i have a new special interest!!! :D
i watched the whole of fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood within like a week and i’m about halfway through a rewatch, this time bringing my girlfriend through it with me and i watched the live action and i’m also reading the manga and gosh. i’m so glad there’s so much fma content because i don’t ever wanna get to the end
i’ve been having Issues with my brain lately and have had a lot of gloomy-bitter-worthless-listless-lost spirals so i’m grateful to have fma to help pull me out of them and give me some happiness
anyway i have a blog for fma stuff!!! it’s @autistic-elrics ^-^
very happy special interest stimming!!! 🤗✨
this isn’t specifically stim related but Space is an old special interest of mine that has flared up again lately and friends!!! NASA discovered a system of 7 exoplanets that could host life!!!! and it’s only 40 lightyears away and there’s so much to learn about it and it has me happy flapping and humming and bouncing i’m so so so delighted
It’s ok to have a special interest that people think is too young for you.
It’s ok to have a special interest people think isn’t cool.
It’s ok to have a special interest people think is weird or creepy.
It’s ok to have special interests.
It’s ok to flap your hands.
It’s ok to rock or bounce.
It’s ok to stim.
It’s ok to have meltdowns.
It’s ok to go nonverbal sometimes or all the time.
It’s to communicate without your mouth parts.
It’s ok to be autistic. Don’t let the world convince you otherwise.
How to know if you have a Special Interest!
So, there’s this thing that you love, but you aren’t sure if it qualifies as a special interest. If you’re not sure, see if any of the following aspects of a special interest apply to you!
That thing might be your special interest if…
- Engaging in this interest makes you feel so excited that you feel as if you’re going to burst.
- Engaging in this interest causes you to stim to release the aforementioned excitement. (Screeching, flapping, etc)
- This interest is very often on your mind, and seems to be the “default” subject of your daydreams or idle thoughts.
- You feel a strong urge to collect things that have to do with this interest.
- You feel a strong urge to tell everyone you know about this interest.
- You often find yourself unable to talk about anything else besides this interest.
- You may engage in this interest all day, for days/weeks/months/years on end and never become bored of it.*
If you are autistic and you are familiar with any of these experiences, you may have a special interest!
*note: Some special interests last longer than others and the intensity of the special interest may fluctuate over time.
If it’s a fandom, it may dominate your fanfiction writing or fanart or whatever other meta you do for that fandom, too. :D
For me, special interests are not dependent on the amount of knowledge I have on them.
To me, special interests is a term that I use to describe certain topics and things. It’s how I see those things, how I love those things. How happy everything about it makes me. How often I think about them and what it feels like to think about them.
Collecting the knowledge about them is, at least for me, just a side effect of how highly I value these interests.I totally understand actually.
Like one of my SIs is Pokémon: I love playing Pokémon, talking about it, drawing Pokémon, writing Pokémon AU fanfic. Doing all these things, I naturally learn more about it; when I look up the stats and moves and other specific things.
Important thing is that I engage in stuff where Pokémon is involved. I get super happy when I can do so.
The other being languages - I love speaking and writing English, I can do it for hours upon hours. And obviously, writing and reading English will result in me becoming better at it. Sometimes I actively seek out certain information, yes, for example, compare vocabulary in different languages. For me, Special Interests are very passionate?
How to know if you have a Special Interest!
So, there’s this thing that you love, but you aren’t sure if it qualifies as a special interest. If you’re not sure, see if any of the following aspects of a special interest apply to you!
That thing might be your special interest if…
- Engaging in this interest makes you feel so excited that you feel as if you’re going to burst.
- Engaging in this interest causes you to stim to release the aforementioned excitement. (Screeching, flapping, etc)
- This interest is very often on your mind, and seems to be the “default” subject of your daydreams or idle thoughts.
- You feel a strong urge to collect things that have to do with this interest.
- You feel a strong urge to tell everyone you know about this interest.
- You often find yourself unable to talk about anything else besides this interest.
- You may engage in this interest all day, for days/weeks/months/years on end and never become bored of it.*
If you are autistic and you are familiar with any of these experiences, you may have a special interest!
*note: Some special interests last longer than others and the intensity of the special interest may fluctuate over time.
All autistic people experience special interests differently. The amount of them, the passion, the length, and every other measurable factor doesn’t determine their validity.
I always want to hear you talk about your special interests. always. got a thing about Russian politics in the 1700s? tell me about it. know entirely too much about the mating habits of aquatic animals? nice, bro. can literally recite every Star Wars movie line-perfect? that’s fuckin impressive. even if I’m not personally interested in whatever it is you’re infodumping about, I’m happy that you’re interested and excited, and I’m willing to learn about things my loved ones care about
SAME!!
I do it too.
And I’d be willing to know about your info dumping too!!