Once Upon a Ball Coaster
November 9, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Having posted about “unusual” play as a potential marker for autism in infants—-these ball rolling machines bring to mind the ball coaster that was one of Charlie’s favorites when he was a toddler, and the memory of sitting beside him and watching the balls slide and roll (though not nearly as fast as on this video). Charlie would be absorbed in the movement of the balls, and his fascination was contagious.
“Unusual” play, perhaps, but it opens up a different way of looking at the world as does Turning a Sphere Inside Out is the name of a video from Scientific American via 3 Quarks Daily blog (see it here: is it 21 minutes and even a glimpse fascinates).
I remember we were always saying about my daughter “oh, look, she’s going to be an engineer, she wants to see how everything is put together.” She also loved to inspect the batteries on everything. Maybe these cute signs in the news will be a tip for other parents. I think we were too in denial to see them at the time.
We said something of the same (plus there are many engineers on both sides of my family)—-we’d also talk about how Charlie might be good at chess because he could stare at patterns of toys ad objects with such intensity.