Odd posture in asd kids??? What does it mean?

[mysonben]

A question... could someone describe that famous asd odd posture i keep reading about?

My ds who is 3 1/2y. has good muscle tone, wasn't late for walking,... the paed who said he has asd reckons he has good gross/fine motor skills for his age.

He is not very good with dressing/undressing , eating cleanly, or putting his train track together ,...

I think he has an odd way of walking sometimes , not self assure like other kids, he often has his head looking down or to the side a little and he always does odd things with his hands like twiddling his belt or bottom of t-shirt or holding them in a quirky way it's hard to describe also when he runs he is so funny, he runs just like Mr. Bean. He tends to catch his feet to gether or into things and falls over fairly often.

Is that what is meant by asd odd posture do you think?

[jabberwocky]

Have you had a good vision evaluation? He may have some problems with depth perception. The "odd things with his hands" could be stimming and could be due to a number of things with, again, visual processing being one possible answer.

Does he toe-walk at all?

[jabberwocky]

Oh, meant to say also that a good evaluatin with an occupational therapist can provide useful information as well.

[jabberwocky]

Oh, meant to say also that a good evaluation with an occupational therapist can provide useful information as well.

[mysonben]

He hasn't had any vision evaluation no, but he did have a couple of appointments at the hospital eye clinic when he as younger because one of his pupil doesn't dilate properly, but they said he could see ok.
He does toe-walk on occasions mainly in the house at a fairly quick pace when he goes from one side of the lounge to the other .

[mysonben]

Yes the thing with his hands he does mainly when we are out and he always act a little anxious when we are outside, he fiddles with his hair and likes to keep his hans by the side of his face a lot when he has to talk or is getting anxious in social settings.
He does also weird twirly things with his fingers when he gets excited or really upset , that looks like stimming , he also twirl his toys sometimes.

[Goblinchild]

Yes, the twiddy thing and any other odd gestures, noises etc are known as stimming.
Mine had passed through a variety of them as the years have rolled by, now he has certain items that he carries in order to have a small object to twiddle.
Odd walking posture, stiff, rather mechanical, head forwards and angled down? That comes and goes.

[jabberwocky]

unequal pupil size will definitely affect depth perception so that could be part of what's going on.

[troutpout]

ds sort of gallops rather than runs. He doesn't run with determination or purpose iykwim. He leans slightly to the left...so he runs almost sideways . His hands are kind of loose when he runs. His gait is odd.It doesn't flow.
He runs like someone who has no idea of how he looks when he runs. His expressions are innapropriate or masklike and will occasionally make odd gestures when he is thinking whilst running.

[pickyvic]

my DS walks on his tiptoes. i think thats common in ASD kids too.

[sphil]

We've just had an appt with an orthopaedic consultant because of DS2's odd gait. He walks with his feet turned right out, with very flat arches and tends to have his head down, so he's leaning forward as he walks or runs. The dr explained it's because of hypermobility, esp in his ankles and hips, which can be helped by using insoles.

I wonder how much the various 'odd postures' of those with ASD are as a result of being hypermobile?

[mysonben]

I didn't know noises could be stims ! DS does this very loud scretching noise (sounds like he is wolf-whistling but scretchs instead) he does it very often , well daily , a few times at a time until we tell him to stop cause it's so annoying!
That 's probably a noise stim then!

[Goblinchild]

Noise stims?
We had the grunting, and a sort of weird grinding sound, and another that was a high nasal whistle.
Doesn't have any at the moment, for the past 6 months or so. But then things are going very well, school and home and extra-curricular activities so the stress level drops.
He was rarely aware that he was making any noises, and had little control over being able to stop them. Could manage it for a while, then he'd forget.

[mysonben]

Yep ds has grunting noises , still does , throat like grunts, ...and also a lot of 'wrooom' noises like cars , i know it's probably a normal toddler noise thing but he does it A LOT ,it can go on for ages and he 's loud with it too. We tell him to stop and he starts again 1 min later!!!

[Goblinchild]

Normal toddler noise?

Keep your sense of humour, mine's a teenager and still has occasions of random noises.
He's more aware of how other peole get annoyed or weirded out by them though, so he'll find a space, disappear into a book or do something to either reduce the stress or move himself away from NTs

[pickyvic]

found you back GC....wish there was a pm thingy on here that was free! i miss talking to people i know...

anyway just wanted to add that my DS also has insoles in his shoes and is also flat footed with a funny gait - must be another ASD thing!

we have no noises though....(unless you count the flaming heavy metal that eminates from his bedroom!

[5inthebed]

DS2 does loads of noise stims. He likes to run about making the same noise and jumping to change the pitch of it. He also shakes his head around while making a noise. And he rolls his rrrrr's.

As for the posture, ds2 walks really oddly, like he swings his hips to walk. He also walks and runs on his tiptoes all the time (which my HV said was because we had him in a walker too young ). He can't stand still for two minutes, he prefers sitting or leaning against something rather than standing.

[Yurtgirl]

My ds has a funny walk, interesting running style - feet all over the place
Waves his arms about as he runs/walks
He doesnt sit on his chair as others do - he often bundles himself on top of his legs and feet
He dances about for no apparent reason.
He runs from one side of the room to the other - a lot - flapping his arms as he does so

[5inthebed]

DS2 flails his arms wildly when he runs. He kind of looks like a humming bird.

[mysonben]

Yurtgirl- yes that 's it you describe it well, my ds runs like your ds all feet and arms wawing , it's well funny to watch him run, bless him! DS joggs from one side of the room to the other toe-walking dreaming whislt he does it. But never had the arm flap , instead he brings his hands to his chest level and twirl his fingers.

Lots of differents ways for stimming i see!

[jabberwocky]

Lots of noise stims here too! Ds1 does this maddening hum when he draws or writes - which is often. He also has one that sounds kind of like an airplane taking off or crashing, I'm never sure quite which. Others too which come and go.

[jabberwocky]

Aughhhh, pipin, it drives me crazy when I hear things like that That is really antiquated thinking imo and you definitely should look for someone else.

[sphil]

Just reading a very interesting book - 'The Well Balanced Child' by Sally Goddard Blyth - all about retained reflexes from babyhood and how these can affect posture, gait, fidgeting, visual and auditory processing etc. It wouldn't surprise me at all if a lot of our children on the spectrum had these.

[jabberwocky]

That is very interesting sphil. I work with children who have lots of developmental issues including autism and integrating primitive reflexes is part of the therapy I do. I guess I haven't thought to mention it on MN before but yes, you are absolutely right. It is incredibly common.

[troutpout]

The OT mentioned that ds has retained primitive reflexes. Also something about a hand mirroring what the other hand was doing (when it should have been still).