17 month old spinning wheels

[Caroline818]

Does anyone toddler like to spin wheels?? Is this common? Has anyone experienced this? I’m a first time mom and not sure if this is typical. When I go online and input this into the search bar, it says autism. My son also only has four words that he doesn’t use consistently and I was reading that spinning wheels in of itself is not an indicator of autism but in addition to a speech delay, this could be an indicator. Now I’m freaking out. Does anyone’s child do this?

My DS2 spins wheels occasionally but scores 0 on Mchat. I've had my fair share of worries between 14-19 months where he did things that came and went. He spins but isn't fixated on it. More people will come along and share their knowledge and experience with you. My experience is that, a lot changes in a very short amount of time. Also, I read somewhere that spinning is very normal and most toys have an element where you can spin stuff. I think it's got to do with helping them write and draw in the future. I forgot where I read it or what it's called but there are toys where you can lift things up and down, push left and right and spin which helps them write and draw.

That's really kind of funny. I am not laughing at your concern at all, I find it funny because I was in the exact same position as you almost 3 years ago! Even Google spitting that out at me.
Chances are it's not autism if that's the only concern, also it would be far to early to diagnose even though children with autism do show early signs.
Anyway, I heard that a common difference between male and females developing brains is that males like the pathology of things - they like to see the cause and effect of their surroundings, like swiping their hand and watch the wheel spin for example. Where as females like the social aspect of play, if I do this what will mum/dad/granny do? They will look to you more in affirmation with what they are doing, as in they like to do things and see how it affects what the people around me are doing.

Since then I noticed the difference in play styles a lot! Hope it helps!

Do you mean that you were in the same position as me with your child was spinning wheels and Google said it was autism? Or a different “red flag” that your child did? The problem is that it’s in combination with limited words. However he uses gestures and points.

Yes, I mean he used to spin wheels. Constantly! For a while it seemed to be the only thing he would do! Wheel spinning, anything that spins would be spun!
At that age I don't think there is a concern with speach as some can be later talkers but doesn't necessarily indicate a delay!
I wouldn't worry about it at this stage, although it's easier said than done because I did it too :)

Could I ask you one more question? At this age (18 months) how was your son with talking? My concern is that this wheel fixation is also accompanied by lack of speech. Thank you so much for replying to me and taking the time to tell me about your experience.

My DS is 16 months and he also likes spinning wheels (and opening and closing doors, putting things into containers and taking them out, etc). He does do some imaginative play like cuddling soft toys or pushing cars along, but definitely prefers things like spinning, or shape sorter type toys. He has about 7 or 8 words - I see toddlers his age at the baby group we go to that do have a lot more words than him.

However, I have done the MChat test and also the ages and stages questionnaire for his age and he seems to be scoring in the normal range for both of those, so I'm not massively worried about autism or any kind of developmental delay. You can find the tests and the scoring methods quite easily on Google.

Yes he scores normal for the mchat with a 0-1. All the other tests he scores normal however I feel that he is really transfixed on wheels. He also doesn’t have many words, much less than your son. He is 18 months. He has said words but doesn’t use them consistently. Does your son turn toys upside down to spin them?

Yes, sometimes. He has certain toy vehicles that he prefers pushing along and others that he prefers turning upside down to spin the wheels!

If you look up toddler play "schemas" you might find some helpful or reassuring information. It is part of a theory about how all toddlers play or find out about the world by doing certain repetitive things, like spinning, or carrying things about, etc.

Obviously I don't know that my son is or will grow up to be neurotypical, and he is my first as well so nothing to compare, but the spinning thing and other similar behaviours do seem common.

@Caroline818

hi OP

old post I know!

but any updates on your son now?