Hand-flapping and jumping 6 year old

[SpringchickenGoldBrass]

it has been suggested to me that DS' tendency to jump up and down and flap his hands a lot might mean some degree of ASD. As the person who suggested it is not any kind of expert, am I safe in assuming that this is a crock of shit? DS is 6 years old, affectionate, clever, quite empathetic, only noted issues are slightly slow fine motor skills.

It may or may not mean that. Or it may mean something entirely different. If there is a concern, I would speak to his GP and get a referral to a paediatrician.

For what it's worth, DS2 does a lot of jumping up and down (and all over the place) and flaps his hands a fair bit. He's under assessment for ASD, ADHD, dyspraxia, and speech and language delay. So it's a combination of those things that's contributing to it.

I guess it depends on whether or not this behaviour is causing any disruption in your child's life - at home, at school...

DS has been diagnosed as slightly dyspraxic (the motor skills again) but while the jumping about is a bit irritating it doesn't seem to be causing any major issues, so I think I will not let silly old bats at bus stops worry me again... this was some random woman saying to me ' What a happy little boy, is he autistic?' and me boggling and asking why and she said the jumping and the hands.

Ah, I didn't realise it was someone random that said this. From your OP, I thought maybe it was a family friend or something that saw him frequently. We've had a few random people ask us if DS2 is deaf, due to some hand movements he repeatedly makes as people sometimes think he is signing. Doesn't mean I'm getting his hearing checked again though.

DDs both have ASD, DD1 was never a huge hand flapper but DD2 is very clearly a hand flapper.
It could be a sensory issue, so maybe make a note of the times he does it and its a problem for you/him try and find something else to replace it with like a stress ball ect.
"DS is 6 years old, affectionate, clever, quite empathetic, only noted issues are slightly slow fine motor skills"

DD1 who is now eight is also clever, affectionate (on her terms) and has a degree of learnt empathetic behaviour, so dont always assume this doesnt mean ASD its a huge spectrum and someone has to be at the bottom end.
However we all have traits of ASD at points in our life and if its not an issue for him and doesnt effect him in anyway I wouldnt worry yourself at all.

Hand flapping isn't important but being able to lead a normal life is.

Are there any problems other than the dyspraxia which make your son struggle to cope in an everyday environment?

If there are, the hand flapping could help you to identify a root cause and provide the best support for him.

If there are not then you have nothing to worry about.

My girls are both clever and affectionate, make reasonable eye contact and are empathetic when someone is clearly upset. They are skilful and copying socially appropriate behaviour in order to appear 'normal' but this is such hard work and makes them so anxious that they can't learn in a school environment without lots of support. One has AS, one is currently being assessed.

I would just keep it at the back of your mind in case any new problems crop up in the future and if you are worried at any point you can ask for him to be assessed.

hand flapping is one of these ones that's quite common with ASDs, but that some NT people do as well

my son handflaps when he's excited or stressed, he has AS, but so does my sister she's an adult and completely NT - just excitable, lol

To be autistic he wouldn't just hand-flap - he would also have SERIOUS problems with speech, with social situations and with change. It's not a mild thing that a lady at the bus-stop can spot, but no-one else would in the 6 years he's been alive. Even with aspergers, where the child has normal speech and IQ, you would have noticed a rigidity or a tendency to have friendship problems, or some sort of obsessional behaviour. My boy hand-flaps and bounces, but that is really the least of his problems!

To be fair sickof I didn't realise what was happening with my DD1 until it was pointed out by a psychologist when she was 12. She now has a dx of AS, a statement of SEN and a place in a mainstream autism base. Some children are adept at covering up their symptoms and internalise the distress caused by change and sensory issues.

Hi, it could be that or something else entirely.
Most assume my boys are autistic, especially the elder boy cos he hand flaps and jumps etc in public and makes whooping noise, but they have Fragile X Syndrome.
They are on the ASD but only as part of FXS.
They are loving, sociable, enjoy contact, etc...this is one of the main differences with autism although there are some similarities too.
E.g they dont like eye contact til they get to know you cos they dont understand facial gestures and expressions. And some think they can brobe them into making eye contact like with autism, to get their attention and to focus, sort of but it's different for FXS.

Thank you all. I think I will not worry about it for the moment - DS is sociable and seems to be liked by other DC, copes with different environments and new people happily and if he sometimes gets social cues wrong IMO that's just what 6-year-olds sometimes do.

If you have no other concerns about language, communication or social skills I wouldnt worry about asd. Worth mentioning the flapping and jumping to whoever you see re dyspraxia tho, if you or school feel its an issue

I just had to say that my little sister used to walk around flapping her hands in the garden whenever she wanted to think about something. My Mum was told by someone that there might be something wrong with her and basically said 'rubbish'. My sister is now in the third year of her degree, is exceptionally socially competent and has a wide circle of friends and a boyfriend of four years. She still flaps her hands when she wants to think though.

School are only concerned with the motor skills (mainly re handwriting etc) but DS is making steady progress and I have always been inclined to think that actually it's something that will improve with age and practice anyway. DS is great with numbers and obsessed with trains - the only times I have to remind him about social cues etc is when he is reciting an entire train timetable to someone who isn;t that interested, but I don't consider this as an indication of anything wrong with him, just classic kid behaviour of expecting other people to find things fascinating because he does.

A child would not be diagnosed with AS/ASD on the basis on hand-flapping alone. As others have said, are concerns about his social interaction/communication, or anything that actually causes problems for him in daily life: If so, look into it. If not, I would indeed go ahead and assume this is a crock of shit

Dunno what happened with my post there. Meant to say "are there concerns about..." and the : was supposed to be a ?

Nothing's ever been said about his interaction/communication by school or people who know him well. He's happy within his peer group (collect/pick up at school usually involves other DC in his class calling out greetings and DS doing the same) and with other kids (he has adoring mutual friendships with a couple of friends' DC), occasionally I have to speak to him about being too bossy with DC he has just met, but isn't that fairly normal with a 6 year old?
I suppose I am sort of also stressed out by another thread (no insult or disrespect intended to anyone on that thread and definitely none to anyone with SN or who has DC with SN) along the lines of if your child is clever then instead of being pleased and proud, you're supposed to rush in with anxieties about said child being 'on the ASD spectrum'. DS is clever and quirky, I hate the idea that this could mean he is labelled as 'wrong and in need of fixing'.

Aw SC, that must've been scary to read but I wouldn't worry too much. Your son may well be clever and have nowt 'wrong' with him and even if he does struggle with something doesn't mean he needs 'fixing', just that he will need more understanding and maybe a little adjustment to accommodate his needs, that's all.
My boys have fragile X syndrome but they don't need 'fixing' as there's nothing 'wrong' with them, they're perfect just the way they are! :)

Hmm.... that's an odd thread I've obviously missed. I don't know anyone that rushes to the idea about ASD going hand in hand with their child being clever.

DS2 is a clever, quirky, happy, funny little boy... but he displays very obvious behaviours that land him squarely in the ASD/ADHD/SNs area. That's life - it's just another aspect that we deal with. But we certainly didn't think "oh he's clever, is something wrong?" What an odd thought process....

Oh, and I'm still pleased and proud of him being clever.

Hand flapping is one of the signs of dyspraxia - see the dyspraxia foundation list of symptoms. So maybe it's just that. My boy is a bit flappy when excited and is dyspraxic - but I'm not too worried it! But definitely worth checking...

I was just going to add that hand flapping and jumping are recognised symptoms of dyspraxia, along with poor motor skills, but I think everyone has covered all of that, so good luck try not too worry, and I would ignore ASD as a possible dx at this point.