You Spin Me Right Round!!

Taylor loves to spin everything. He turns anything with wheels (pram, scooters, cars, even our suitcases) on upside down and spins them for hours on end if left to do so. When we got his bike he turned that upside down and span all 4 wheels as fast as he could, led on the floor underneath the bike and watched them all go round. When they had finished he then examined the chain to see where it went to, then span the wheels again and tested the break to see how it worked. This went on for about 45mins and only after that would he get on it and play! He still occasionally turns it upside down to spin the wheels.

His latest spin 'obsession' is to sit on my pc chair and hurl himself from the desk to the other end of the dining room (about 12ft) spinning it around as he goes. It frightens the life out of me as i'm never sure if he will fall off it. What completely amazes me though, is the fact he NEVER seems to get dizzy from doing it. Once he has reached the other side of the room, he will then put his feet on chair legs and his stomache and head on the chair seat and use his feet to hurl himself back towards the desk, not giving a care int he world to what or whom he bangs into during the 'ride'.

So i asked Google! Is spinning in Autism a good or a bad thing? I came across hundreds of articles and Blogs and forums, but this one seemed to be the only one that explained the pro's and con's in simple english!!

The negatives... it can certainly contribute to obsessive-compulsive behavior in my opinion if allowed to continue without supervision/time limits, etc. The more one does something... the more one may want to do it... there are certainly issues with the frontal and temporal lobes in these children and damage to the frontal lobe is certainly associated with obsessive-compulsive behavior.

Does that mean "all spinning is bad"? I don't think so. The more I think about this issue and how truly fascinating the human brain really is, I can not help but wonder if spinning may actually play a beneficial role in these children also. Why do I say that?

The frontal lobe is tied to motor functions (something that would certainly be involved in spinning) as well as with motor planning and execution. Again... damage to this part of the brain is known to result in obsessive-compulsive behavior...but... this is also the part of the brain that is involved in speech production, control of emotions, higher thought processes, etc... and these are all functions that all very much appear to be impacted by the cerebellum (at the back of the brain)...one of the parts of the brain known to be among the most impacted in autism. So... could an activity such as spinning be helping to produce new neural connections between the frontal lobe and the cerebellum... a part of the brain now known to be involved not only in motor coordination, but possibly in the coordination of emotions, language and higher thought processes? If indeed this were true, then "spinning" may actually have "a purpose"

Thus... parents need to "weigh" the good and the bad... and if they choose to allow spinning, I am very much of the opinion that it must be limited in terms of "how much" is allowed so that it does not become "obsessive-compulsive behavior"... personally, I now allow some... but I would not allow my child to "spin at will incessantly"... the fact that a child "craves" spinning... does not necessarily make it all good... but neither does it make it all bad. Drug addicts "crave drugs" but we don't give them drugs just because they crave them. However, when it comes to "spinning" in autism... personally, I just don't think we understand enough of the human brain to necessarily say it is "all bad"... that perhaps "some is good"... but too much, in my opinion, could easily become very, very, very, very bad...definitely something I see as a "double-edged sword".

I went back and forth on this issue of spinning so many times... wondering if I should allow it or just prevent it completely. I do think it acts as a "stress relief" for my son - to this day - although he does not spin nearly as much as he used to and a simple "stop spinning" is now enough to make him stop... but, truly... why is it this particular activity that so many of these children do? Could there indeed be a plus side to spinning if indeed it may help with the rebuilding of connectivity between the cerebellum (at the back of the brain) and the many functions associated with the cerebellum that are located in the frontal lobes (speech production, motor functions, control of emotions, higher thought processes, etc.). Truly, spinning in the child with autism, in my opinion, is a fascinating subject indeed and one that may unlock many other mysteries if solved!