Interests with a goal?

[loneaspie]

I know that in general, we have special interests. I thought I would ask, however, can that interest become constructive output? For example, could an intense interest in video games be channeled into becoming a developer or designer?

Personally, I collect hardware, software, and other items, like booklets, boxes, etc. for Macintosh stuff, for example, and could say one item was from May 1998, January 2001, etc. History fascinates me as well as the products. And any Mac fans here will instantly know what the above month/year correlations are. Do NTs also do this? I’ve seen videos of people who have collected fans, vacuums, IBM stuff, etc. but seem to be neurotypical. And I cannot collect everything, either. If I did as an adult, I would be bankrupt; I probably only have 10, maybe 15% of Macs represented in my collection.

What separates an Aspie in this regard (special interest)? Is it the degree that we obsess? I’d be interested in learning more about this from others here. And again, as my post title asks, can an interest become something positive?

 

[Streetwise]

I know that in general, we have special interests. I thought I would ask, however, can that interest become constructive output? For example, could an intense interest in video games be channeled into becoming a developer or designer?

Personally, I collect hardware, software, and other items, like booklets, boxes, etc. for Macintosh stuff, for example, and could say one item was from May 1998, January 2001, etc. History fascinates me as well as the products. And any Mac fans here will instantly know what the above month/year correlations are. Do NTs also do this? I’ve seen videos of people who have collected fans, vacuums, IBM stuff, etc. but seem to be neurotypical. And I cannot collect everything, either. If I did as an adult, I would be bankrupt; I probably only have 10, maybe 15% of Macs represented in my collection.

What separates an Aspie in this regard (special interest)? Is it the degree that we obsess? I’d be interested in learning more about this from others here. And again, as my post title asks, can an interest become something positive?

no I don't think neuro typicals collect one particular brand or item instead it comes down to hoarding i've seen some people who do collect things but never one brand I might be wrong it might be just what you were surrounded with as a child or obsessive compulsive disorder

 

[Sid Delicious]

I don't really have any interest in collecting things these days, yet my sister (who is NT to extreme) has had three or four near-obsessive collecting phases since childhood. I also had a colleague (again, an NT) who collected viking related items. So I'm not sure it's specific to aspies.

As for interests in general (without the collecting part), I think these tend to be more intense. At least, from what I've read/seen. And yes, you can turn them into productive activities. I've had a strong interest in investing for ages and ended up working in the finance sector for several years and still invest as a hobby. Obviously, that's money related anyway, but I wouldn't have bothered learning how to do it if I didn't already have a fixation on all the graphs, spreadsheets, formula it involves. The constant practice made me more successful. The same goes for any skill that someone really enjoys. If you are really into computers (or the history of them), then you could channel that into learning to make/break software or hardware or go down the teaching route (I've seen degree modules covering the history of computing).

 

[Mr Allen]

One of my main interests since about 18 months ago is Taekwondo, I plan to get as high ranked as I can, even though it's unlikely I'll ever reach the ultimate goal of black belt.

Otherwise, I try and get as high on the Xbox Leader Board as I can every month with my gamer score for doing achievements, just haven't done any (none worth any points anyway) this month yet.

 

[Progster]

Yes, there are many on the spectrum who turn their special interest into a successful career or something productive - some are into computers and programming, artists, engineers, linguists, doctors etc - you can find successful autistics in all walks of life. I don't know much about video games, but I'm sure there are successful designers on the spectrum.

 

[Bella Pines]

What separates an Aspie in this regard (special interest)? Is it the degree that we obsess? I’d be interested in learning more about this from others here. And again, as my post title asks, can an interest become something positive?

Everything we suffer can become something positive.

Our ability to be alone gets us through the pain of rejection. Our ability to question everything and take in information allows us to predict the future.

So of course our special interests can be positive, in several ways. At a basic level, our interests keep us sane and those of us who find a way to manage them can use this to ward off the tendency for depression that lives in each of us. If we can tame our interest into something healthy, ie that we can afford and still manage to eat and live without getting completely consumed, then we can find a general level of happiness. If we can either tie our jobs in with our interest, or turn our interests into a job/career/earning potential then all the better.

I've been working on the latter for 8 years now and will continue to pursue a life where I put my special interests to use. So far I've managed to earn about £200 per year which is not enough to live on (by a LONG way), but it's a start. Also I'm trying to weave in some of my interests in to my day job, not as successful, but again, worth pursuing.

So with your interest, couple of things spring to mind.

• Firstly you could start a business restoring old computers, making them work
• Secondly, you could move into home decor . In big city penthouses and office buildings, you'll find all sorts of wacky modern art. You could assemble vintage computer parts into dioramas, maybe spray components blue/white and affix them to a canvas
• Thirdly, science museums employ hundreds of people in this field. A while back I met a .. I can't remember her title, but her job was to receive old hardware (like an enigma machine) and clean it for the museum, make sure there are no spores or corrosive elements, then place the item on display. Aspies belong in museums so this could be a way to turn a special interest into something positive.

 

[tducey]

I enjoy data entry especially about politics. I've used that data entry to compile records of past elections here in Newfoundland and sent them along to various people who I think were glad to get it.