Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Characterization of Special Interests in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Brief Review and Pilot Study Using the Special Interests Survey

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Special interests (SIs) are part of the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Though they can have both positive and negative effects on functioning and long-term outcomes, research on SIs is limited. This pilot study used a newly developed parent-report measure, the Special Interest Survey, to characterize SIs in 1992 children with ASD. The mean number of current special interests reported was 9, with television, objects, and music being most commonly endorsed interests. The mean age of onset reported across all categories was 5.24 years, with duration of past interests most often exceeding 2 years. Age of onset, interference, and relative unusualness of the SI was varied across categories. Interference was significantly correlated with the unusualness of the SIs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander, J. M., Johnson, K. E., Leibham, M. E., & Kelley, K. (2008). The development of conceptual interests in young children. Cognitive Development, 23, 324–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Anthony, L. G., Kenworthy, L., Yerys, B. E., Jankowski, K. F., James, J. D., Harms, M. B., et al. (2013). Interests in high-functioning autism are more intense, interfering, and idiosyncratic than those in neurotypical development. Developmental Psychopathology, 25, 643–652. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579413000072.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, B. A., Conroy, M. A., Mancil, G. R., Nakao, T., & Alter, P. J. (2007a). Effects of circumscribed interests on the social behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1550–1561. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0286-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (1999). Obsessions in children with autism or Asperger syndrome: Content analysis in terms of core domains of cognition. British Journal of Psychiatry, 175, 484–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, S. L., Richler, J., & Lord, C. (2006). Association between restricted and repetitive behaviors and nonverbal IQ in children with autism spectrum disorders. Child Neuropsychology, 12, 247–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297040600630288.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bodfish, J. W., Parker, D. E., Symons, F. J., & Lewis, M. H. (2000). Varieties of repetitive behavior in autism: Comparisons to mental retardation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 237–243. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005596502855.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bodfish, J. W. (2003). Interests Scale. Chapel Hill, NC: Chapel Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, B. A., Conroy, M. A., Mancil, G. R., Nakao, T., & Alter, P. J. (2007b). Effects of circumscribed interests on the social behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 37, 1550–1561. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0286-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charlop-Christy, M. H., & Haymes, L. K. (1996). Using obsessions as reinforcers with and without mild reductive procedures to decrease inappropriate behaviors of children with autism. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 26, 527–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho, I. Y. K., Jelinkova, K., Schuetze, M., Vinette, S. A., Rahman, S., et al. (2017). Circumscribed interests in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A look beyond trains, planes, and clocks. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187414.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, A. M., Rosenberg, R. E., Anderson, C., Law, J. K., Marvin, A. R., & Law, P. A. (2012). Verification of parent-report of child autism spectrum disorder diagnosis to a web-based autism registry. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 257–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeLoache, J. S., Simcock, G., & Macari, S. (2007). Planes, trains, automobiles, and tea sets: Extremely intense interests in very young children. Developmental Psychologyy, 43, 1579–1586. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feliciano, P., Daniels, A. M., Snyder, L. G., Beaumont, A., Camba, A., Esler, A., et al. (2018). SPARK: A US cohort of 50,000 families to accelerate autism research. Neuron, 97, 488–493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.01.015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabriels, R. L., Cuccaro, M. L., Hill, D. E., Ivers, B. J., & Goldson, E. (2005). Repetitive behaviors in autism: relationships with associated clinical features. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 26, 169–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2004.05.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gould, J., & Ashton-Smith, J. (2011). Missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis? Girls and women on the autism spectrum. Good Autism Practice (GAP), 12, 34–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grove, R., Hoekstra, R. A., Wierda, M., & Begeer, S. (2018). Special interests and subjective wellbeing in autistic adults. Autism Research, 11, 766–775. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1931.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harrop, C., Amsbary, J., Towner-Wright, S., Reichow, B., & Boyd, B. A. (2019). That’s what I like: The use of circumscribed interests within interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. A systematic review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 57, 63–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Head, A. M., McGillivray, J. A., & Stokes, M. A. (2014). Gender differences in emotionality and sociability in children with autism spectrum disorders. Molecular Autism, 5(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-5-19.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hiller, R. M., Young, R. L., & Weber, N. (2014). Sex differences in autism spectrum disorder based on DSM-5 criteria: Evidence from clinician and teacher reporting. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42, 1381–1393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9881-x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, C. J., & Caldwell-Harris, C. L. (2012). Understanding differences in neurotypical and autism spectrum special interests throughout internet forums. Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 50, 391–402. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-50.5.391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klin, A., Danovitch, J. H., Merz, A. B., & Volkmar, F. R. (2007). Circumscribed interests in higher functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders: An exploratory study. Research & Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 32, 89–100. https://doi.org/10.2511/rpsd.32.2.89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, K. P., & Williams, L. H. (2017). Characterization and utilization of preferred interests: A survey of adults on the autism spectrum. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 33, 129–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/0164212X.2016.1248877.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, M. C., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Identifying the lost generation of adults with autism spectrum conditions. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2(11), 1013–1027. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00277-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, M. M.-C., Lombardo, M. V., Pasco, G., Ruigrok, A. N. V., Wheelwright, S. J., Sadek, S. A., et al. (2011). A behavioral comparison of male and female adults with high functioning autism spectrum conditions. PLoS ONE, 6(6), e20835. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020835.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lam, K. S., Bodfish, J. W., & Piven, J. (2008). Evidence for three subtypes of repetitive behavior in autism that differ in familiarity and association with other symptoms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(11), 1193–1200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H., Marvin, A. R., Watson, T., Piggot, J., Law, J. K., Law, P. A., et al. (2010). Accuracy of phenotyping of autistic children based on internet implemented parent report. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.31103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leekham, S. R., Prior, M. R., & Uljarevic, M. (2011). Restricted and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: A review of research in the last decade. Psychological Bulletin, 137, 562–593. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P. C., Risi, S., Gotham, K., & Bishop, S. L. (2012). Autism diagnostic observation schedule, second edition (ADOS-2) manual (part 1); modules 1–4. Torrance, CA: Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandy, W., Chilvers, R., Chowdhury, U., Salter, G., Seigal, A., & Skuse, D. (2012). Sex differences in autism spectrum disorder: Evidence from a large sample of children and adolescents. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(7), 1304–1313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1356-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McHale, S. M., Crouter, A. C., & Tucker, C. J. (2001). Free-time activities in middle childhood: Links with adjustment in early adolescence. Child Development, 72, 1764–1778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mercier, C., Mottron, L., & Belleville, S. (2000). A psychosocial study on restricted interests in high functioning persons with pervasive developmental disorders. Autism, 4, 406–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mottron. (2017). Should we change targets and methods of early intervention in autism, in favor of a strengths-based education? European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 815–825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-017-0955-5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, D. (2018). Monotropism: An interest-based account of autism. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), Encyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, D. K., Lesser, M., & Lawson, W. (2005). Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism. Autism, 9, 139–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oswald, T. M., Winter-Messiers, M. A., Gibson, B., Schmidt, A. M., Herr, C. M., & Solomon, M. (2016). Sex differences in internalizing problems during adolescence in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(2), 624–636. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2608-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pazeley, P., & Jackson, K. (2013). Qualitative data analysis with NVivo (2nd ed.). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., LeCouteur, A., & Lord, C. (2003). Autism diagnostic interview: Revised. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szatmari, P., Georgiades, S., Bryson, S., Zwaigenbaum, L., Roberts, W., Mahoney, W., et al. (2006). Investigating the structure of the restricted, repetitive behaviours and interest’s domain of autism: Investigating the structure of the RRBI domain of autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 582–590. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01537.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sasson, N. J., Turner-Brown, L. M., Holtzclaw, T. N., Lam, K. S. L., & Bodfish, J. W. (2008). Children with autism demonstrate circumscribed attention during passive viewing of complex social and nonsocial picture arrays. Autism Research, 1, 31–42. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shattuck, P. T., Seltzer, M. M., Greenberg, J. S., Orsmond, G. I., Bolt, D., Kring, S., et al. (2007). Change in autism symptoms and maladaptive behaviors in adolescents and adults with an autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1735–1747. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0307-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • South, M., Ozonoff, S., & McMahon, W. M. (2005). Repetitive behavior profiles in asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 145–158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-004-1992-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. J., Lang, C. M., Kryzak, L., Reichenberg, A., Hollander, E., & Silverman, J. M. (2009). Familial associations of intense preoccupations, an empirical factor of the restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests domain of autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(8), 982–990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stratis, E. A., & Cavalier, L. L. (2013). Restricted and repetitive behaviors and psychiatric symptoms in youth with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7, 757–766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2013.02.017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, R., Hodge, A., Bruck, S., Costley, D., & Klieve, H. (2017). Parent-reported differences between school-aged girls and boys on the autism spectrum. Autism, 21, 785–794. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316668653.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Teti, M., Cheak-Zamora, N., Lolli, B., & Maurer-Batjer, A. (2016). Reframing autism: Young adults with autism share their strengths through photo-stories. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 31, 619–629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2016.07.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trembath, D., Germano, C., Johanson, G., & Dissanayake, C. (2012). The experience of anxiety in young adults with autism spectrum disorder. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 27, 213–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357612454916.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner-Brown, L. M., Lam, K. S. L., Holtzclaw, T. N., Dichter, G. S., & Bodfish, J. W. (2011). Phenomenology and measurement of circumscribed interests in autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 15(4), 437–456. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361310386507.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijngaarden-Cremers, P. J. M., Van Eeten, E., Groen, W. B., Van Deurzen, P. A., Oosterling, I. J., & Van Der Gaag, R. J. (2014). Gender and age differences in the core triad of impairments in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44, 627–635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1913-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vine Foggo, R. S., & Webster, A. A. (2017). Understanding the social experiences of adolescent females on the autism spectrum. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 35, 74–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2016.11.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C. V. E. (2016). Diagnosing/recognising high functioning autism in adult females: Challenging stereotypes. Autism-Open Access, 6, 2–4. https://doi.org/10.4172/2165-7890.100017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winter-Messiers, M. A. (2007). From tarantulas to toilet brushes: Understanding the special interest areas of children with asperger syndrome. Remedial and Special Eduation, 28, 140–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325070280030301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, R. (2019). Autism, intense interests, and support in school: From wasted efforts to shared understandings. Educational Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2019.1566213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all of the families in spark, the spark clinical sites and spark staff. Special thanks to the participants without whom this study would not be possible. We appreciate obtaining access to phenotypic data on SFARI Base. Approved researchers can obtain the SPARK population dataset described in this study ([include here the URL of the population used, obtained from SFARI Base]) by applying at https://base.sfari.org.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Cynthia Brown

    Present address: Department of Psychological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Psychology, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorder, University of Missouri, 205 Portland Street, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA

    Kerri P. Nowell & Stephen Kanne

  2. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

    Courtney J. Bernardin & Cynthia Brown

Authors
  1. Kerri P. Nowell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Courtney J. Bernardin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Cynthia Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Stephen Kanne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by KPN, CJB, CB, and SK. The first draft of the manuscript was written by KPN and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kerri P. Nowell.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Electronic supplementary material 1 (DOCX 18 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nowell, K.P., Bernardin, C.J., Brown, C. et al. Characterization of Special Interests in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Brief Review and Pilot Study Using the Special Interests Survey. J Autism Dev Disord 51, 2711–2724 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04743-6

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04743-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation