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sbcmetroguy
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18 Jun 2009, 5:47 pm

Okay, I know different autism-related topics are brought up often and spinning is probably one of them, but I just remembered something while I was driving home from work. I am diagnosed AS, but I always told my psychologist I never had a love for spinning or watching spinning things. BUT I got cut off in traffic and nearly rear-ended an SUV full of[edited for content by sinsboldly] I blew my horn and these manly-looking women started flipping me off and cursing at me. This, of course, set me off into one of my typical rage moments where I was running up on their bumper to scare them and trying to switch lanes so I could run them off the road (yes, for the record, I will be talking to my psychologist about my anger problems on Monday).

Okay well here's where the spinning thing comes into play. I like to rehearse, replay, and alter conversations, confrontations, etc to myself. So after they were off the freeway and I was trying to calm down, I was replaying the events in my head and yelling out loud as if to these women, when I threw my middle finger up and said something I haven't heard said in many years, "sit and spin!" Since I am such a visual thinker, whenever I say, think, read or hear something, I always get a mental picture. Right there, in my mind's eye, popped an image of a toy I used to LOVE as a young child: the Sit 'n Spin!

Apparently they still make these, and obviously normal kids enjoy them as well, but I remembered how much fun I had with my Sit 'n Spin toy and the merry-go-round at the playground down the street from the house where I grew up. In fact, my Sit 'n Spin was probably my favorite toy in the 80s besides my Legos, Hot Wheels, and Micro Machines. I would ask my mother about it, but she now, unfortunately, has developed Alzheimer's (she is only 59 years old) and she doesn't seem to remember much of my childhood anymore. :cry:

Did anyone else here have a Sit 'n Spin as a child? Do you agree it is a great toy for children on the spectrum? The link I posted above clearly seems to agree with me. Oh my, I'm so excited that I had this memory pop into my head, I am going to add it to my journal where I write down such memories. And naturally I am going to tell my psychologist all about it on Monday at my appointment, because I am SO excited to finally be able to tell her I DID enjoy spinning... at least on toys like that.

**edited for paragraph structure



pschristmas
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18 Jun 2009, 7:41 pm

I remember them and wanted one because they looked like fun, but they were intended for kids much younger than I was by the time they came along.

I do remember the merry-go-round being one of my favorite toys at the park. I was sad when my daughter was born and they'd taken all the merry-go-rounds out because kids might go flying off and hurt themselves. When my neice and I were kids, we thought that was the whole point! :lol:

Regards,

Patricia



sbcmetroguy
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18 Jun 2009, 8:28 pm

pschristmas wrote:
I remember them and wanted one because they looked like fun, but they were intended for kids much younger than I was by the time they came along.

I do remember the merry-go-round being one of my favorite toys at the park. I was sad when my daughter was born and they'd taken all the merry-go-rounds out because kids might go flying off and hurt themselves. When my neice and I were kids, we thought that was the whole point! :lol:

Regards,

Patricia


No kidding, I thought that was the point as well! ;) We got hurt a lot on that playground. Living in Louisiana (the climate here is much like yours there in Texas, obviously), those metal slides and see-saws were scalding hot during this time of the year! I was almost grown by the time they took all that equipment out of that playground, but rather than the "unsafe" equipment, they did it due more to the fact that our old playground had become a hangout for "gang bangers", and kids simply weren't safe there anymore.