Re: Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just one?

January 20, 2011

My son has had a series of interests over the years - trains, harry potter, star

wars, dinosaurs, pokeman, yugi-oh etc. When he was younger once he lost interest

he wouldn't want to see any item related to prior interest again. We actually

gave all of his Star Wars stuff to a friend's son. Now my son's interested again

in Star Wars and the friend's son isn't so back came the stuff into our house. I

will say that now that he's older he's not quite as obsessive about things. He

likes Star Wars now but he's also into other stuff.

Caroline

>

> I'm wondering if it is typical for a kid with Asperger's to go through an

obssesive interest and then move on to another, and another, etc.? I have

expected one thing to stick, like for example Temple Grandin and the

squeezing/deep pressure technique that she has focused on her whole life. Do any

other kids just conquer one thing and then move on? Blaise has gone through

cars, CD's (memorizing the names of the songs on them), DVD's (mostly enjoyed

having the cases and having a series of movies Star Wars I, II and III, for

example), Maps, Calendars, stuffed animals, blankets, pillow pets, and is now

becoming a video game junkie.

>

> Thanks for any feedback!

>

> Patty , mom to Blaise, 7 yrs old

>

January 20, 2011

Yep.

Pokemon cards, then YuGiOh cards. Then, video games. He'd latch onto one and master it. I remember when he was on his 2nd game that he adored - when he mastered it, he was in tears. Horribly crushed. He wanted to start over and even cried and wondered why he couldn't just forget about it and begin again. I think he almost felt all the characters were friends, in a way. Because he "KNEW" them sooo well.

As he's aged, it's become online games. Runescape, especially.

SO,,,,he hasn't had tons of obsessive interests, but he's always had an obsessive interest.

WIth all that being said, he's great at what he does or is in to!!!!!!

Robin

"Normal is just

a cycle

on a washing machine....."

From: sheridonsmom <sheridonsmom@...>Subject: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just one? Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 10:09 PM

I'm wondering if it is typical for a kid with Asperger's to go through an obssesive interest and then move on to another, and another, etc.? I have expected one thing to stick, like for example Temple Grandin and the squeezing/deep pressure technique that she has focused on her whole life. Do any other kids just conquer one thing and then move on? Blaise has gone through cars, CD's (memorizing the names of the songs on them), DVD's (mostly enjoyed having the cases and having a series of movies Star Wars I, II and III, for example), Maps, Calendars, stuffed animals, blankets, pillow pets, and is now becoming a video game junkie. Thanks for any feedback!Patty , mom to Blaise, 7 yrs old

January 20, 2011

Yes, that's been my experience too. My son will latch on to something and that will be all he wants to play, talk about and buy for a while. Then when a new cool thing catches his eye, he will get into that heavily. Like the latest was Beyblades. But he does have things he will always go back to, like legos, and collecting rocks and minerals.SuzanneSent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®From: "sheridonsmom" <sheridonsmom@...>Sender: Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:09:59 -0000< >Reply Subject: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just one? I'm wondering if it is typical for a kid with Asperger's to go through an obssesive interest and then move on to another, and another, etc.? I have expected one thing to stick, like for example Temple Grandin and the squeezing/deep pressure technique that she has focused on her whole life. Do any other kids just conquer one thing and then move on? Blaise has gone through cars, CD's (memorizing the names of the songs on them), DVD's (mostly enjoyed having the cases and having a series of movies Star Wars I, II and III, for example), Maps, Calendars, stuffed animals, blankets, pillow pets, and is now becoming a video game junkie. Thanks for any feedback!Patty , mom to Blaise, 7 yrs old

January 20, 2011

that has been my experience also, but we got off a little cheapier. my ds was into thomas the tank engine from 1 year old until 8, until he switched overnight to pokemon. then this year when he turned 12, it is his computer. he has websites he designs, apps and can repair any computer now. these kids minds are so amazing. temple grandin is so amazing and my ds watches it all the time. i have always been his squeeze machine and still am today. but now he asks for squeezes instead of hugs! if i am not around, he squeezes his only stuffed animal that he has dragged around since he was 5 and still takes to school with him. yes, "mr. waddles" a penguin is part of our family. my son has always had legos too, and trades off between the newest obsession and the legos. we have tons of legos and since

the whole family likes them, it really works well. i must admit that when he was into thomas the train, i knew every trains name and we would spend hours lining them up. i didnt know it at the time, but looking back, there are tons of signs. with all the kids being diagnosed, you would think that the pediatricians would hand out brochures with the signs of autism so we wouldn't go on and on, sometimes for years without knowing. deborah Sycamore Art StudiosSycamore Art SchoolDeborah GustlinGraphic & Web DesignArt classes for K-12www.sycamoreartstudios.comwww.sycamoreartschool.comHome: 408-710-0892 Business: 408-710-6070From: "suzmarkwood@..." <suzmarkwood@...>To:

Sent: Thu, January 20, 2011 5:55:03 AMSubject: Re: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just one?

Yes, that's been my experience too. My son will latch on to something and that will be all he wants to play, talk about and buy for a while. Then when a new cool thing catches his eye, he will get into that heavily. Like the latest was Beyblades. But he does have things he will always go back to, like legos, and collecting rocks and minerals.SuzanneSent on the SprintÂ® Now Network from my BlackBerryÂ®From: "sheridonsmom" <sheridonsmom@...>

Sender:

Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:09:59 -0000< >Reply

Subject: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just one?

I'm wondering if it is typical for a kid with Asperger's to go through an obssesive interest and then move on to another, and another, etc.? I have expected one thing to stick, like for example Temple Grandin and the squeezing/deep pressure technique that she has focused on her whole life. Do any other kids just conquer one thing and then move on? Blaise has gone through cars, CD's (memorizing the names of the songs on them), DVD's (mostly enjoyed having the cases and having a series of movies Star Wars I, II and III, for example), Maps, Calendars, stuffed animals, blankets, pillow pets, and is now becoming a video game junkie.

Thanks for any feedback!

Patty , mom to Blaise, 7 yrs old

January 20, 2011

My son has been through these stages as I like to call them...first was stuffed dogs, then rocks, then ninja turtles, then toy story, and now it's WWE. He still has one stuffed dog that he can't live without and all the others have to be in their place on his bed. As long as he knows where the things are he is fine with not playing with them. The moment something is given away or lost he freaks out. Needless to say he room looks like Toys'R'Us exploded in there LOL!

January 20, 2011

My son has switched several obsessions over the years. First it was matchbox cars and dinosaurs. He was 5 and knew the correct name to all the dinosaurs and could tell you if they were carnivores or vegetation eaters. It was amazing. Then he went to rocks, Pokemon and yu gi oh, and astronomy. Often his obsessions will overlap each other. He has always obsessed over Lego's and bionicles. He still has his rocks but hasn't added to his collection in a while. He just let us get rid of his stuffed animal collection about a year ago, except his tigers, he had to keep those! Now it's his laptop and computer/video games. Then of course there is his "blanky".

It's irritating at times but funny at others. We just let him run with it as long as it isn't unhealthy and he gets enjoyment out of it.

Yeah, looking back the signs were all there. It would be nice if we could have seen them sooner. Or rather knew what those "signs" meant. ne

From: Deborah Gustlin <sycamorestudios@...>Subject: Re: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just one? Date: Thursday, January 20, 2011, 9:37 AM

that has been my experience also, but we got off a little cheapier. my ds was into thomas the tank engine from 1 year old until 8, until he switched overnight to pokemon. then this year when he turned 12, it is his computer. he has websites he designs, apps and can repair any computer now. these kids minds are so amazing. temple grandin is so amazing and my ds watches it all the time. i have always been his squeeze machine and still am today. but now he asks for squeezes instead of hugs! if i am not around, he squeezes his only stuffed animal that he has dragged around since he was 5 and still takes to school with him. yes, "mr. waddles" a penguin is part of our family. my son has always had legos too, and trades off between the newest obsession and the legos. we have tons of legos and since the whole family likes them, it really works well. i must admit that

when he was into thomas the train, i knew every trains name and we would spend hours lining them up. i didnt know it at the time, but looking back, there are tons of signs. with all the kids being diagnosed, you would think that the pediatricians would hand out brochures with the signs of autism so we wouldn't go on and on, sometimes for years without knowing. deborah

Sycamore Art StudiosSycamore Art SchoolDeborah GustlinGraphic & Web DesignArt classes for K-12www.sycamoreartstudios.comwww.sycamoreartschool.comHome: 408-710-0892 Business:

408-710-6070

From: "suzmarkwood@..." <suzmarkwood@...> Sent: Thu, January 20, 2011 5:55:03 AMSubject: Re: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just one?

Yes, that's been my experience too. My son will latch on to something and that will be all he wants to play, talk about and buy for a while. Then when a new cool thing catches his eye, he will get into that heavily. Like the latest was Beyblades. But he does have things he will always go back to, like legos, and collecting rocks and minerals.Suzanne

Sent on the SprintÂ® Now Network from my BlackBerryÂ®

From: "sheridonsmom" <sheridonsmom@...>

Sender:

Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:09:59 -0000

< >

Reply

Subject: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just one?

I'm wondering if it is typical for a kid with Asperger's to go through an obssesive interest and then move on to another, and another, etc.? I have expected one thing to stick, like for example Temple Grandin and the squeezing/deep pressure technique that she has focused on her whole life. Do any other kids just conquer one thing and then move on? Blaise has gone through cars, CD's (memorizing the names of the songs on them), DVD's (mostly enjoyed having the cases and having a series of movies Star Wars I, II and III, for example), Maps, Calendars, stuffed animals, blankets, pillow pets, and is now becoming a video game junkie. Thanks for any feedback!Patty , mom to Blaise, 7 yrs old

January 21, 2011

I had to smile when I read everyone's posts. I am new to the group. Sometimes

I am still trying to figure out if something is an Aspie trait or just plain old

little boy stuff! But my 6 yr old Aspie started out as always being interested

in things that spun and then he progressed to being obsessed with laundry! Ever

since he was about 3 he wanted us to do laundry all the time! I think sitting

on the dryer gave him sensory input before we ever even heard the words sensory

diet! Now- at age 6 he will sort the laundry, put it in the washer (front

loader), put the correct amount of detergent in and set the correct cycle! Yes-

I know how lucky I am that he is obsessed with laundry! lol. He also is " The

Human GPS " and is very into maps, streets and landmarks. And he is very into

calendars. If you ask him what day of the week a certain date fell on he can

tell you. It sometimes freaks me out. I will ask him " What day was December

3rd on? " and he can answer me " Friday " without even checking. He amazes me

sometimes. My younger son- while very much into dinos, trains, polar bears &

Tonka trucks... is not obsessed and doesn't just rattle off random facts about

them. He also has an impressive imagination and his pretend play is quite

elaborate (he's 3). It is interesting to watch him & his big bro play because

he often sets up the pretend play scenes... and then my Aspie son will fill in

their play with facts of interest.

>

> From: Deborah Gustlin <sycamorestudios@...>

> Subject: Re: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just

one?

>

> Date: Thursday, January 20, 2011, 9:37 AM

>

> Â

>

> that has been my experience also, but we got off a little cheapier. my ds was

into thomas the tank engine from 1 year old until 8, until he switched overnight

to pokemon. then this year when he turned 12, it is his computer. he has

websites he designs, apps and can repair any computer now. these kids minds are

so amazing.

>

> temple grandin is so amazing and my ds watches it all the time. i have always

been his squeeze machine and still am today. but now he asks for squeezes

instead of hugs! if i am not around, he squeezes his only stuffed animal that he

has dragged around since he was 5 and still takes to school with him. yes, " mr.

waddles " a penguin is part of our family.

>

> my son has always had legos too, and trades off between the newest obsession

and the legos. we have tons of legos and since the whole family likes them, it

really works well.

>

> i must admit that when he was into thomas the train, i knew every trains name

and we would spend hours lining them up. i didnt know it at the time, but

looking back, there are tons of signs. with all the kids being diagnosed, you

would think that the pediatricians would hand out brochures with the signs of

autism so we wouldn't go on and on, sometimes for years without knowing.

> deborah

>

> Â Sycamore Art Studios

> Sycamore Art School

> Deborah Gustlin

> Graphic & Web Design

> Art classes for K-12

> www.sycamoreartstudios.com

> www.sycamoreartschool.com

> Home:Â 408-710-0892

> Business:Â 408-710-6070

>

> From: " suzmarkwood@... " <suzmarkwood@...>

>

> Sent: Thu, January 20, 2011 5:55:03 AM

> Subject: Re: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just

one?

>

> Â

>

> Yes, that's been my experience too. My son will latch on to something and that

will be all he wants to play, talk about and buy for a while. Then when a new

cool thing catches his eye, he will get into that heavily. Like the latest was

Beyblades. But he does have things he will always go back to, like legos, and

collecting rocks and minerals.

>

> Suzanne

> Sent on the SprintÂ® Now Network from my BlackBerryÂ®

>

> From: " sheridonsmom " <sheridonsmom@...>

> Sender:

> Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:09:59 -0000

> < >

> Reply

> Subject: ( ) Multiple Obsessive interests or usually just one?