A four year old boy Tinu has normal developmental milestones except delayed speech. He is interested to watch spinning objects like fan and the washing machine. His parents struggle to get him interested in other children at home. People often comment that he is disinterested and self centred. What will be your thought regarding his diagnosis?

Tinu's presentation is that of poor 'theory of mind' or lack of perspective taking, poor communication and social skills and obsessive interests in spinning objects, which is common in ASD (autism spectrum disorder). Autism is characterized by triad of impaired social development, disturbed communication and language and presence of stereotypes. Ref: The Biology of the Autistic Syndromes By Christopher Gillberg, Mary Coleman, 2000, Page 25