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Original poster

hand flapping.

21 replies

misdee · 04/04/2005 14:10

am making notes on what my dd2 does which is unual to raise with the HV when i next see him. is hand flapping considered a problem? and why?

OP posts:
Laylasmum · 04/04/2005 14:13

Misdee I know that some children with autistic disorders flap their hands alot and it seems to carry on through life, having said that my DD used to flap her hands from around 1-2 yrs until she had enough language to express what she wanted so i guess it has to be within the context of how your dd is in all other aspects!! Hope that hasn't made you worry!!

Original poster
misdee · 04/04/2005 14:14

dd2 is 2 and a half, language not great, hand flaps a lot when upset/excited/stressed. and it hurts if you get caught with the flapping hands.

OP posts:
Laylasmum · 04/04/2005 14:17

It may well be then that her language is still not developed enough for her !!! mention it to HV but try not to get too paranoid!!

Original poster
misdee · 04/04/2005 14:18

she has lots of other little oddities as well. was just wondering if i should mention hand flapping.

OP posts:
delllie · 04/04/2005 14:20

It can also be a feature of dyspraxia, my DD handflaps too, but it seems to be getting less as she gets older (she is 3).

Gwenick · 04/04/2005 14:20

misdee - my NT DS1 is 4 1/2yrs old - and still hand flaps quite regularly - and he's got a great vocab too!

Original poster
misdee · 04/04/2005 14:20

i'm sometimes think she is just a little drama queen

OP posts:
Tiggiwinkle · 04/04/2005 14:30

My DS3 has dyspraxia and used to flap his hands.
DS5 has just been diagnosed with Aspergers and flaps his hands a lot, when he is excited or tired. It was the first thing that concerned me about him (because I knew from DS3 that flapping can indicate a problem) and I mentioned it the the HV at his 3 year check. That is when he was referred to the child development clinic.
My DS5 also has other "stims"-he jumps up and down on the spot; runs back and forth to the same spots; and spins around. Does your DD have any other of these behaviours?

coppertop · 04/04/2005 15:08

Ds1 used to do a lot of handflapping when he was frustrated, excited or just didn't know how to say what he wanted. He used to flap so hard that he looked ready to take off. He only tends to do this now when he's tired or over-excited.

Ds2 (2.2yrs) is going through the 'flapping baby bird' stage now. He usually does it when he's excited or can't say what he wants.

It's definitely worth mentioning even if it turns out later to be irrelevant.

macwoozy · 04/04/2005 15:20

Hi Misdee
My ds aged 5 has ASD. He's never really hand flapped much at all, but like Tiggiwinkle he also runs back to the same spot, in fact he seems to be able to express himself better when he's running around. Also when he's talking he will often write out letters in the air with his finger. Strange eh??

trefusis · 04/04/2005 15:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

rummum · 04/04/2005 15:23

My Daughter is 8, when she is excited she 'flaps' she will jump up and down on the spot and flap her hands, we think she is dyspraxic, (long story)... I didn't know this was a trait of dyspraxic children though.

Fio2 · 04/04/2005 15:26

my dd does is too misdee, not sure why it is important though

Jayzmummy · 04/04/2005 16:30

J flaps when excited or frustrated when he can get the words out. If I was you I would definately mention it.

Original poster
misdee · 04/04/2005 16:34

she tends to jump about in the hallway. she did it the other day for the whole time dd1 friend was here, she refused to go play preferring to jump.

OP posts:
Blossomhill · 04/04/2005 16:38

My dd's the same misdee. Flaps when excited, scared etc

maddiemo · 04/04/2005 17:49

My autistic ds hand flaps but so do two of my nt sons!!!!

Davros · 04/04/2005 17:58

I would mention it. Also look for tip-toe walking, head shaking, looking at things from side of eyes, bringing objects right up to eyes, jumping, spinning etc. Any sort of strange body posture, eye behaviour, hand positions. Although many of these behaviours occur in NT children they move on and they could just be part of development. With children with ASD they do them for longer at a time and for longer overall iyswim. My DS didn't hand flap until about 2 years ago (he's 9.5 now) but he is the world expert on it now!

Original poster
misdee · 04/04/2005 18:03

so would dd2 wlaking around shaking her head going 'arf, arf' or similar noise be considered something to worry about?

dd2 is just dd2 in my eyes, but i know people notice that she is different.

tiptoe walking, is that all the time or someof the time? because she does do it sometimes. she is also very clumsey.

OP posts:
coppertop · 04/04/2005 18:09

With my 2 boys the toe-walking seemed to depend on what surface they were walking on. Ds1 used to tiptoe a lot on concrete (even with shoes on). Ds2 toe-walks on surfaces he is unsure of. Some surfaces he won't walk on at all.

happymerryberries · 04/04/2005 18:13

Dh tip-toe walks quite a bit, and so do dd and ds. Dh does have quite a lot of asd traits, but is on the nt side of the line iyswim

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