Is there always a tendency towards math or other pronounced interests in people with autism?

[Ronald Zeeman]

I have dyscalculia, so I really hate the stereotype that autistic people are all good at math. I had to get special help with math when I was in school. When I was in grade 3 I used to cry almost every day because I couldn't understand fractions and division or remember all the times tables from 2 to 9. I had problems telling time on a non-digital clock until I was 13. I was really good at reading, writing and speaking as a kid but I felt that those things were easy and anyone could do them but only smart people were good at math. My computer doesn't even seem to think dyscalculia is a real thing because whenever I type the word I get that angry red worm underneath it because I supposedly spelled it wrong.

Do I find numbers fascinating? I guess I like the number 8 because it kind of looks like a snowman.

My favorite number is 2 the on even prime number,

 

[RemyZee]

II have dyscalculia, so I really hate the stereotype that autistic people are all good at math. I had to get special help with math when I was in school. When I was in grade 3 I used to cry almost every day because I couldn't understand fractions and division or remember all the times tables from 2 to 9. I had problems telling time on a non-digital clock until I was 13. I was really good at reading, writing and speaking as a kid but I felt that those things were easy and anyone could do them but only smart people were good at math. My computer doesn't even seem to think dyscalculia is a real thing because whenever I t ype the word I get that angry red worm underneath it because I supposedly spelled it wrong.

Do I find numbers fascinating? I guess I like the number 8 because it kind of looks like a snowman.

With you on that one. To save my life, each time I use the stove I have to relearn which eye goes with which knob. Can I take one or two turns in my car then get back to where I started? I wind up driving in circles. I don't think the whole interest thing only applies to math. I can barely add and subtract, but can recite you some poetry.

 

[MROSS]

Personally, my math-related interests combine both science and art -that is interest in mathematical art-forms e.g., geometric string-art patterns.

One of my photographic styles heavily applies mathmatical, and geometric patterns. I view the "power of nines" with much interest when composing images.

I can add geography e.g., maps with Latitude and Longitude coordinates, and the accurate mapping of landscapes with elevations of mountains, hills, valleys, etc.

As a kid, I enjoyed travel by road, and noting the mileage signs listing distances to towns, and citites.

I also look at the 'Metric System' with interest - that is a system orientated around dividing, or multiplying by tens.

Math-related interests include averaging, square-root, and Pi calculations.

I had found a math class in middle school orientated around mathmatical designs (the wall of the room ladden with mathmatical art) quite helpful for math.

 

[Tiffany Kate]

There's a tendency towards "pronounced interests", but it doesn't have to be maths or anything science/maths/technology-related. Autism in girls gets missed a lot because they're just as obsessed/passionate as boys about their special interests, but it gets ignored because a) girls tend to be quieter about it (having been told to shut up and let other people talk); and b) girls' special interests can be more in line with what "normal girls are supposed to be interested in". Stuff like celebrities, horses, or reading. You know, girl stuff. [eyeroll] Or at least, not trains.

Nor do you have to be good at something for it to be a special interest.

I always think of it as that the autistic attitude seems to be (to misquote Lois McMaster Bujold): Anything worth doing is worth doing excessively.

In my life:
- Reading definitely counts as a 'special interest'. It was always a joke in my family that I'd read toffee papers if nothing else was available. I always read the back of the cereal packet at breakfast.
- Some people manage to learn to fly without ending up running the airfield. But not me...
- Most people don't have an indexed database of >6K research articles on multiple topics... just in case.

 

[vergil96]

I don't find numbers interesting, but I have a knack for them and my job is pretty much applied (higher) mathematics.

 

[Vesta]

There's a tendency towards "pronounced interests", but it doesn't have to be maths or anything science/maths/technology-related. Autism in girls gets missed a lot because they're just as obsessed/passionate as boys about their special interests, but it gets ignored because a) girls tend to be quieter about it (having been told to shut up and let other people talk); and b) girls' special interests can be more in line with what "normal girls are supposed to be interested in". Stuff like celebrities, horses, or reading. You know, girl stuff. [eyeroll] Or at least, not trains.

Nor do you have to be good at something for it to be a special interest.

I always think of it as that the autistic attitude seems to be (to misquote Lois McMaster Bujold): Anything worth doing is worth doing excessively.

In my life:
- Reading definitely counts as a 'special interest'. It was always a joke in my family that I'd read toffee papers if nothing else was available. I always read the back of the cereal packet at breakfast.
- Some people manage to learn to fly without ending up running the airfield. But not me...
- Most people don't have an indexed database of >6K research articles on multiple topics... just in case.

I've tried various hobbies, but I quickly lost interest in them. Every time I tried to get into something, my parents would criticize me or just not take me seriously

 

[Masked Man]

I guess I'm not in that stereotypical aspie either - I don't have any obsessions and I'm awful with math. In fact, I suspect I have some form of dyscalculia because very often I will see the numbers reversed. It's weird because it only happens with numbers, never letters.