Like many autistic children, I was obsessed with dinosaurs: I read any book which featured dinosaurs, I watched any programme that included dinosaurs. I even insisted that my food was cut into the shape of dinosaurs (although they rarely resembled anything other than a cloud with legs).
But, whilst I grew up naively believing that my interest in dinosuars was mine, and mine alone, I have since come to realise that many other children on the autistic spectrum shared my passion for the prehistoric.
Although it’s not uncommon for children (especially boys) to like dinosaurs, I keep wondering why do so many autistic people skip the romance and go straight to loving dinosaurs? So, with my curiosity getting the better of me and with a new Jurassic World film right around the corner, today I wanted to find an answer to the question: why do autistic people LOVE dinosaurs?
Why do Autistic People Love Dinosaurs?
It may have initially started with a colouring book or then again it may have been a present which I was given at Christmas but, like many autistic children, my interest in dinosaurs started from the moment I first laid eyes on one and, like the ripples in a cup of water as a tyrannosaurus rex approaches, it only grew stronger from there.
Although there are many theories as to why autistic people LOVE dinosaurs, the true explanation for this is as much a mystery as what kind of god would let Jurassic Park III exist. However, one of the most likely reasons for why autists can be highly interested in dinosaurs, links to the variations in which our brains process information.
Where as a non-autistic brain will do its best to make sense out of whatever information is thrown at it, the brain of an autist is much better at making connections between information that is stored in similar regions, rather than regions from different parts of the brain. This explains why we struggle to make links and see the grand picture, and it is also one reason why people think autists are incapable of understanding sarcasm or metaphors (which is wrong).
In relation to today’s question though, this explains why, once we get really into something, our brain turns into a snowball rolling down a hill, growing in size in a short space of time (see, I told you we get metaphors).
However, autistic people aren’t magnetically drawn to dinosaurs as some may think, but instead many of us take up an interest in Dinosaurs when we are younger because of how definitive they can be. For example, when discussing dinosaurs, we can find out: which was the biggest, which was the longest, and which was the most deadly, all by asking around or reading a book. Once we have the answer, we can be safe in the knowledge that these facts are not about to change, as the creatures were wiped out a long time ago.
This opportunity, alongside the fact that there is no shortage of dinosaur related content to devour, means that, for any autist looking for a hobby, dinosaurs present a goldmine of details to form those regional connections which are brains just love making.
It is also worth noting that, as dinosaurs are often some of the first toys we will be given, these links, which aid in our enjoyment of learning about dinosaurs, are given a head start to become full obsessions before many other topics. Like many relationships though, our first love isn’t necessarily our last.
Not all Autistic People Love Dinosaurs
Despite everything I have previously said, it’s important to remember that not all autistic people love dinosaurs. In fact, there are many autistic people out there who don’t even like them and some who hate them because they are constantly expected to love them.
This is something which can be seen in the gender divide of this interest, as female autists are often recorded as being more interested in stereotypical girly things, like dolls (however, not always). This further proves that the reason autistic boys often love dinosaurs is more likely due to nurture factors over natural ones, e.g. being given a toy of a beast from 10,000bc during early development.
As findings such as those presented at the INSAR conference 2018 (see graph below) show, it should also be noted that many autists will live to see their love of dinosaurs become extinct. In their place, many of us go on to pursue new interests in information-heavy topics, like computers or autism itself (although, despite many other obsessions over the years, I can still be seen sporting matching triceratops PJs and socks, so I think it’s safe to say, my interest is here to stay).
(Photo Credit: INSAR 2018)
Carry on the Conversation
That said I would love to hear what some of your special interests are. If you know someone with autism or have autism yourself, please leave a comment below sharing what topic you/they can’t get enough of.
As always, I can also be found on Twitter @AutismRevised and via my email: AutisticandUnapologetic@gmail.com.
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Thank you for reading and I will see you next Saturday for more thoughts from across the spectrum.
