I’m a 40-something who is on the spectrum and was in all sorts of programs throughout grammar school to try and get me “normal”. It hurt a lot the things the educational system did to kids like me because I didn’t fit into their parameters. They would go as far as segregating the kids like me from the “normal” kids so I never had any friends growing up.

But my special interests were my only outlets growing up that helped me forget about what was happening in the world. I was only made aware that it was looked down upon by others because of administrative staff telling my dad, usually in front of me. But my dad let me continue.

Now here I am, 40-something, more high functioning than I was back then. Some of those interests I forgot about or lost interest in. Others I still have the same drive and passion for which let me down a career path like the interest in computers and radio. A couple are just something I do for fun like my interest in telephones.

Do keep it in check though so they don’t get too many model trains about the house like I did with working and broken telephones and that time I got in trouble with the bell company for trying to take a pay phone home.