Interests/Special interests?

[danjustlovescoffee]

There is always something to learn, a learning curve... Anyone involved in a hobby that involves doing/creating something will likely want to learn more and practice more... As per what @Gerald Wilgus said

And if you think you might enjoy acting, look for opportunities, there is lots of community theatre out there, get involved...

I've heard that people with ASD is better off not sharing an intense interest with someone else. I guess they mean that when you do that you are asked to do things never want to do in order to be a part of a group.
On the other hand, people say so much about autism and some even contradict eachother.
But how can we bee good at acting if ASD makes us bad at body language and prosody? Or is that just a stereotype?
But sometimes I wonder if acting mihht be easier for many of us as we think a lot about body language and prosody. And then many of the actors are very personal on stage and we can be good at that, I guess.
Actors dont really speak like normal people anyway (except for some modern actors, I think)

 

[Sherlock77]

I've heard that people with ASD is better off not sharing an intense interest with someone else. I guess they mean that when you do that you are asked to do things never want to do in order to be a part of a group.
On the other hand, people say so much about autism and some even contradict eachother.
But how can we bee good at acting if ASD makes us bad at body language and prosody? Or is that just a stereotype?
But sometimes I wonder if acting mihht be easier for many of us as we think a lot about body language and prosody. And then many of the actors are very personal on stage and we can be good at that, I guess.
Actors dont really speak like normal people anyway (except for some modern actors, I think)

Acting (other than doing a monologue performance) is a group thing

And you might surprise yourself, it never hurts to try

I am an HFA-1 - the highest functioning Autism - but for many years (even prior to a diagnosis) I was doing street photography and also approaching people via my camera and doing stranger portraits... I know most people on the spectrum can't even imagine that, I guess I didn't know any better so I just started doing it and still do it

What I'm saying is that the moment we label ourselves too much, we start thinking that we can't do things and thus sometimes won't even try

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

And if you think you might enjoy acting, look for opportunities, there is lots of community theatre out there, get involved...

And, if one wants to, there is usually work to be done by stage crew among others. I started in the stage crew and graduated to Left Stage Manager, helping to keep things running.

I still had social anxiety at the time and the involvement gave me the opportunity to get social, yet I was still disappointing myself. There was a cute redhead who came out for the stage crew for Half a Sixpence, and I really noticed her as we worked the sets. At the Strike Party, I noticed her sitting primly by herself holding a drink on her lap. She looked shy and a little alone and I wanted to approach her but was afraid to. When I remember such times I froze up, I am so embarrased by my stupidity in not connecting and maybe exhibiting some kindness. I need to forgive myself but it still is a sad memory.

 

[Nitro]

Going into high school I was mocked very publicly at school for my interest in gas powered scale models (planes, boats).

So you went to school with idiots then?

I really don't see what there was to mock.
Would those same jerks have reacted the same way to a drone?

In fact, one of my special interests lies in u-control aviation.
I tend to gravitate towards the historical aspect of it more than anything.
I consider myself a historian of the works of Neville "Jim" Walker's work, the patent holder of u-controlled flight systems.

Here are some American Junior Aircraft Company models and kits I own that were produced by Jim Walker
American Junior Fireball
American Junior Firecub
1955 Jim Walker V-tail Bonanza
Nice older kit

1961 Testers McCoy 35

Complete Cox 400 kit circa 1976

A build in the works, this Curtiss P-40B Warhawk is painted in the American Volunteer Group colors under Chinese livery during the Burma conflict prior to our involvement in WWII.
It has Chinese star marking on it from a time when they needed our help, and the Japanese were our enemies.
Funny how that works, isn't it?
Warhawk on the 4x4 foot work area
K&B .40 cubic inch model airplane engine

This is where I learned to fly u-control over 50 years ago.
Location of my first flight school

 

[Nitro]

Just like @clg114, some of my special interests led me to my career choices, which involved machining, fabrication, mechanical work, manufacturing and mechanical engineering.
To this day, I still play in all of these arenas.
This circa 1957 Atlas 618 lathe was disassembled then reassembled on my diningroom table after cleaning and refinishing it:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/1957-atlas-618.12666/

Same table, different lathe:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/powered-up.12050/
11" Logan lathe with DRO and three phase control:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/1952-logan-922-tool-room-lathe.8169/

1964 South Bend 10K lathe salvaged from a fire:
Before: https://www.autismforums.com/media/crusty-thread-dial.8500/
After cleanup and refinishing: https://www.autismforums.com/media/south-bend-10k-trial-fit.8521/

 

[Nitro]

As a result of growing up on a machineshop floor and running my first production job on a 9" South Bend lathe at age five, it opened up an opportunity last summer to do live demonstrations in an actual lineshaft shop that is a part of the National Pike Steam gas and Horse Association shows we hold twice a year:
Fred R Clark & Son Machineworks
At the banquet this fall, I was praised for what I had done on such a short notice, but will have up until mid May to take my show over the top.

Quite the honor and opportunity to have been handed the keys and told to go have fun, don't you think?
And imagine that if ya would, all because of a special interest

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

So you went to school with idiots then?

I really don't see what there was to mock.
Would those same jerks have reacted the same way to a drone?

In fact, one of my special interests lies in u-control aviation.
I tend to gravitate towards the historical aspect of it more than anything.
I consider myself a historian of the works of Neville "Jim" Walker's work, the patent holder of u-controlled flight systems.

Here are some American Junior Aircraft Company models and kits I own that were produced by Jim Walker
American Junior Fireball
American Junior Firecub
1955 Jim Walker V-tail Bonanza
Nice older kit

1961 Testers McCoy 35

Complete Cox 400 kit circa 1976

A build in the works, this Curtiss P-40B Warhawk is painted in the American Volunteer Group colors under Chinese livery during the Burma conflict prior to our involvement in WWII.
It has Chinese star marking on it from a time when they needed our help, and the Japanese were our enemies.
Funny how that works, isn't it?
Warhawk on the 4x4 foot work area
K&B .40 cubic inch model airplane engine

This is where I learned to fly u-control over 50 years ago.
Location of my first flight school

Nice. Actually my specialty was model hydroplanes. It taught me a lot about power, thrust, balance and drag. Getting them on-plane without excess lift was thrilling. Yes, I eventually recognized that I went to school with idiots, cruel idiots. But the damage was done and all I saw was rejection by my peers and learned to hate myself.

But then I later took up boatbuilding. Mainly cedar strip-fiberglass hulls. A 22' tandem sea kayak (very fast), a 17 1/2' solo greenland style solo kayak (only 34 lbs!), 16 1/2' peterborough tandem canoe, and a 15 1/2 solo canoe that is asymmetric in all dimensions including a tuck-in to reduce the beam at the gunwales. I wonder whether those who mocked me ever enjoyed the skills of building something but also mastering its use. I don't think any of them would be capable, like I am, of running some of America's classic Class IV drops in an open canoe without injury.

 

[danjustlovescoffee]

And, if one wants to, there is usually work to be done by stage crew among others. I started in the stage crew and graduated to Left Stage Manager, helping to keep things running.

I still had social anxiety at the time and the involvement gave me the opportunity to get social, yet I was still disappointing myself. There was a cute redhead who came out for the stage crew for Half a Sixpence, and I really noticed her as we worked the sets. At the Strike Party, I noticed her sitting primly by herself holding a drink on her lap. She looked shy and a little alone and I wanted to approach her but was afraid to. When I remember such times I froze up, I am so embarrased by my stupidity in not connecting and maybe exhibiting some kindness. I need to forgive myself but it still is a sad memory.

I never had social anxiety but I think it is a bit different than ASD (and some people have both of course).
I have found that with ASD people can tell you exactly what to do but you will not be able to behave as told when you were given instructions. It's like ASD, SA or whatever makes things go wrong.
It is the same when I play piano. When I perform I have to stop thinking and just play.
That is how social situations work as well and this is why they are difficult.
What do you think?

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

My music box collection is pretty large and I have a wide variety of different types of music boxes. The only ones that I don’t have are large furniture such as tables which are extremely pricey, a Geisha doll on a music box base, an Advent Calendar, candle holders, plates, and mobiles. I have a few lamps, a lazy Susan, a wooden bowl/candy dish, and a Rocky and Bullwinkle themed piece which is not very common. I also have some rare songs in my collection with a couple being the only ones that I have ever seen playing their song. I would say the rarest songs that I have are We Are the World, Laughter in the Rain, Melody Fair, I’ve Never Been to Me (labeled as Love is All), I Can’t Stop Loving You, Love Me With All Your Heart, Because of You, I Want You I Need You I Love You, and a two song combination of Love Story and Sunrise Sunset.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I never had social anxiety but I think it is a bit different than ASD (and some people have both of course).
I have found that with ASD people can tell you exactly what to do but you will not be able to behave as told when you were given instructions. It's like ASD, SA or whatever makes things go wrong.
It is the same when I play piano. When I perform I have to stop thinking and just play.
That is how social situations work as well and this is why they are difficult.
What do you think?

I agree that there is a lot going on in social situations in terms of emotional content and behavior that is understood implicitly by NTs. For the longest time I was blind to such communication and had to learn how to observe from texts about body language and all the nonverbal communication. I felt crippled from my lack of understanding.

This week my therapy homework was to create a narrative about why my trauma occurred and list the stuck points that prevented me from moving forward from it. Much of it, and responsible for my negative self image was that inability to function socially without thinking, resulting in social/sexual isolation. The exercise has taken me into some very dark thoughts verging on misogeny, which disturbs me

 

[clg114]

Just like @clg114, some of my special interests led me to my career choices, which involved machining, fabrication, mechanical work, manufacturing and mechanical engineering.
To this day, I still play in all of these arenas.
This circa 1957 Atlas 618 lathe was disassembled then reassembled on my diningroom table after cleaning and refinishing it:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/1957-atlas-618.12666/

Same table, different lathe:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/powered-up.12050/
11" Logan lathe with DRO and three phase control:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/1952-logan-922-tool-room-lathe.8169/

1964 South Bend 10K lathe salvaged from a fire:
Before: https://www.autismforums.com/media/crusty-thread-dial.8500/
After cleanup and refinishing: https://www.autismforums.com/media/south-bend-10k-trial-fit.8521/

I really like your before and after photos. I makes me wish that I would have taken more photos over the years. However, I would have never rebuilt anything on the dining room table. Why? Because my wife says so, that's why.

 

[Nitro]

I really like your before and after photos. I makes me wish that I would have taken more photos over the years. However, I would have never rebuilt anything on the dining room table. Why? Because my wife says so, that's why.

I used it because it was the right height.
The other reason was because I had no one to tell me not to

You were truly blessed to find your lady sir, she sounds like quite the catch

 

[Nitro]

A holiday project was to mount an artificial Christmas tree to a maple stump that is alongside my driveway.
I scored the tree for a song, but the tricky part was attaching it to the stump so it was wind-proof.

The stump already has a piece of 1/2 inch A6 plate lag screwed to it with 4 stainless steel bolts threaded into it for mounting a steel plate shear to it.
Noted by white arrow.
The concrete slab sits on top of the plate just to hide it's ugly aspect when not in use.
It also doubles as a place to photograph some stuff too, yet another special interest at play here.
The photog stuff was a part of a filing system we implemented as a part of my ventures in manufacturing BTW

When needed, the shear can be firmly fixed to the stump so I can cut 3/16 inch plate without a fight, then removed after the work is done to protect it from the elements.
The plate shear is just one element of my fabricating tools, which is another special interest I used to make a living.

Ok, now we have a secure attach point, but the studs are too short to use common nuts and washers.

Easy-peasy when you are a machinist and own the right equipment

Just grab up some 6061-T6 drops and make what you need on a lathe.
They are large enough to span the gap on the studs and taper fitted to match the stand while adding the additional length needed for thread engagement.
There's that mech. engineering special interest at work

Several special interests added yet another solution to the win column.
Sometimes ya just gotta do whatcha gotta do.
That tree would likely survive a tornado now

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

My big question is: how can all those people with ASD have such a good self knowledge that they never have to experience extreme frustrations when they engage in their special interest.
I think I understan exactly the issue here: when people mention "special interests" they seldom speak about skills. They really only speak about collecting items or or information. I think learning new skills can make you extremely frustrated whereas collecting items or information is another thing.
Am I into something? Special interests are seldom about skills?

Not entirely. In collecting fossils one learns the skills of taxonomy and comparative anatomy which starts getting into cladistics. Today @tree sent me a greeting of trilobites. A few looks and I was able to understand that they were Order Redlichiida.

 

[justin_havu]

My main ones are music and exercise.

 

[Shohei79]

At the moment I am collecting baseball cards, playing fantasy boardgames and cardgames, watching baseball, reading fantasy, miniaturepaint, reading about autism and doing yoga.

My interests have changed during my life but they are always intense.