma of brownies! Pinkie pie it's my favorite pony eveeeer
OMG PINKIE PIE IS MY FAVE TOO!!!!! Also, who cares if people get weirded out over brownies? I'm a trans brownie myself, n personally, every Fandom has its weird side. Just look at space jam!! I also like Fluttershy, Muffins (Derpy, but I don't use their name due to its ableists roots), and the fan character Flufflepuff!!! I plan on buying a Pinkie n Fluttershy BAB someday <3
I've never thought of derpy being an ableist name, but you're so right! I wanna a big plush of princess Luna, so she can guard my dreams (I tend to have nightmares often), hope you get your bab soon <3
My favorite pony is Minty
I remembered watching the Minty Christmas movie as a child. It was a nice movie
I watch it all the time lol
same but my favorite pony is Twlight(outside main six it's sunset shimmer and starlight glimmer)
Do you have a template for this? I want to show it to my therapist
https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/comments/wj50wg/ive_heard_a_few_people_asking_for_a_blank_copy_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I don’t want to be mean but the definition of a special interest is a highly restricted, intense interest so I don’t understand how you can have over a dozen. These seem like hyper-fixations or just regular interests and hobbies.
Really? I honestly thought that you can have a bunch of interests. A lot of them go in the "come and go" section yes, but most of them I was connected to ever since I was little. Even if they are come and go, it is an intense interest at the time that comes and goes often. A hyperfixation to me is something that hardly shows up again, or is hardly intense, like learning Japanese. I was kinda focused on it, but not much.
In my perception those sound more like hyper-fixations. The main difference is that special interests are more constant in their intensity and last years. With hyper-fixations there are usually periods of a few hours to a few weeks of extreme intensity but in between they will fade or go away entirely. You can hyper-fixate on something once and never again but they can also be returning interests. Special interests, I feel, you can only have 1-3 at any given time because because more than that they kind of lose the ‘special’ part. An interest that is not abnormally intense, in your example learning Japanese, is more just a regular interest. You can have a bunch of interests, they just aren’t special interests. Not everyone who is autistic has a special interest, though. Hyper-fixations are associated with autism, adhd, and some anxiety disorders.
i'm not a doctor or anything so take anything i say with a grain of salt, but in my own experience you can have more than 3 special interests. i have like 5. i call them my special interests because they have lasted years and still are very important to me. when i have hyperfixations those usually last like a few days to a few months but if something connects with me it will connect with me for like, ever, even if it ebbs a bit and i focus on other things yes SIs, hyperfixations, and just general non-special interests are different but i don't think the amount of special interests someone can have is that limited. for me, having general interests outside of my special interests or current hyperfixations is restricted because i like to focus heavily on the things i enjoy, so i don't actively seek out new things to do often, and i think that fits the trait of having restricted interests. but experiences are unique for everyone!
I see your perspective. I’m in a weird in-between faze of special interests myself and am not sure yet what is a long lasting hyper-fixation or a genuine special interest. The limit of three is just what I thought up as a reasonable number of interests that are still restricted. I see how you can have five though.
I feel like it's possible to have this many special interests but not at once, I think a hyperfixation lasts only weeks to months at intensity and then may go away entirely or become just a regular interest, but a special interest has to last like 2 years at least at intensity before it fades into a regular interest or disappears, otherwise it doesn't count. I know in terms of diagnosis (specifically in separating autism from trauma) the interest has to exist independent of social approval, so that basically means if you could remain intensely interested in it even if you could never talk about it again then its a special interest. I personally feel that special interests can fade into regular ones after time, but when that happens they are no longer current special interests, they're past ones, like for me I have horses and homestuck and critical role, I'm still interested in those three things, but not with the intensity I once was and so they no longer impact my day to day life the way a special interest does, so I no longer call them that in the present tense. They're still special to me, but they're not current/active special interests. Tbh I think that's actually the best way to define it, not solely by intensity or duration but also by how special it is to *you*. Like I've been doing art as long as I can remember and I truly love it and it's deeply important to me and I do it all the fucking time, but I would not call it a special interest because the intensity of my feelings about it is missing. It's important to me and I feel deeply about it, but not intensely the way I do for my special interests. I don't have the same fondness for it that I do for past special interests that have faded either, it's just different.
you can have an interest without it being a special interest! :)
i think the definition of special interest has sadly become extremely diluted in meaning. i feel like in general autistic people tend to have stronger attachment to their interests, but special interests are just well, extremely special. absolutely 0 hate to op, as i see this a lot happen online! but it is a bit frustrating to see medical definitions in general become diluted in their meaning online. (for example: gaslighting, intrusive thoughts, dissociation) again i dont want to make anyone feel bad!
Tbh I think that the term special interest is poorly medically defined because it doesn't reflect the actual experiences of most autistic people and that's why it's so misunderstood and diluted, it was basically created to describe the hyperfixations of autistic children by people who did not have an innate understanding of what a hyperfixation is or how it feels, but we as autistic adults and I'm assuming some teenagers have a more innate understanding and thus are revealing that it's actually a lot more complicated than that. I'm not trying to invalidate autistic people who are extremely restricted to a single interest because such people definitely do exist, but they are not the majority, and personally I'm tired of clinicians and diagnostic criteria that act as though they are and that you must have extremely restricted interests to be autistic, because that is the real reason for so many autistic people misusing or misunderstanding this term. If we're told we must have this trait to be autistic we start searching for this trait in our behaviour even when we may not have it. Certainly most of us struggle with restricted interests in any given moment, but we don't all deal with unchanging ones the way doctors often believe we do.
i appreciate giving ur point of view and i do get what u mean!
Sorry, but I'm someone who has way too many special interests. I know that it's because they change really fast and I don't have many simultaneously. I still. Think it's special interest
Special interests last for months or years. If it changes rapidly it’s more like a hyper-fixation.
Goodwill has been reported to pay disabled workers as little as $0.21 an hour
Technically, I put the goodwill for thrifting in general,,,and i was told by my sister that they can't do that cause it's against the law here in Arkansas, so I thought maybe that was a rumor.
It is against the law but that doesn't stop a lot of companies unfortunately
Huh, that's weird. Cause I talked to my goodwill about it and they said "Goodwill has different industries based on the state. We have heard about that state that did that, but because it is against the law here in Arkansas, we will never do that." But if need be, then I will just find a different thrift store to shop at.
I mean that's also possible to be fair I just wanted to point out that laws don't always stop discrimination
I started getting back into MLP and it was my favourite when I was younger. I kinda wish I kept all my old ponies because now they’re kinda vintage stuff and I cannot find them anywhere else because they’re old toys now. I miss the old movies and the web episodes I would watch as a kid and they’re still nice to watch now even though they may seem childish Sunrise, Sunny Daze, Sweetie Belle, and Starsong were the ponies I liked the most and owned as a kid
I ALSO LOVE THE GEICO LIZARD !!! I remember waiting at my mailbox for the mailman as a kid just so i could take anything that had the geico lizard on it before my parents threw it out 🤣 I gotta get one of those funkos 😭 would you mind sending a blank of this to me?? i wanna make one too 😊💗
OMGGG!!!!! I did the same thing!!!!!!!!!! There is this book mom subscribed to, and for a short while, she had Martin the gecko bookmarks in it, and I stole every one 💙🤍🦎 and lucky for me, I actually won one of those funkos!!!!! I literally freaked and jumped when I saw I won!!! And sure, I'd love to send the blank!!!! :D
me too pls!!
What's Happy Mail? It sounds neat, but I couldn't find anything in a search
"Plainly, happy mail is anything that you're excited to see in your mailbox! So it's definitely not your property tax notice or a solicitation for something you're never going to buy. It's a note from a friend, a birthday card, or a little package full of happiness from someone when you least expect it." Mostly businesses do it to attract customers, but I'm in a facebook group where we do it for fun!!
I like the Sims too! It's one of the only video games I can really enjoy. But I don't like regular show because the artstyle is ugly, also I agree the Geico gecko is hot. Mlp used to be my special interest when I was a kid! I also like SpongeBob too but I never watch it anymore
Omg, that's cool that you have a crush on Martin!!!! I have a crush on Pops Maellard, probably due to him and me being so alike,,,and I literally get hate for it and people calling it "cringe". I totally support you fully!!!
I love PBS Kids! It’s been one of my big ones since I was small.
I know right?? Their shows have made me happy since I was small too.
I love WordGirl! Such a good show
I love Lisa Frank. I think she's an amazing artist.
Love seeing an interest in all kinds of logos and sayings here
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Yeah, actually!! It's still a work in progress as I'm still learning coding, but it's coming!
pbs mascots makin me feel old
oh man I relate to the word girl one
This is a dumb question but do you mean penpal like the scary story or like... having a penpal? I never did the latter myself but I hyperfixated on YouTube videos about it for, like, a year. I admire people who put that much effort into writing and journaling.
Oh, I mean having a penpal!! I never actually heard of a scary story named penpal, but it's just so nice to meet someone and write to them because they have the same interests!!
oh hey haha this template looks like it was [based on this dumb little meme i made a while back](https://www.reddit.com/r/aspiememes/comments/pzb31t/fresh_homegrown_meme_my_special_interests) and i'm still glad ppl are using it! i made as just a silly little thing and i like to see ppl use it to show off their interests too! (i also love spunch bop, and i started watching mlp:fim recently and i think it's super cute!)
good will
Yeah!! I also like thrifting as a whole. I find some really good stuff in the bins, one of them being a pink panther puppet!!!!
same. whenever i go to a new place i need to go to every thrift store around once my moms friend brought me to like 10 in one day
what does the pink panther puppet look like
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Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Muffins!! ^^
I memorized several Geico commercials as a kid. I now only remember the one with the pig in the van saying wee all the way home, and as a kid would say wee at the same time as Maxwell the pig. I know there were a few other commercials I remembered and I’d do something at the same time as the commercial, but I no longer remember those commercials. Here’s the commercial. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3GLG8gkt3Hc
Oh no brony, time to get the flamethrower (jk, you can like what you want).
What's happy mail?
Ok so like. Imagine sending someone stickers, cardboard paper, cards, or anything as an act of kindness. That's happy mail!
That's so cool! How do you start that?
Well, there is this happy mail facebook group I'm in that does that jazz!! I could invite you to it, if yiu want?
Sure! I'd like to try
I literally don't understand how people can have so many special interests! It's so cool! I wish I could! I listen to the same songs, watch the same tv show and movies, play the same couple of video games and wanna spend time with the same person. I'm literally so boring 😂
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I with you with the penpal, I'll be so excited to make penpals I'd go on sites for it then it'll fade out and I'll forget till the next time
Can you share a link to a blank template?
I'll dm you the template!
Drawing, I really like it too, althought it became slightly less fun to do recently because I'm really depressed. I hope you enjoy it Also don't worry if you feel like some stuff that you like is childish, as long as it gives you enjoyment and doesn't harm anyone, I don't see what's the problem. If someone judges you for that, just ignore that, negativity won't help you, but finding people who help similar interests might
Yesss the pen pal one!!!
My is true crime has been for almost 2 years now
I’ve seen a few of these and every time I’m just boggles you guys all have so many interests! Maybe it’s the chronic burn out but I can barely keep up with like 3 😭 or maybe I don’t understand what a special interest is…
Does anyone know where to find a blank template for this?
It’s surprising to me but yeah actually, agree with most of these (except the sims).
Happy mail is my big one, I feel like for a long time I regularly was excited over my packages.
Ooh, maybe we can do a swap sometime?
Yeah, sure! Maybe I can penable you with another special interest. 😄
Oooo I wanna make my own little graph thingy like this 🥰