Your Internet Explorer 11 browser is not supported by this site. Please upgrade to a recent browser for the best experience.

Skip to main content

Donate
Close Button
Donate
Donate

Focused and dedicated interests

Autistic people often have intense interests that they like to spend a lot of time doing or thinking about. This is an example of one of the core characteristics of autism needed for a diagnosis. Having strong interests can bring a range of benefits, but there are some situations when a person may need support. 

What are focused and dedicated interests?

Focused and dedicated interests are subjects and/or activities that a person engages in very deeply – in the short term, long term or as a lifelong interest. 

Autistic people may spend a lot of time doing, learning about, working on or thinking about these interests – more time and effort than most people spend on their hobbies. They may become an expert in their interest (or interests) or create an impressive collection relating to it. 

Some autistic people refer to these interests as ‘special interests’, but others can find this phrase patronising (because they feel it suggests their interest isn’t ‘normal’ and that it is a result of them being autistic rather than having a legitimate interest like anyone else.) 

 

What’s the difference between a hobby and a focused and dedicated interest? 

Although many people have hobbies and interests, autistic people often have a more intense focus on and dedication to their interest or interests than non-autistic people do. 

They may have a very high level of knowledge about their interest; describe their interest as ‘all-consuming’ or as an ‘obsession’; or find that engaging in their interest is essential for their wellbeing. 

“For me, the single greatest difference between a special interest and a hobby is that it’s possible for me to put a hobby on hold if life changes make it impractical, or if I’m stressed and preoccupied. For my special interests, the inverse is true. When I’m going through stress or life changes, I literally need my special interests to stay functional.” 

– Thøger Kari Hass, The necessity of special interests for me as a person on the autism spectrum 

“A lot of people have a hobby which is an activity or interest that they participate in in their leisure time. For autistic people those hobbies can be called special interests when they are very intense – something that the autistic person feels they need to participate in for their general well-being, that they become very focused upon and that they've gained a great deal of knowledge in.” 

– Purple Ella, Autism and special interests 

Common and uncommon interests 

Some autistic people have interests in things that other people may find unusual (or unusual for their age) or very specific. For example, a specific type of engine, an animated TV series or a niche academic interest. 

Having very intense, uncommon interests is a well-known sign that a child or adult may be autistic. But autistic people can also have intense interests in things that are also common for non-autistic people to be interested in too. 

Autistic women and girls may be more likely to have focused and dedicated interests in things that non-autistic people are also often interested in (like animals or a pop star). The important difference is the intensity of their interest. When this is missed or misunderstood, it can impact their ability to get an autism diagnosis. 

For example, an autistic girl may have a passion for horse riding and share that passion with her non-autistic friends. However, while her non-autistic friends like to ride every weekend, the autistic girl has also learned all the different horse breeds and different approaches to training and nutrition, and she becomes distressed if she cannot visit the stables as often as she would like. 

In an autism assessment 

Focused and dedicated interests are considered part of ‘restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests’ (RRBIs), one of the two core characteristics in the criteria for an autism diagnosis. 

‘RRBIs’ also include Repeated movements and behaviour (stimming) and Preference for order, predictability or routine. When autistic people describe their lived experience, they usually refer to these topics separately rather than grouping them together like the diagnostic criteria. 

The diagnostic criteria describe these behaviours and interests in a negative way as ‘restricted and repetitive’, but autistic people generally describe them in a positive way, explaining the purpose and benefits to them. 

The benefits of autistic people’s interests

Autistic people say that spending time on their interests can have various benefits, including: 

  • they enjoy it, which can improve their wellbeing generally 
  • it helps them relax and can reduce anxiety and stress (sometimes called ‘self-soothing’, or ‘self-regulating’) 
  • they can manage their energy levels by structuring the day to include time for interests 
  • increased motivation and a sense of achievement 
  • making friends with others who share their interest/s 
  • it can be an opportunity to learn new things and skills 
  • it can be a route into employment in the area of the interest. 

In the past, people didn’t understand the benefits of autistic people’s interests. Often, they thought it would be better if autistic people could appear less autistic and spend their time how non-autistic people commonly do (generally by socialising more). 

Because of this, having an intense interest (or interests) was sometimes seen as a negative and something to be avoided. But if an interest is harmless, there’s no reason to prevent an autistic person from engaging in it. 

When support may be needed

Autistic people’s interests are usually harmless, but there are some situations when the person may need support. 

Autistic people and professional sources suggest some general advice: 

  • If an interest is unhealthy but not dangerous, then try not to actively discourage it as it could have the opposite effect. 
  • If necessary, set boundaries for intense interests that are stopping the person doing other things they need or want to do. 

Experiencing distress 

If an autistic person is using their interests to distract them from, or to manage their level of distress, it is important to consider what is causing them to feel distressed. They may need support to identify the cause and to address it. 

Obsessive-compulsive behaviour 

There can be similarities between autistic people engaging in their intense interests and obsessive-compulsive behaviour that may be a sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). 

In general, obsessions and compulsions for people with OCD are distressing and unwanted, whereas behaviours in autistic people such as stimming and engaging in their interests are often positive, soothing and purposeful. 

For example, if a person cannot stop engaging in their interest to do other things they need or want to do, or because they believe something bad will happen, this may be a sign of OCD, which requires support. 

Research suggests autistic people may be more likely to experience OCD, so signs of interests becoming obsessive-compulsive and having a negative impact on the person should be considered and support sought. 

Insight from autistic people

“Autistic people of all ages should be encouraged to spend time pursuing their intense interests. (Yes, I said encouraged to pursue their interests, not merely permitted to pursue them).Whether an Autist is deeply interested in calculus or crochet, plate tectonics or toilets, history or license plate numbers, astrophysics or plucking blades of grass, being encouraged to spend time with those interests is vital for preserving our mental health.” 
– Maxfield Sparrow, Autism and intense interests

“[My interest in autism] led me into having autistic friends, which means that basically I have a lot of more opportunities to talk about autism as much as I want to. And for those of you who know an autistic person or are autistic, you will know that there is nothing more joyful than being able to sit and talk about your special interest with someone who actually wants to know about it.” 
– Purple Ella, Autism and special interests

“When you have an obsession, you tend to enjoy talking about it for hours, which may be fun for you, but really boring for anyone who you’re talking to who isn’t interested, and you may be completely bored by any ordinary conversation. This can be a rather major disadvantage when you want to interact with people. … [But w]hen you have an obsession, you often have a very high level of knowledge or ability in that particular subject.”
– Alex Lowery, Are obsessive interests bad?

“Autistic women might not have special interests that raise eyebrows – they might, but they might not – but what marks us as different is the intensity of the interest and the level of knowledge on the subject. I also definitely have the tendency to ‘infodump’ when I get excited about something, which means that I might tell you everything I know about the topic even if you basically just asked a question to be polite.” 
– Yo Samdy Sam, Autism symptoms in girls

“… whereas most young children would express their love of dinosaurs by pretend roaring and stomping around the playground, I expressed my love by telling people I wanted to be a palaeontologist and telling them how to spell it, memorising geological eras from Precambrian to Pleistocene, learning Latin words so I knew what dinosaur names meant, and reaching the stage where I could grab a piece of paper and write down 91 different species by memory.” 
– Chris Bonnello, Autistic ‘obsessions’, and why we really really need them

“A special interest rewards the time I put into it with energy I need to function properly, and I also feel strangely happy and at peace when submerging myself into one. It is a friend that always offers comfort, learning opportunities, even a sort of intimacy and a path for growth. It conforms to the rules I have set, in diametrical opposition to the real world, where I must attempt to adapt to the vague and – to me – irrational social rules of other people.” 
– Thøger Kari Hass, The necessity of special interests for me as a person on the autism spectrum

“I absolutely love to study topics of interest down to the smallest detail, and I can ‘hyperfocus’ for hours, failing to realise that I haven’t taken a break to eat, drink, or use the restroom for a long time.  When those natural urges reveal themselves, it’s very sudden – or at least, it appears that way; chances are, my physiological reflexes (stomach growling, etc) have been sending me subtle hints for the past few hours and I hadn’t noticed.” 
– Laina Eartharcher, Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour

[On the theory of 'monotropism']

"In a nutshell, monotropism is the tendency for our interests to pull us in more strongly than most people. … In a monotropic mind, fewer interests tend to be aroused at any time, and they attract more of our processing resources, making it harder to deal with things outside of our current attention tunnel. 
– Fergus Murray, Me and monotropism: a unified theory of autism

Links, resources and article sources

Create your own online survey with SmartSurvey.

Please wait while we check your current settings

Your cookie settings