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Interests or Obsessions

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit" - Aristotle

A stereotypical trait seen in autism is obsession like interest in things. According to autism.org.uk, "The interest can: provide structure, order and predictability, and help people cope with the uncertainties of daily life; give someone a way to start conversations and feel more self-assured in social situations; help someone to relax and feel happy." What makes it an obsession and not a hobby is the intensity of interest. 
Drew's first obsession was with the Netflix show Word Party. It was all he would watch when he was allowed to watch TV. If anything else was turned on he would have a meltdown/tantrum. Word Party lasted about a year and then it became Tayo The Little Bus.  Another almost obsession is with soccer balls. His favorite one comes in a pack of 3;  a football, a soccer ball, and a basketball. He has NO interest in the football or basketball. He spots soccer balls all over the place. We were in a store once and he spotted a little toy car painted like a soccer ball, of course we had to get it! If you look at the photos, you can see his soccer ball car, playing with a soccer ball, taking it to school, eating with it, different colors, having a melt down with it, watching tv, swimming, and taking it on a walk. He definitely loves his soccer balls! 

While researching obsessions, I read that these special interests should not be dismissed because they may help later on in life. One example was Rex Lewis-Clack who is a musician with perfect pitch. He was born blind and was later diagnosed with ASD.  As a child, he "couldn't even stand the sound of Christmas presents being unwrapped." At age 2 his father got him a keyboard and he "play until he dropped from exhaustion." There are studies that show that "dysfunctions diminish when kids with ASD are engaged in their special interest areas"  One interesting thing I read about was with the Israel Defense Force's Unit 9900. There are many people with ASD that make up this unit and they spend every day looking at satellite images for suspicious objects or movement. Many people would find this very tedious but one of the members of the unit with ASD described the task as "relaxing, 'like a hobby'" 


Autism.org.uk
The Atlantic














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