What Determines a Special Interest? | Psych in 60
Channel: Psych Bytes
Date: 2018-04-16

What determines a special interest?

On the spectrum, there is something called "Freight Train Brain" (at least that's what I call it) where somebody can really get into an activity. 

These activities could be stamp collecting, coin collecting, Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, etc.

Those on the spectrum tend to "zone-in" on that interest for hours, and hours, and hours. When this happens, the rest of the world just falls away.

Individuals can go 20 hours building a Lego set without eating.

A special interest it not just an interest that is temporary. For example, those with special interests won't say "I'm really interested in this thing", they would say "this is MY thing."

Throughout childhood, these interests will shift from thing to thing. And in the teenage years, it starts to coalesce, typically around what it is they're going to be doing in the adult years.

View more videos in our Psych in 60 series to learn more about Autism and Aspergers. Leave YOUR questions in the comments below!

➤Full article: https://www.psychbytes.com/what-determines-special-interest-psych-in-60/

➤Website: http://bit.ly/PsychBytesSite
➤Newsletter: http://bit.ly/PsychMail

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
➤Facebook: http://bit.ly/PsychPage
➤Instagram: http://bit.ly/PsychInsta
➤LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/PsychLinkedIn
➤Reddit: http://bit.ly/PsychReddit
➤Twitter: http://bit.ly/PsychTweets