Unmasking Autism Diary #8: Special Interests Save Lives
Read now (4 mins) | SPINS: from inside Angela's Autistic mind
February 6, 2023
Dear Diary,
"Autism Experts" used to consider SPINS an avoidance activity, something autistic people did to manage negative emotions such as anxiety. They called them our "obsessions" and said they made us ‘inflexible’ and ‘rigid.’ Often SPINS would be taken away from autistic people or used as a reward for acting like an allistic (non-autistic) person.
{I am speaking in the past tense as an act of rebellion. The truth is this still happens TO-DAY! GAH. If you know someone withholding SPINS from a loved one, please read this...or if you wonder why autistic people are weirdly obsessive, here's the explanation.}
OUR SPINS MAKE US—US! The central defining feature of autism (IMHO) is MONOTROPISM. This means we are wired to go DEEP on a few topics, which leads, in some cases, to massive, game-changing breakthroughs (for details, have a listen to The Autistic Culture Podcast).
Autistic people average 26 hours a week focused on their SPINS. Most of us have about 6-8 active SPINS.
For allistic people, when they see someone they know, the part of the brain called the ‘fusiform face area’ is activated. Allistic lives are centered around connection and community. In Autistic people, this area lights up when we are spending time around special interests. Autistic lives are centered around special interests.
So you know how people generically say things to depressed people like "don't isolate" and "you need to get out and do things?" That MIGHT be true...but for autistic brains, one of the best ways to heal isn't to spend time with other people but to spend time with our special interests. They are LIKE people for us.
SPINS SPARK JOY
SPINS are fulfilling in a deep, not quite spiritual, but certainly an emotionally satisfying way.
SPINS are calming, they are predictable, and they bring us to our happy place.
SPINS are an antidote to those unsafe feelings by giving us a place to go in our minds that is safe.
SPINS are deeply engaging and hold our interest.
SPINS regulate our extra-sensitive nervous systems taking us into a flow state.
If you're not autistic, you might experience stress relief in other ways that autistics can't, but everybody deserves access to a calm, happy place where they can feel fulfilled. This is why #ABATherapy must be stopped. ABA therapy separates autistic people from their special interests—it's like separating someone from their loved one
Here's my Special Interest List:
The big one: Difference Press—my publishing company since 2010. I wrote my first book (a book of poetry called Life Long Chances) at age 7, and I've been writing and helping other people write ever since. Because it's been my life-long SPIN, I have innovated ways to write VERY GOOD books VERY QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY. I've innovated systems to consistently generate more than $100,000 from each book I publish, and often I make $100K from my own books before I write them! This is my SPIN at work!
The Comforting One: My favorite band since 1989 is an Australian band founded by a Kiwi lead singer called Crowded House. You probably know them as the band that sings that "Hey Now, Hey Now, Don't Dream It's Over" song. No, they are not a one-hit wonder; thanks for asking. Would you like an INFO DUMP? Like many Auttie people, listening to my Info Dumps about my SPINS is speaking my love language. If I'm sad, I put on Crowded House.
The one that fades in and out: I LOVE spreadsheets. Like really. My current spreadsheet obsession is College acceptances...But, this one fades in and out with the problem I'm solving in my life.
The childish stereotypical one: Most early autism studies were done on young, white boys. So many people imagine autistics playing with trains, legos, and electronics. In girls, however, music is a really common SPIN. For me, that's Broadway and, more specifically, playing the Hamilton soundtrack over and over and over and over, often listening to one song on repeat for....well...days. My show tunes obsessions rotate, but Hamilton is coming up on the 9-year mark...Thanks, Lin-Manuel.
The one I wasn’t expecting: Many autistics have a strong sense of fairness and social justice. Listen to The Autistic Culture Podcast for more information on why. I have been an activist since I was 10 and got involved in the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt. I skipped school and protested against Apartheid in 8th grade and started a non-profit in 7th grade to raise money for the famine in Ethiopia. My current trip down social justice lane has taken a weird turn toward obsessively consuming any and all information about the impending collapse of the US and the second American civil war. I know it's weird because it's depressing, but even this brings calm and joy because understanding and crunching data makes my brain happy.
The weird “why am I like this?” one: I've written about this recently, so I won't say too much, but I am obsessed with investigative journalism podcasts that do not include murder. Not really true crime as much as great storytelling by journalists. I could only count 81 podcasts that I listened to in 2022, but I'm pretty sure the actual number was over 100 podcasts and about 1500 hours of listening time. It's just about noon, and I already binged all the episodes in the Stolen Hearts Wondery series, which I THINK was released today...Weird. Yup.
Want to put your special interests into a book? My favorite thing these days is working with autistics and other non-neurotypical people to help them capture their expertise in a book. Submit your book idea on DifferencePress.com, and let's see if we can work it into a book proposal!
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The Dear Diary Project is a public journaling project where I’m publicly sharing my diary entries as part of my annual goals. No harm is intended by these posts. My goal is to gain clarity for myself and hopefully help others, especially autistic adults, who are trying to make sense of the communication challenges we face.
“Masking is a common coping mechanism in which Autistic people hide their identifiably Autistic traits in order to fit in with societal norms, adopting a superficial personality at the expense of their mental health. This can include suppressing harmless stims, papering over communication challenges by presenting as unassuming and mild-mannered, and forcing themselves into situations that cause severe anxiety, all so they aren’t seen as needy or “odd.”
—Unmasking Autism, Dr. Devon Price
*Background note: Most people only have a vague (often, highly stereotyped) version of autism in their minds and believe that autistic children need (traumatic) ABA therapy to "overcome" their disability and appear "normal." After receiving an autism diagnosis in her thirties, Dr. Angela Lauria realized that she too had been mostly unaware of what it means to be Autistic. Like so many people, she started her journey by first gathering information and resources from the omnipresent (and problematic) Autism Speaks, but eventually moved away from the 'autism community' in favor of the 'Autistic community,' where she found kinship with other Autistic individuals and learned to let go of pathologizing language like 'autism spectrum disorder' and 'Asperger's Syndrome.' This autism blog (and her autism podcast, "The Autistic Culture Podcast") is meant to share her lived-experience insights to support others on a similar journey of diagnosis, understanding, and community. Embrace Autism--differences are not deficits.