Hello,

My 2 year old son who's biggest red flag so far has been language delay and a little bit of atypical eye contact has started flapping quite a bit when he's excited. It's only for a couple of seconds and he's easily redirected.

Is this ever a behavior seen in a NT toddler when they are excited?? Thanks.

John

Hey John...just wanted to reply as best I can to your question. While I do not have a child with autism, I am a teacher, and have had a great deal of interaction with preschoolers and grade-schoolers with autism. Along with that has come many classes on child development (not that I know more than anyone else, just want to give my 2 cents). :) I would have to say that the flapping you describe can be displayed (and often is) in a normal toddler, at times when he/she gets excited. Just my opinion here, but for what it's worth, my little boy (who is now 3) had delayed speech, and a couple of other signs that worried me a little. Now that he's 3, though, and is so much more aware of his surroundings, I no longer worry. So, I said all that to say, your little one may turn the corner at 3, or your suspicions may be confirmed. It's pretty common for little ones at that age to have pronunciation problems or to display quirky actions that go away as fast as they came like stuttering, repetitive behavior, or even tics (habits) , and if you're like me, any little action will be picked apart when you're suspecting autism. I think you're doing all the right things, as early intervention is key, if it's only a speech problem, or if it's something along the spectrum of autism.

You're a wonderful dad! I'll be praying for your little one. Please keep us informed.

What is NT?

If your child is gaining skills and Not Losing Them or back tracking with skills, I would not suspect austism. And not all two year olds can talk, by the way. Hand flapping can come and go with stress level.

Even being excited is a form of stress for the brain, so don't worry. In the absence of non-verbal, non-loving, non-playing, non-communicative behavior, hand flapping is benign and will lessen and go away.

Get this--my gs talked very well by age two but didn't start walking without holding onto something, til a week before his 2nd bday. Wierd, huh?

We were beside ourselves but his brain was working on the talking and listening skills and the walking took a backseat. Now that doesn't happen very often because the physical milestones usually come first.

He was sick in the hospital with RSV for 3 weeks at 2 months and his pedia told us when he was 9 months old and delayed, that the brain development would be "out of order" but eventually all milestones would be reached.

You see, the brain has its own agenda and time table, you can't always understand the order of things.
Especially if a child is premature or was sick at an early age.

So do not worry about the talking right now. It will come. And then you won't believe how loud they can get.

As for hand flapping, all people do quirky things to calm the brain, like finger snapping, tapping foot or pencil, etc. So don't assume the worst.

I think NT is Neurologically Typical.

thanks painaway. It must be typical cuz my brother did from about 5 - 10 and then stopped. He is now a successful doctor making 750,000 a year. Whatever causes the hand flapping it certainly did not prevent him from being a success.

The speech therapists who work at my son's school- as well as teach the HANEN programs there- have said that hand flapping is not necessarily a "red flag" for Autism. Lots of children display this behavior when they're excited.