Celebrating Unusual Interests

[Gena]

It's very common for kids with ASD and other quirky kids to have some unusual interests or obsessions. Sometimes the "experts" and the media portray this tendency in a negative way. But I know a lot of us parents believe that our kids' unusual interests and obsessions are part of what makes them the unique and wonderful individuals that they are. So let's celebrate what's great about the things our kids love.

Here are some of DS's unusual interests and obsessions:

Batteries - We have tons of batteries at our house. Thanks to DS, they are sorted and organized by type, brand, and expiration date. They are also frequently tested to make sure they still work.

Warning labels - I am now aware of several dozen things in my house that have the potential to kill me or do serious harm, including: plastic bags, ladders, window blinds, cleaning products, appliances, our collection of batteries, tall furniture, etc. In a fitting cross-over, DS has memorized the phone number for the National Battery Ingestion Hotline (you can call collect).

3M Command Strips - Honestly, you can never have too many of these things. There are plenty of places in my house to hang all sorts of things. And a special thanks to Hot Wheels Wall Tracks for introducing my son to the idea of 3M Command Strips as a toy.

Trains - Not an usual interest, but definitely an obsession. Thanks to DS, I have learned more than I ever imagined about trains and the history of railroading. It's given us a fun theme to incorporate into our vacations and sight-seeing.

Please share your kids' unusual interests and what's great about them!

[larig]

Love this topic--and your DS's battery organization is fantastic!

At 4, DS hasn't really explored his interest to the extent your DS has, but my DS loves all sorts of logos, particularly cell phone providers'. For a while he was quick to point out directv satellites whenever he saw them. He also loves trains, mostly thomas at this age, animals and zoos.

[ett]

DS1 is obsessed with maps and roads. Give him any route number and he can tell you what state they're in. He has given my mother and I directions around town.

He also knows the order in which the states entered the union, the order of presidents, birthdays of all the kids in the class.

[Indianamom2]

Gena,

Would your son like to come over and organize batteries (and heck, the whole house!) for me? That's awesome.

Also, I hear you on the warning labels. I have a label-reader here too (not on the spectrum, but you might think so).

[karstmama]

hmm, nothing too unusual yet, but if you want elmo's world or blue's clues repeated word-for-word, ds is your man.

[Sweetum]

trains and railway crossing signs. actually, all road signs.

[sariana]

Not exactly an obsession, but DS saw a science program about Absolute Zero a few years ago, and he still talks about it. He also likes to point out insulators on the overhead power lines. (DH has an engineering degree.)

[MichelleRC]

DS1 (Aspergers) has had quite a few obsessions over the last couple years. Most of them are intense for a few weeks or months and then sort of fade. He is "all in" with them and spends hours researching his topic of interest on the computer, drawing, recording stuff on the DVR and watching over and over, etc. His present obsessions include 2 tv shows--Finding Bigfoot and Storage Wars, and statistics from men's professional tennis. Pokemon seems to be fading a teeny bit, but is still hanging around

[♥ms.pacman♥]

my ds is OBSESSED with trains and has been since he was about 16 months. not just with Thomas in particular (he knows all the characters, and there over 100 of them!) but with trains in general. practically every morning he asks to see a youtube video whjich is of this Australian guy showing off his model train set, and pointing to all the parts and explaining where you can get them. it's not a "kids" video really, it's very technical (for adults wanting to make their own model train set) but he requests to see it every morning and watches the whole half hour very intently!!

when we go out to eat,chopsticks are "coupling rods". Anything circular shaped is a train wheel. He could care less about cars, it's all about trains for him.

[VClute]

Great topic! My son's latest interests are addresses and various spellings of things. He can tell you what our address is, and the addresses for all the kids on his bus. An he can give you multiple way to spell the name George. Or Jorge. Or Jorj.

At his school, another little boy introduced him to Beyblades, these spinning top battle toys. He stims on them, but it's the first thing he can KIND of play with another child. So I have bought them at all of the consignment sales I've been to this year. They're my obsession, now, too.