ASD son doesn’t stop talking about his special subject

[Powerofpurple]

His special subject is countries of the world and he’s extremely knowledgeable on it (he’s 6 years old). His memory is incredible and he can draw a map of the world from memory and name every single flag.

But the one issue is that he doesn’t stop talking about it from the moment he wakes in the morning, until the moment he goes to sleep. Everything about it in all different forms - smallest to largest countries, eye colours of each country, populations, borders of each country, food from each country and so on and so on.

It’s never ending and as much as I enjoy hearing about it, it’s wearing me down.

Is he the same at school or is he unable to talk about his interest and do saves it all up for you?
Do school staff have any strategies in place?
He is quite young but seems very able. There are some things you could try.

Try setting some boundaries represented visually e.g. you can tell me 3 world facts then talking about countries has finished. Maybe start with a higher number then gradually reduce.
This can be represented on a visual chart e.g. laminated board with tick boxes and a dry wipe pen. You could try talk tokens.

You could also try compartmentalising e.g. you can talk about the world in the car on the way home but not when we are in the kitchen/ eating dinner etc.

He has a genuine passion which he is keen to share ( which you are very aware of) I’m sure that when he was younger family were impressed with his extensive knowledge and he might have been encouraged to share?
Some children with autism have longstanding special interests whilst others may frequently switch.

As he matures socially he can be taught about how another child or adult feels when they are being spoken “ at” about his interest. Show bored faces, people turning away, yawning etc. He can be taught some other opening lines to use for conversation. School should be able to help.

Practically you could provide resources and materials for him to work on mini projects about countries. If he loves the talk set up a microphone and recording facility so that he can “ report” documentary style.
Use his special interest for motivation with activities he isn’t keen on using First and Then e.g. Homework then Geography time.

You might also want to monitor if the special interest chat is more noticeable at certain times or on certain days. It could be needed as a calming strategy after school and you could try some sensory activities to support him.

Oh gosh can he please come and talk to my son? Autistic too and the same current interest! He's 10 so also interested in geopolitics and countries borders.

Seriously though, my son is still very passionate (!) about his special interests and will share info but has grown out of monologues. It does get better.

Your son needs help with learning social skills and reciprocal conversation. That can come from you & should be supported in school with nurture/social groups etc.

But also just smile and make acknowledging noises. It makes my son happy to share his passions. I've learned the art of half listening!

My daughter's is harry potter currently. I'm running out of capacity to feign interest.

A lad in my son's class is the titanic. I hear similar from his mum 🤣

Loads of parents looking for relatable educational content online. Could you film him drawing a map and then record a voiceover of him talking about the country? (No need to put his face online if you are jot comfortable with that, just film his hands drawing and record bis voice separately). And you could leave him to record his facts in a different (soundproofed!) room! Stick it on YouTube. My kids would watch!

We had the titanic phase here too!! Took him to Belfast when he was eight! He also went through a flags phase. Currently we are into the smiths. He is older now, nearly 15 so it's easier, sort of!

Oh I've been there and I had to learn to switch off a bit lol. But the pleasure it gave my dd to have someone to tell her interesting facts about to was worth it.

She's late teens now and she actually said how grateful she is that I show an interest in her special interests.

To my dd her special interests mean a LOT to her and she only shares these interests with people who mean a lot to her. So see it as a big compliment op

DS was like this.

Ask me a question about Minecraft. Go on.

I know EVERYTHING!

Why don't you encourage him to tape record himself imparting all this information, like a podcast or something? Tell him you are too busy to listen to it all in one go but you'd like to listen to it broken down into parts, when you have the time. But it would be fascinating to have it all on record in case other people wanted to hear about it, and they could listen in their own time, on headphones or something.

We’ve been through countries, facts about the universe, facts about subatomic particles, Apollo missions, gastrointestinal system, Darwin and Galápagos Islands, North Pole, South Pole I’m sure there are more…

Titanic is an ongoing topic that seems to outlive others and yes we are planning to go to Belfast! Maybe I know the other poster who mentioned titanic!

currently on US military vehicles in a ridiculous level of detail.

It is very wearing.

Our DS will not do basic maths and English, so if anyone has any tips to get him to learn those, I’d be very grateful.

DS is 21. It's currently medieval britain (he is studying history). We have had Star Wars, Minecraft, British kings and queens, Cromwell ... he has channeled it into his education now.

It's just who they are and I just learn to!

We have had bishops/archbishops and all things related to the Church of England; coffins and catalfalques after the Queen died; and we are now also back on Harry Potter (third time round.)

Talk tokens worked pretty well, but it has got to the point before now where we have just had to say "We're really glad you're so interested and want to share, and we are happy to listen, but right now we need a break of xx mins with no talking about xxx."

You could introduce him to my 5 year old who has a similar obsession with flags/countries/capitals/maps. I get continued eye rolling about how can I possibly be so stupid as to not know the flag for Guinea-Bissau.

Give him a 5 minute timer when he starts and explain you’ll chat about other things once the buzzer sounds.

Ah, it's cute but yeah overwhelming. I did a combo of being encouraging about it, walking along and letting him witter but not really listening and explicitly teaching conversational turn taking.

I was about to suggest this. Set out a plan with a new section every day or week. If nothing else you'll get a few hours of peace.

My 11 yr old understands now that others don't want to hear it and has naturally eased off the obsessiveness a bit. When he was about 8 he had a like minded friend also going through a flag/ geography phase. The friendship came to a very abrupt stop. When I asked DS why he said this kid would not shut up talking about Ancient Roman mythology and no one was interested. On some level he realised how it felt to be on the receiving end.

It's exhausting though, I sympathise OP

my child memorises book series titles (that they read) that are in order, then gets me to test them on it - then HE tests ME and when i get any order wrong they give me the side eye 😂 We are currently on beast quest....

His brain will feel better when he is talking about his special interest. He doesn't actually need you to be actively listening to him. He's autistic, he doesn't need it to be a two-way conversation.

My son's was F1 tracks and speeds and the mathematical permutations of winning the Premier League.

He's nearly 21 now and a lot calmer. He still witters on about F1, about which I am not the slightest bit interested, but I can tell him he's being boring and we have a laugh.
Sadly though I have joined him in the maths of the Premier league ......

There are some really fascinating special interests - we should takeover Mastermind

AFAIK my son isn't autistic (probably ADHD), but omg he can monologue about a particular computer game for an hour or more non stop. It's dire. I wish it was countries, history, or really anything I have even a slight interest in!

Oh the hyper focus. Nothing to say just solidarity. There are ssoooo many subjects I wish to have no knowledge in. 😅

Hitler was a fun subject at age 6.

Both my boys are autistic, thankfully have the same interest, so can talk to each other now. They still talk at me about it though. A lot of it goes over my head! Love em

One of my dds interests is sea creatures, it started as a few months of just sharks, but has thankfully expanded. Her interests only seem to last a couple of years before a new one takes over, before sharks it was insects, and before that it was Tim Burton and all things Tim Burton related.

The other dd is all about dinosaurs. It hasn't changed in 6 years. 6. Whole. Years. Of daily dinosaur talk.

On the plus side I will be a lot better at random questions in pub quizes in future I suppose.

Encourage him to make a scrap book. Keep him occupied and happy!!

@Lancrelady80
I could get on board with coffins.

I went to Roskildje Cathedral in the summer ( not sure about that spelling) . All the kings and Queens of Denmark are buried there and I confess to being fascinated by how styles and fashions of tombs changed over the centuries.
We were particularly interested in the one for the last queen who abdicated and isn't actually dead yet. It's covered so no one can see it until she dies.

I found the Minecraft fixation very hard going!
Currently on British politics and David Mitchell which is quite interesting. We've watched Ludwig a few times 😄