Hand Flapping - Autism Spectrum Message Board

ruby41 · 05-30-2007, 06:10 PM

Hi, my son has always been interested in his hands. As a small baby he would spend hours watching his fingers at the age of about 7 months he starting clicking his fingers very loud. Now he is 7 years old and has started flapping his hands. I don't really know why he is doing it I know alot of autistic kids flap their hands but does anyone know why? I don't know how to stop him a couple of days ago he was on a swing going quite high and let go to flap and fell out his swing. Anyone else going through similar experiences?

bbnelson · 05-30-2007, 06:18 PM

hello my son is going to be 7 years old and as far as I can remember he too, has always flapped his hands. He just started to use the swing just a couple of months ago, but he holds on. I'm sure he will get the hang of it soon and learn to hold on when he start to swing.

bbnelson · 05-30-2007, 06:21 PM

My sons teacher also said, the flapping my come from a comfort zone. for example Just like me always moving my legs when I sit. Just remember every child is different.

meechieny · 05-30-2007, 06:33 PM

Hand flapping is a stimulating behavior. They call it a "stim" for short. A lot of the kids on the spectrum have a "stim" and hand-flapping is a quite common one. It can be a form of comfort as "bbnelson" stated.
Common forms of stimming among people with autism include hand flapping, body spinning or rocking, lining up or spinning toys or other objects, echolalia, perseveration, and repeating rote phrases.
There are many theories about the function of stimming, and the reasons for its increased incidence in autistic people. For hyposensitive people, it may provide needed nervous system arousal, releasing beta-endorphins. For hypersensitive people, it may provide a "norming" effect, allowing the person to control a specific part of their sensorium, and is thus a soothing behavior

Hope this is helpful.

LoriBell · 05-31-2007, 04:34 PM

This is VERY common in the ASD population. The best therapy we have found is to use ankle weights around the wrists. Depending on the size of your child get those Velcro weights, (start with the smallest weight) and put them around his wrists at home for a few hours a day. It really helps. Increase the time & weight until you find that sweet spot. It also helps a lot with muscle tone many ASD kids lack. A friends child asks for them.