This is a CLASSIC autistic stim. You should ask his teachers and therapists what they think of stimming, in his particular case. Usually, it can't be stopped but it can be contained. A child can be taught to stim in only certain places (like his room or the bathroom or some other private place) and the object of the stimming can be used as a very powerful reward (as in 5 minutes playing with a fan). The autistic brain NEEDS the stim, it seems. So allowing it is probably a good thing, but restricting how it's used will give the child some sense of propriety as well as provide an incredibly strong incentive to work toward.
When my son was about 19 months old, he was absolutely fascinated with ceiling fans anywhere we went. It was a passing thing and was over (for a while) before he turned 2. Now he's 4 1/2, and a few months ago, the fan obsession returned with a vengeance. Anywhere we go that has fans of any kind, it's like he becomes possessed by them. He can be walking along nicely holding my hand, and sees a fan 50 feet away, and will try to pull away from me and run. If we're in a restaurant that has ceiling fans, he is impossible. He wants to leave the table and run around the restaurant to check them all out. When we visit someone who has ceiling fans, he'll just run around their house from room to room to see the fans. It's really becoming a problem. The autism specialist at his school has suggested trying letting him wear a baseball cap with a brim to sort of block the view. She also feels maybe it is a phase that will just pass, but I have given up on that notion because it has been MONTHS already. I just don't know what to do. Does anyone have any feedback? Thank you!
We went through the ceiling fan obsession big time between the ages of 18 months and 4 years. Trips to Home Depot were a nightmare! I really don't have any suggestions, since we just had to grin and bear it, because we had no idea he was on the spectrum for another three years after it had passed. All I can tell you is to hang in there. Connor hasn't looked twice at a ceiling fan in over eight years.One thing you could try, since this is a visual stim, is to temporarily replace it with a different visual stim (especially in somewhere like a restaurant). If your son likes movement, they sell these little handheld toys that have a clear globe around one end and inside the globe are lights on an arm that moves when you push a button. (Sorry -- I don't know any other way to describe it!) My son used to LOVE IT (he also had a fan fetish when he was younger). I think probably someplace like Walmart or Toys R Us would sell this toy (my son got it from a therapist). HTH!
We went through this also for about the same ages as IBGECKO mentioned above.
My son couldn't tell you where his house was but he could tell you every house in the community that had a ceiling fan. All I can say is that it has gotten better with time.
We just got our first ceiling fan. Maybe I shouldn't turn it on for a few years.My Mom sympathized so much with this obsession, that when he turned 4 she got him a ceiling fan for his bedroom, complete with handyman installation! I actually think this helped the whole thing die down, because it was no longer such a big deal.