Helped Over 500,000 patients with 98%+ satisfaction.

Connect & Get Personalized 1-to-1 Answers from Expert Doctors

DoctorSpring > Question Home

is spinning of wheels a sign of autism

Resolved Question:

Dear Doctor,

I am looking for pediatric-related guidance. Basically I have a two-year old boy (2 years, 1 month) who has not yet developed speech. He can recognize pictures and tells the word like cat, dog, papa, ball, car, etc. He also understands commands like 'let's go out', 'throw away the nappy', 'give me a kiss', etc. 

Lately we started playing with flash cards and he learned (and repeats) basic ones such as sun, moon, etc. Often, when given two pictures and ask him to give you one of them specifically, he does. He also knows where his nose is, and is also able to pull you to take you near a play area (inside the house). He also plays with his sister (6 year old). Looks at us when we call him and has also started imitating us - his sister sneezed last day and he has started doing it since then. Today - and this is something that has not been done for months - he saw his sister's playing push chair, lifted it up and spinned one of the wheels. He done this for say a minute (while looking around him) and then he moved away. 

He does not do any tantrums. 
My wife is desperately worried that the wheel spinning (the minute I referred to above) is a sign of autism. Can you kindly express your opinion please?

I really appreciate. Thank you.

Category: Internal Medicine Specialist

Ask Your Own Question

Category: Internal Medicine Specialist
 27 Doctors Online

Hello,
Thank you for asking the query .

No 'spinning of wheels' is definitely not a sign of Autism. Except for the speech development (which appears to be a bit delayed) everything else you described appears normal. 
As you might be aware some developmental delay is areas like speech can be totally normal. 

If there is a concern of autism you you should go ahead and screen your child with one of the available autism screening tools for age 1-3 years. (First stage tools like CHAT, PDDST - 2. There are best done by an expert in the physical presence of the child. Otherwise there could be possible false positive results leading to un necessary worry and testing. 

Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask follwoup questions via this email itself. Thank you.


Dr. Steve Merris
Category: Internal Medicine Specialist
Experience: 
Medical School - New York University
Internship in Internal Medicine - Beth Israel Medical Center
Residency in Internal Medicine - Beth Israel Medical Center
Fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine - Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Steve Merris and 4 other Medical Specialists are ready to help you

Users who read this, also read:

Make informed and better medical decisions.

Join the 500,000 people who found a smarter, quicker way to get Answers, Recommendations & Expert Opinions.

Expert Doctors at fingertips

Recommendation on next step. Second-opinion.Multi-specialty.

Save Time

Average time for answers: 6 hours.

Save Money

$35 for typical specialist consult vs. $120 for a local appointment.

Free Follow-ups

Clarify, ask further questions for free in private conversation.

100% Satisfaction

Money back guarantee for the 1st reply. MEDNET Quality Board.

Start My Consultation

CHAT NOW

About DoctorSpring.com

Doctor Spring is a novel online Doctor consultation platform where you can get your medical questions answered by leading Doctors. Just Submit your question and rest assured that you will consult a Doctor easily. Once you submit the question, the Doctor from the concerned specialty will reply within hours. You can always ask more questions or add details with follow-up question options and make it an online doctor chat. You may use this service to consult a specialty or for getting medical second opinion. All paid services come with a MEDNET quality assurance and 100% money back guarantee.

DoctorSpring in news