Autistic Passions

I love plants.

My home is dangerously close to jungle territory these days. And the collection keeps growing. I like to document every new little shoot. And when I get a new one I research what conditions they like, and create a little label for them with their common names and their latin names on, and dedicate time to learning all this information, I soak it up like a sponge.

And I want everyone to know how much I love my plants, I share photos, talk about my latest purchases, launch into talking with passion about them when anyone shows a sign of interest because you see, plants are one of my Autistic Passions.

Autistic passions, also known as "special interests", are often an area of concern for parents when their child seems to be so consumed by their interest that it excludes everything else. But I'm here to tell you that Autistic Passions are amazing and should absolutely be encouraged.

They bring us joy.

They can help lower our anxiety and help us recharge.

They give us consistency.

They can lead us into careers we are passionate about and shape who we are.

They can help us start conversations.

Not an exhaustive list obviously!

Not every autistic person has a passion, and while some may have life long interests, others may have transient but intense interests, but if your child has them, whatever you do, don't crush them, nurture them, just like I nurture my plants*.

Charlie x

To find out lots about your Autistic child and how to parent them with respect check out the BIS-net Exeter

Parenting An Autistic Child Online Work Group https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../parenting-an-autistic...

Our seND Passport contains links to a wide variety of Actually Autistic advocates too. https://www.sendfamilyinstincts.com/sendpassport

*there are obviously *extremely* rare exceptions such as if your child's interest is illegal, in which case it may be wise to find a way to redirect to a safer alternative