I’ve found that a lot of adhd people use hyperfocus in place of special interest

glumshoe:

Are they really interchangeable? I have only heard/used “hyperfocus” as a verb. I wouldn’t consider washing dishes, measuring the accuracy of pipettes, or painting small details to be “special interests”, but in the moment, I can completely fixate upon the actions and can get lost in them for many hours.

They’re definitely not the same thing. People may hyperfocus on a special interest, but you can have one without the other.