What are your child's special interests?

[lottieandmia22]

I have a nearly 9 year old dd and she doesn't have a diagnosis but I'm 99% sure she has an ASC. For many reasons but just wanted to have a thread about special interests.

So my dd is obsessed with America. She researches American drains, food, houses, words, lifestyles, films etc, etc etc. The other one is film classifications and user ratings 🤔

My son is nearly 7. He has ASD. He's had an obsession for nearly 3 years with wall clocks..Omg it's been so tough..at one point I had over 100 in my 2bed flat...it's caused me huge problems back in the day trying to source different ones ...trying to find shops that stock them ..and also he used to and still does (often) tries to go into shops and peoples homes to take their wall clocks..
It's been very very stressful and several therapists and behaviour specialists have tried to help ..to no avail..he carries 2 around with him at all times.he used to dismantle them when he was younger..
He just recently developed a special interest in Thomas over the last 6months..dont even get me started on that one!

Oh bless you, that sounds very challenging, simply because clocks are everywhere of course!

Cats!
He, and by default I, know enough now to become a Crufts level breeder (if they did Crufts for cats. I even know it's called The Supreme Cat Show)

Pokemon. My son is 8 and is in the process of being assessed for ASD. He knows everything about Pokemon. It used to be construction equipment, and bolts, screws and fixings. I knew a lot about all different types of diggers and site equipment because I had to read an encyclopaedia about them ever night for years

I feel for you with the clocks. My older brother had this interest for years. He moved on to ski bindings.

Wow ski bindings is niche!

My 4.5 ds is obsessed with movies and in particular at the moment Spongebob. He's only partially verbal so instead of saying colours, he names the right coloured spongebob character.

These are cute. My obsessions weren't really very niche which I guess is partly why they weren't picked up on. Dolls was one. As an adult I'm obsessed with beauty products so still not unusual for a woman but I tend to do it to excess - ie buying 5 beauty advent calendars at Christmas I still like dolls and would buy myself AG dolls if I could afford it but the pound is weak right now.

Dd is most likely on spectrum but not sure if she really has a special interest. Apparently, it is seen more often in boys and less so in girls.

Dd does go through phases eg, wanting to watch “Tipping Point” every day, even watching episodes she’s already seen. She also seems quite interesting in different airlines...!

Blossom, did you used to be BlossomHill?

Ds1 ninjago
Ds2 road signs - especially speed limits and my adherence to them !!

My son is obsessed by stairs - in particular whether they are straight or ‘roundy round’. He asks everyone he meets what sort of stairs they have and tries to invite himself into strangers’ houses to inspect their stairs. He also loves church bells, hinges, drainpipes and smoke detectors.

My ds is 4 with ASD, he has special interests with numbers mostly, when he had just turned 2 he could count to more than 100, he knows the numbers of all our families houses, reg plates on cars, how old everyone is etc, then there are colours, he is always asking everyone how old they are and what their favourite colour is. He also loves letters and can read very well, he surprises everyone with his reading. It used to be animals, we have two boxes full of every plastic animal you could possibly think of!! His memory is amazing too 😁

Cats, makeup, ninjago ( especially Lloyd - she's in love with Lloyd ).
And ducks but that's just mainly either saying 'your a duck' or the word quack on repeat.

Ds1 (9) pokemon - he can bore anyone to death, he plays it, watches it, rads about it, plays card games and gives me really long lectures on his pokemon but it's better than football which was last craze - match attax had me demented.

Ds2 (6) lego, lego and more lego - ds1 is starting to suck him into pokemon. He's stuck on jurassic park film wise, even his brothers groan when it's on now lol.

@Allthewaves I don’t mind Pokemon that much either, by comparison to other things. I’ve actually managed to enjoy it at times.

My dd has always had obsessions but they are constantly changing - while ds has a few constants, star wars lego, Minecraft and when he was tiny trains and dinosaurs (I had to read him factual books about dinosaurs basically lists of their names and characteristics over and over again for his bedtime story for years).

Dd was obsessed with child birth when she was around 6 I would find her watching youtube videos of births - pretty graphic! I was constantly checking her tablet and what she was watching on the pc despite both being used in living room it is amazing what she could watch while I was preparing dinner dealing with her siblings etc.

Then it was MLP, toys, films and tv series, then Undertale a computer game, Minecraft and Roblox, currently she is obsessed with all things Steven Universe. It's exhausting keeping up and she will tell us all about it relentlessly because she gets so excited and can't hold it in bless her. Despite our faces being all as we are not sure what she is on about. But she is very sweet so I don't mind most of the time.

Nearly 7-year old DS2. Not yet diagnosed, but pretty sure he has autism. His special interest is toilets & in particular the driers in them. Whenever we go to a new place he has to go to the toilet there, multiple times, and insists on using the drier. He gives a happy giggle when it comes on. Some driers he likes me to test first in case he is scared of the noise (he never is). I believe that he is hyposensitive to noise, thus needs this audio input. He can go into meltdown if not allowed to use a toilet (although the other day I coaxed him away with the promise of food )

We are another Ninjago family with DD 12 I know way to much about Ninjago for a 50year old. Sadly moved on to my effing little pony. I could weep at times trying to show interest several times a day about this pony or that pony. But she is happy so that’s all that matters

Lego, minecraft, Skulduggery Pleasant books, Lord of the Rings (books and films), Marvel movies, comics, minerals, gemstones, Dr Who. It’s lovely when he looks at my earrings and tells me how beautiful they are, asks what gemstone and tells me the cut pattern.

My 10 year old DD doesn’t have obvious special interests which is partly why we missed her ASD fit so long. She loves reading and is allowed to read at school a lot to calm down. She doesn’t discuss her book choices at great length. Her choices are very typical for her age.

She can’t live without her cuddly toys and is very, very attached to them. She needs a couple at least I her school bag. Furry key rings do the trick. She chose a furry material for her weighted blanket and adores her dressing gowns as well. I think we have been lucky as she has never had an interest that she can’t stop talking about.

@nellieellie your son sounds like he has almost identical interests to my youngest (although not the cut of gemstones, but the geology - he's into all the same things though - do you live in London at all? Maybe they could get together!).

I've got two on the spectrum, but they don't seem to have what you'd call special interests, they go through phases like most kids their age, although I'd say they avoid things with a lot of social input. Both HF, in MS school.

Hi wobblybanana, unfortunately we’re not in London, we’re in West Sussex. My DS is 12, how old are yours?

Lego and trains. He also goes through phases of watching a particular you tube video over and over for about a month or so and then changing to a different one. He likes to watch the same film over and over too.