related to it, like a livestream, can cause complete panic in us - i ended up shaking after that happened to me). personally, i think if we pretend they're the same, then more neurotypical people won't understand it properly and will expect us to just be able to move on, or do something else. (5/5)

i can totally understand where you're coming from, but i genuinely believe it's important to make that distinction, especially as a lot of neurotypical people i've spoken to don't seem to understand why these special interests are so incredible important to us (or why missing something (4/5)

straight up hurts sometimes, or keeps me up at night. my regular interests don't feel like that at all. even anything i'd consider a passion of mine doesn't match the intensity of my special interests. in fact, i often describe my own special interests as feeling almost like an addiction. (3/5)

special interests are the ones that i'd describe as being a part of who i am as a person. they feel special to me: they're so incredibly intense, and bring me so much joy, but sometimes to the point where i can't put it down to do a more important thing, or i think about it so much that it (2/5)

hey, so as an autistic person i thought i'd throw my two cents into this. i use the term special interests to describe certain interests of mine because they don't feel the same as regular interests at all. a regular interest is just something i enjoy, whereas the interests i call my (1/5)

oh my god the moment the chorus hit i was like "i recognise this!!!" it definitely must've been played or sung more as i got older too. i never knew where it came from lmao

(but I have a lot of other favourites too)

@briarsonghearts.bsky.social is her bluesky! She's my mum :)