Is there something that really interests you? Do you have a hobby or special interest? Is it something you could read about, research, or engage with every day? Do you find yourself consuming as much information about the topic as you can? Do you like or love engaging with it as much as you can? Is there a subject that you could share with somebody for hours?
Most people are interested in something, a subject or a hobby. The academic literature calls autistic people’s hobbies “Special Interests.” They study us and comment about how many of us fixate on these topics. They say that we voraciously consume any information we can find having to do with our Special Interest(s), and discover new and novel ways in which to engage with that topic.
When I think of infodumping, I think of a time in my teens when a friend invited me to her church. The youth pastor asked me a few questions about my religious affiliations and views, to which I effectively shrugged (error: no scripts available). Having been raised by my Marxist grandmother, I didn’t really have any. He then invited me to get to know Jesus. I know now what he meant by that, but then I took it literally. Over the next decade, with the help of some really smart people, I dove into the historic Jesus, the metaphorical Jesus, and the mythical Jesus, finding out as much as I could about this person who ‘wanted to be my friend and saviour.’ I know, it sounds silly now, but then I was starved for connection and Christians seemed so friendly.
About the time when I was coming to my speaking abilities, a Jehova’s Witness couple knocked on my door. I know now what they wanted, and what their program was, but then, I invited them in, offered them tea, and proceeded to answer their primary question - did I know about Jesus - by infodumping what I had learned over the preceding decade (using the scripts I’d gained from all of my “research”). Needless to say, they were looking for the door after a few hours and a few cups of tea.
Whilst my Special Interests have shifted over time, this way of communicating with people hasn’t changed. I simply have found a place where this type of communication is welcome. I’ve found a group of people who want to hear what I’ve discovered, and what to enlighten me with their knowledge on the same topic. Needless to say, when this level of communication is happening, time ceases to matter - as does sleep.
Infodumping is speaking in paragraphs - anonymous 2022
When I learned more about autism in my adulthood, I learned that this is such a common part of autistic communication that we have developed a slang word for it: Infodumping. Infodumping is when an autistic person exhausts all of the information about a focused topic that they know of. To me, Infodumping is a love language. It’s not only professing the love I have for a certain topic, but also risking the rejection that comes with hearing somebody that I admire or respect tell me that my favourite topic is meaningless to them. As I desire to develop deep and meaningful connections with people, infodumping represents my best attempt at making that connection.
The five neurodivergent love languages: infodumping, parallel play, support swapping, Please Crush My Soul Back Into My Body, and "I found this cool rock/button/leaf/etc and thought you would like it" — Amythest (@neurowonderful) May 27, 2021
In a small sense, this space is a slow-rolling infodump. I add to it each week as I attempt to make sense of what it means to be autistic, neurodivergent, queer, wyrd, and all of the things that make up my unique identity within the Solitary Forager space. I hope that you enjoy it and it sparks some thoughts on your end. If it does, let me know in the comments below. Thanks.
— May 2024 Update —
Having recently come out as a trans woman, my autistic infodumping has seemingly reached epic proportions. I can’t get my gestalt processing brain to shut up about it (not that I’d want to). See what an actual slow rolling infodump looks like by clicking here.