hey so i saw that post on your blog about using the term "special interet" and like okay ive identified a lot with it before but i don't want to use it if it has a history since i'm not autistic?? or at least not positive i am, so is it a term that should only be used if you're autistic and/or adhd?
Well apparently this is a point of intra-community debate in the autism community r/n but âspecial interestâ as a term was coined by the medical establishment to pathologize autistic pplâs behaviours, regardless of the fact that in many cases that behaviour is perceptibly very similar to NT/allistic behaviours.
So some people are like âomfg only autistic ppl can reclaim this word!â
But frankly thatâs silly to me, because obviously ADD literature uses the same fucking term to apply to a very similar behaviour set (or possibly the same one, IDK I am not comorbid) so it seems completely fucking ludicrous to say ADD people canât use it.
Those are the only two neurodivergences that I have seen the term applied to by authority groups, however, so I would feel fairly safe saying anyone outside both those groups would do well to stay away from it.
Of course, of course, if you are self dxed with either/both or have enough confusion to be looking into diagnostic criteria further (eg you could realistically cann yourself âquestioningâ), feel free. Youâre a part of the community(/ies) at that point.
Now youâll note up there it says something about being similar to NT behaviour sets. Thatâs true, it is. However, because NT people never had their interests and hobbies turned into a symptom, turned into something diseased and broken, something emblamatic of their failure to behave in properly human ways, or used as proof of their lack of will power in other areas outside that interest, NT people should super duper stay away from it.
Basically if the term hasnât been used to disempower and pathologize a group you belong to, donât use it.
So, in answer to the actual question: Yes. Unless you are autistic of ADD, you should not use the term âspecial interestâ to describe yourself, your behaviours, or your interests.
EDIT: Just as a reminder, if you think you might be part of one of these groups, even if you canât put your finger on why you think that, the idea isnât just being born of nothing. Brains are complicated stuff, and they often collect data we donât even realize is being collected. Those odd suspicions and gut feelings arenât appearing out of the ether.
If youâve got stuff that you think of as Special Interests, well shit, there might be a reason for that! It shouldnât be used as a casual term for random ppl off the street who picked it up from overheard conversations or something. But if youâve sat down and thought about it and been like âthis âspecial interestâ term sure does seem to fit really, really, really wellâ then thatâs not happening in a vacuum. It may well be a Special Interest and you just havenât had the opportunity ti recognize it as such in a larger context.
If you need resources on either of these groups, I am happy to give you some so you can look into it further.