Hand flapping and toddler stomping feet

[wingingit987]

When my 2yrs 2 month old is frustrated he starts to make a moaning sound then flaps his hands and stomps his feet.

I know a lot of hand flapping is linked to autism and I would say he's doing very well with speech and I don't have any other worries.

He's a handful and doesn't listen to a word a say but I just wondered if it's normal to hand flap and stomp feet this is only when he's frustrated or you've told him off.

Any advice would be great. I would also like some advice for if anyone uses time out currently doesn't seem to be working for us.

Tia

I know that you're not concerned about ASD but if you want to rule it out, I'd do the mchat test as it's suitable till they're 30 months.

If time out isn't working, you could try the No Cry Discipline Solution

My ds used to hit himself in the head due to frustration whilst having tantrums/being told off/if he couldn’t make something work. He had speech issues (barely spoke at that age) and still does now (he’s nearly 3) although his speech has come on leaps and bounds.

I was really worried he was autistic - not because of the idea of him being autistic, but because I wanted to make sure that if he were I could get him the best possible help I could if that makes sense!

I took him to the GP to rule out ear infections, and he advised I keep a diary of when he hits himself and what led to it. That was seriously helpful, because I was able to identify a pattern and understood.

I ended up hugging him and putting emotional words to the tantrums to explain what he was feeling. That really helped him calm down, as although he couldn’t say the words and explain what he felt, he knew that I understood. The hurting himself dramatically decreased, and the tantrums decreased too.

Time outs didn’t work for us at that age, they’re only just starting to get them now (I’ve DTs). I found distracting really helpful, or telling them to stop crying as it’s my turn to cry then I put on a cry then they can have a go. Saw it on some FB video, and it really works

Thank you both for your advice he scored 1 on the m chat.

He also goes to nursery 2 days a week. So I was hoping that's abit like 2 pairs of eyes but they haven't had any concerns as of yet.

Oscar only does it when frustrated or not getting his own way. If I thought that something was going on like autism I would be on the gps case straight away as I would be the same. Would want to get all the help he need as soon as possible.

Xx

My son has had an initial assessment and has his full assessment this month. He is almost 2 and we have a number of behaviours not just one or two. If you score low on mchat that's a good indicator. I think it just sounds like it's his frustrated action.

You could always speak to a HV if you're worried?