the symptom/trait/whatever of "special interest" is in my opinion much more accurately labeled restrictive interests. its one thing to be super excited and obsessed with something. its another when youre unable to hold attention on really anything else and its the only thing you can talk about. it causes disruptions. its not always detrimental to your wellbeing but i think its important to keep the focus more on this impact
the way an individual experiences special/restricted interests will vary wildly. this can be collecting information thats kept memorized and easily accessed to repeat later, or its just the only thing occupying your mind regardless of how you express that, etc etc etc its Wide
> cats are 100% a special interest, with the warriors series and my own ocs for it as an extension of it. warriors are the only books ive read consistently since i was 8. cats, warriors, and my warriors ocs are at the center of my life and identity (says tumblr user felidthing). this is a life-defining feature of myself that i work with and around to communicate with other people. sometimes im unable to connect with people properly because i cant reach them through cats or warriors or my chemical romance or art. my interests are Restrictive.
this has been said in many ways by many people, but the perception on tumblr of autism/autistic people is extremely narrow, only highlighting the easiest to deal with, most likeable, most digestible versions of the closest-to-allistic symptoms. autism covers a large spectrum of traits and often comes along with other conditions/disorders/etc, but its frequently ignored that its a developmental disorder that often impacts several areas of one's life, not just social issues.