A SPIN is a specific intense interest. It is not a hobby. It is not a distraction. It is not a phase. It is a mode of engagement with the world that is characteristic of Autistic cognition, and it is one of the best parts of being Autistic.
A SPIN might last weeks. It might last decades. It might be a single topic so deep that it becomes a career, a relationship, a way of living. It might be a rotating carousel of topics each held intensely for a season. Both are Autistic. The common thread is the depth. When we care about a thing, we go all the way in.
What a SPIN is
The outside world has a complicated relationship with our SPINs. It mocks them when they are niche. It worries about them when they are intense. It pathologises them in clinical notes as restricted interests. It is embarrassed by the infodumping, which is the natural conversational mode of a person excited about their thing. The cumulative effect, by the time most of us are adults, is that we have been taught to apologise for the thing we love most.
Please stop apologising.
Stop apologising
SPINs are where our best work comes from. The Autistic professional whose SPIN matches their job is, in that job, often the best person in the room. The Autistic person whose SPIN does not match their day job has a whole parallel life of expertise, joy, and connection that the day job does not know about. Both are valuable. Neither is a problem.
SPINs are also where our friendships come from. Shared SPIN is one of the most reliable bases for Autistic friendship. You find your people through the thing you love. The thing is not the pretext. The thing is half the relationship.
Where friendships come from
If you have a SPIN, defend it. Make time for it. Let it change. Let it grow. Let it fade if it needs to and come back if it needs to. Do not let people tell you that a real adult would have moved on. The people who say that are usually people who have not found anything they love this much.
Infodump. Loudly. At the right audience. It is one of our best offerings.
