Special interests are highly focused interests common in autistic people. They are more intense than typical interests, such as hobbies, and may take up much of a person's free time. A person with a special interest will often hyperfocus on their special interest for hours, want to learn as much as possible on the topic, collect related items, and incorporate their special interest into play and art.Some interests are more likely to be seen as special interests if they are particularly unusual, specific, or niche. Autism rights advocates and psychologists say this binary of acceptable "passions" and pathologised "obsessions" is unfair. Terms like circumscribed interests, obsessions, or restricted interests have historically been used to describe special interests, but these terms are discouraged by autism rights advocates.
Special interests are sometimes confused with hyperfixations. Hyperfixations are typically short-lived periods of strong interest in a subject over a few days to months which are especially common in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, while special interests are most common among autistic people and last for longer periods of time, typically years.
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