20 Results in special interest

Why might making friends be difficult for autistic people?

I understand that lots of autistic people don't have much trouble making friends, their difficulties are more to do with keeping them. I can relate to why keeping friends can be hard, but personally I think I have more difficulty making friends. In this article I will look at some possible reasons why this is and suggest some appropriate strategies.

How could the challenges of autism be seen as strengths instead?

I have a bit of a problem looking at a lot of the literature and listening to people talk about “the positive traits of autism”. Whenever I hear or read these lists I usually largely disagree with them, because I feel that what is being listed is actually more to do with an individual’s personality rather than… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to conti…

What is hyperfocus and how to achieve it

'Hyperfocus' a skill commonly said to be had by lots of people with ASD (or, interestingly, ADHD). It can be the most amazing ability and means a person has enormous potential! Let's look at what hyperfocus is, some positives and negatives of it, and how to successfully obtain hyperfocus!

How to feel more connected with the world

Lots of people on the autistic spectrum feel very lonely and isolated. I have been thinking about one way that a person might be able to feel more connected to the world. There are other things people can do, but here is something I haven't talked about much before.

How might autistic people manage projects?

I've been thinking about project management. I think of projects in three stages: Planning Doing End result A part of being self-employed and running a business is that I have to manage a lot of projects (from start to completion) and I have to think of the work in terms of the bigger picture. So I work on all three stages all the time. This is opposed to someone who is employed and perhaps is more used to working mainly on the ‘doing’ aspect of the project and might not have to think much about the bigger picture. Lately I've had to do quite a few things that I really did not like doing, however I've been very happy with the final outcome. Possibly one of the differences between me and some of my friends and colleagues is that they very much like ‘doing’ whereas I very much like ‘thinking.’ Maybe this is another aspect of introversion (me) vs extroversion (them). Here are some thoughts on the subject of project management and how it may influence people on the autistic spectrum.

10 ways to ease primary to secondary transition with ASD

The transition from primary to secondary school is thought to be one of the most difficult times for children on the autistic spectrum. Many girls in particular seem to cope quite well at primary school (even without an ASD diagnosis or without ASD even being suspected); and indeed it's far more common for girls to only be diagnosed at or after puberty, rather than before. There are lots of thoughts about why this is but in this article I will write to parents about some of the difficulties that may occur for children with ASD because of the primary to secondary transition and some suggestions on what can be done to make it easier. I would like to emphasise the huge importance of thinking about the move to secondary school well before the time actually comes. I sometimes talk to parents who tell me that their child is "only [age]" [and so] "it's a bit too early to think about that now" but I can assure you that it is not too early to at least be somewhat aware of the challenges that may arise. Many of the challenges can be greatly reduced by preparing early or, for some things, simply by being aware of them. Girls with ASD (in particular) are prone to suffering from mental health conditions in their teenage years. Some of these conditions, such as eating disorders, can negatively affect that person for the rest of their life. If there is the chance therefore, that we can reduce the likelihood of these conditions from arising, we should take it! Here's my advice to parents, based on personal experience of the things that would have helped me:

Difficulties associated with being an introvert

Once I learned what introversion was, a lot of things made sense to me. I am an introvert. Once I began to understand what it meant, I felt a lot better about myself (before I knew about introversion and extroversion, I used to wonder why everyone else was so social and I wasn't). What is difficult however, is that 99% of the people around me are not as introverted as I am. In fact, I have not, to date, come across anyone who is as introverted as me.

“Autism” means “self”

The word "autism," comes from the Greek word "autos," meaning "self." I've been thinking this in more depth and there are a lot of aspects to "self", it doesn't necessarily mean selfish nor does it just mean the need to be alone... Social impairments The most obvious etymology of the word describes the social impairment symptoms. The way I describe it is that the social impairments cause the glass jar to exist around every person with ASD. This glass jar makes it very hard to connect with people, even if there is a desire to. Neurotypical people don't have the social impairments - at least not to the same severity - therefore there is no glass jar (it's more like a shell if the person is "shy").

How do our interests change when we involve others?

It is often advised that people on the autism spectrum will develop better social skills and enjoy socialising more if they socialise around their special interest. There's probably a lot of truth to that - for reasons including: There will be a predictable topic to talk about (the interest) There may be something else to focus on (if the interest is practical) as opposed to the 'socialising' The individual might have greater confidence as they are likely to know a lot about the topic It may also be sensible to recognise that, although social skills may improve, the enjoyment or interest in the interest may be different or may even get less if there are other people involved. Pursuing an interest in solitude is a completely different experience to pursuing an interest with others. For me, I treat them as separate things. Have you ever tried to participate in something you like, with other people? Have you tried to encourage your autistic loved one to participate in something you know they like, with other people? How did those experiences turn out? For me, many times they were more stressful than enjoyable. In this article I will discuss some reasons for this. I will use the example of weightlifting/exercise/fitness for ease of reading (since it applies to me), but you can think about how each aspect relates to your interest.

Why is it so important for a person with ASD to have a special interest?

A characteristic of autism spectrum disorders is having ‘special interests’. What differentiates a special interest from a hobby is the quality and intensity of these interests. It is difficult to state easily what the difference is between a person on the spectrum’s ‘special interest’ and a neurotypical person’s ‘hobby.’ Can a neurotypical person have a special interest,… Join The Curly Hair Project Communi…