Intense Enthusiasms: What Happens When We Stop Trying to Shrink Them

Four-panel illustration of figures absorbed in an intense enthusiasm: a blue figure lining up toy cars by color, a purple figure playing a kart-racing video game, a green figure watching jets in formation on TV, and an orange figure standing before an escalator.

A child returns to the same three songs. Talks about trains through every conversation. Memorizes television episodes, studies maps, focuses on video games, sorts figures, or watches the same short video again and again. Adults often notice the repetition first. We may worry that the interest is taking up too much space. We may try … Read more