Baby twirling feet and opening / closing hands repetitively- normal?

[zeromango]

Hi all. I was just wondering if anyone else's baby twirled their feet and open and closed their hands repeatedly? Did they grow out of it?

My DS is almost 9 months. It's hard to explain but it's mostly if he's excited or cross. He will open and close his hands quickly while rotating his ankles.

I've not noticed other babies in his class doing it so just wanted to ask here as I'm not sure if it's something to "worry" about? For context my DD has severe disabilities and so truthfully I feel like a FTM again. Thank you so much for any advice!

My 6mo is also doing this, as are several of his friends at baby group!

@NamingConundrum ahhh really?! I've never seen another baby do it before, he'll do it when he gets cross or he's excited, in the buggy, high chair, car seat etc. is yours the same? He twirls his feet too and people keep
commenting on it and when I google it, it comes up with some worrying stuff 😔

If you look up Loryn Powell on social media she has a 7 month old and she shows hers doing it in a video too

This is an early sign of autism. My dc did it - diagnosed at 4

The hands opening & closing thing is called hand flapping and is a well documented and well known early ASD sign. It was mentioned in my DD's diagnosis report

One of mine is diagnosed as autistic. There were early signs with that DC. This DC kept up stimming behaviour and still stuns to this day.
Another DC briefly twirled hands and wrists, however this was a passing phase and behaviour stopped as quickly as it began. No other similar behaviour emerged or any other red flags.

This is why babies don’t get diagnosed because they do unusual things and most babies outgrow these things. In ASD the child will continue to show signs of autism as they get older.

It is at baby level a normal development stage. It was mentioned in the red book when my oldest was a baby.

I've had three DC and nannied more, and they all did the hand twirling etc. They're now all adults, or nearly and only one has got an ASD diagnosis.

Its nothing to do with any disorder. Its a natural part of a baby's development. All my children , grandchildren and every baby I have ever come across has done it. Where the hell does all this misinformation come from?

@LakeTiticaca thank you for the reassurance. I've been so worried and I'm a first time mummy so I have no idea what's normal!

Hi all, lots of you asking for an update to this thread - my DS is now 2.5 and is actually on the pathway for autism but no longer twirls his wrists etc, he stopped that just after 1, so although it's ended up being potential ASD diagnosis for us, it was lots of other signs that have got us to being referred. He's also very behind in speech so on the waiting list for SALT too. He is an amazing little boy, I'm proud to be his mum and will do what I can to support him.

I think sometimes we just know don't we, even if you can't put your finger on exactly what it is.

@zeromango thank you for taking the time to reply and I'm glad you are on the right pathway for support. If you don't mind me asking, what were the other signs that you picked up on when he was under 1?

Good God. Perfect illustration of why so called keyboard Doctors should just fucking stop. Do you know the presentation of Angelmans Syndrome? I honestly despair. At one point in the last 20 years there were 18 cases in the UK. I know that through personal experience. Excuse yourself from these threads.

This is a borderline comedy website get a grip on yourself and stop taking everything on the internet so seriously, people shouldn’t consult the internet for medical advice 😂

@Bpickle1 Eh? I was commenting on an open forum but thanks for the insightful advice!!!! Thank God for you.....