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krashnburn
I am Batman!
Member since 5/05 4093 total posts
Name:
I'm Batman, I tell you!
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Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
I'm curious how many peoples children are arm flappers and if they do it all the time or only occassionally. DS is 8 months and flaps his arms constantly and is always holding his hands in front of his face (which I had read was a self-soothing technique). DH and I had recently been reading about autism and stimming. While his is still young and the article did say there is a percentage of non-autistic children that exhibit that behavior, the possibility is still in the back of my mind now everytime I see him doing it. I would appreciate some feedback on how many children exhibit this behavior. Thanks!
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Posted 12/17/07 10:20 AM  |
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krashnburn
I am Batman!
Member since 5/05 4093 total posts
Name:
I'm Batman, I tell you!
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
Doing the lunch bump.
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| Posted 12/17/07 11:53 AM |
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aja
my princess
Member since 10/05 2936 total posts
Name:
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
no my son didn't...but my friend's son did and she was really worried (she's also a speech therapist). He is 2.5 now and he is definetly not autistic. Just a stage I guess.
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| Posted 12/17/07 11:55 AM |
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Mommy2Boys
My Boys!!!!
Member since 6/06 14437 total posts
Name:
C
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
Have you spoken to your ped.?
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| Posted 12/17/07 12:01 PM |
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dm24angel
Happiness
Member since 5/05 34581 total posts
Name:
Donna
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
Noah flaps his arms constantly, but also kicks his legs.... I never made an connection and am not yet worried.
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| Posted 12/17/07 12:09 PM |
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KPtoys
I'm getting old
Member since 5/05 8688 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
My older kids flapped their arms while excited when they were under 1. They both do not have autism. Lukie who is 10 months has no red flags for autism and flaps his arms when I hold him facing forward. I am not worried.
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| Posted 12/17/07 12:14 PM |
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MsMBV
:P
Member since 5/05 28602 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
Posted by dm24angel
Noah flaps his arms constantly, but also kicks his legs.... I never made an connection and am not yet worried.
Baby G does the same thing when excited. Ped said it is not uncommon at a young age & he passed his pre-autism screening with no problem.
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| Posted 12/17/07 12:18 PM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
DW and I were discussing that a few days ago. I know a lot of older kids, and adults (myself included) that do some sort of arm flapping when excited (Beavis and Butt-head were good examples of what I'm referring to). Who hasn't shaken their arms a bit when they were really excited? Yes, it's a sign, but if someone does flap their arms, it doesn't mean they have autism.
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| Posted 12/17/07 12:21 PM |
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krashnburn
I am Batman!
Member since 5/05 4093 total posts
Name:
I'm Batman, I tell you!
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
Posted by GoldenRod
Yes, it's a sign, but if someone does flap their arms, it doesn't mean they have autism.
Very true! But he does it constantly, even when he's not overly excited or when he's just sitting queitly playing by himself.
I'm not stressing over it, but it's something in the back of my mind...just like worrying my son will one day have any numbers of illnesses. I'm just a worrying mother.
ETA I can also be a hypochondriac...like the other day when I had a chronic headache for several days and I was looking up the symptoms of meningitis  Or maybe this just means I need more to do at work....
Message edited 12/17/2007 12:38:09 PM.
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| Posted 12/17/07 12:37 PM |
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EmmaNick
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Member since 12/06 16001 total posts
Name:
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
My son is a hand flapper, always has been. He's never been formally diagnosed with Autism, but PDD has been tossed around a lot.
DD flaps her arms a TON when she's excited. It crossed my mind the other day to worry, but she's 100% different than DS was as a baby so I think it's just a stage.
Message edited 12/17/2007 8:33:31 PM.
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| Posted 12/17/07 8:28 PM |
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groovypeg
:)
Member since 5/05 2423 total posts
Name:
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
i wouldn't look at hand flapping alone. you need to look at the whole picture. how is your dc developing? is he reaching his milestones? does he make eye contact? is he social? how are his play skills.
honestly, i always encourage parents that if there is a concern, call EI and have an evaluation set up. its free and confidential and its worth it.
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| Posted 12/17/07 8:32 PM |
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leighla
Support Cancer Research
Member since 5/05 16353 total posts
Name:
Lauren
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
I'm so glad to see this thread because I've been having the same fears lately.
Logan's been doing this wrist-twist arm flap thing whenever he gets excited or upset.
It's been bugging me but I haven't said anything because I felt like I was overreacting.
I feel like there's SO much in our faces about autism right now that it's causing me to overanalyze every little thing.
I think the PP is probably right and that we both have to look at the whole picture.
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| Posted 12/17/07 8:51 PM |
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stickydust
Now a mommy of 2!!!
Member since 4/06 3164 total posts
Name:
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
My DD does this when excited or upset and I am occasionally concerned about it. I mentioned it to her ped and he did not seem concerned.
He said you cannot look at any one symptom in a vacuum and that many kids who are not autistic flap their hands. SO far, DD is incredibly social, points, has several words etc. SO I am hoping it does not mean anything.
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| Posted 12/17/07 9:03 PM |
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CathyB
Member since 5/05 19403 total posts
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
Andy was/is an arm flapper. It used to be a lot more, but it's getting less frequent. I think a lot of it was frustration or excitement. Now that he can express himself a little better and get the toy he wants himself I rarely notice it.
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| Posted 12/17/07 9:08 PM |
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stickydust
Now a mommy of 2!!!
Member since 4/06 3164 total posts
Name:
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
I just have to say that I am so glad you started this post - its making me feel a lot better (better than my ped's reassurance )
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| Posted 12/17/07 9:20 PM |
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lvdolphins
My Loves!
Member since 5/05 46292 total posts
Name:
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
Posted by leighla
I'm so glad to see this thread because I've been having the same fears lately.
Logan's been doing this wrist-twist arm flap thing whenever he gets excited or upset.
It's been bugging me but I haven't said anything because I felt like I was overreacting.
I feel like there's SO much in our faces about autism right now that it's causing me to overanalyze every little thing.
I think the PP is probably right and that we both have to look at the whole picture.
Same here.
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| Posted 12/17/07 10:49 PM |
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krashnburn
I am Batman!
Member since 5/05 4093 total posts
Name:
I'm Batman, I tell you!
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Re: Arm flapping/hand holding and autism ?
Posted by stickydust
I just have to say that I am so glad you started this post - its making me feel a lot better (better than my ped's reassurance )
Me too
Thanks everyone!!
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| Posted 12/18/07 10:27 AM |
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