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 Hand flapping and stemming
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sparkymedic Junior Member  Posts: 6 |
posted 08-11-2003 01:19 AM
  
Hi all..I am new here! I have a 3 year old son who has autism and am very happy to talk to others sharing my experience with this. I knew something was wrong with my son around the age of 1..his head was much larger than children his age (found to be hydrocephalus) and he could sit and spin things for hours if you let him. Anyway, my research into autism has given me a word that even his neurologist had never heard, and I was wondering if anyone here had a child who did this. Stemming is where my son will run back and forth past something over and over, and flap his hands while he does it. He almost always does it along all fences, hedges..anything like that. He stares at one point and gets a real excited look on his face and he flaps his hands. He does it when hes bored, and when he is overwhelmed by environmental stimuli (room is too loud, too many people talking, etc). Does this sound familiar to anyone else? His teachers and therapists are aware of this behavior and tell me he just needs to be re-directed to something else to get his attention off the stemming. Besides the stemming, my son is high functioning, and is quite good with his numbers and letters..(surprize!!  )IP: Logged |
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JayLynn Senior Member Posts: 134 |
posted 08-11-2003 05:17 AM
Now that I think of it, yes my son does that too. He is 2 1/2 diagnosed with PDD. I have a huge mirror in my bedroom and he runs back and forth in front of it with his head down, sometimes he'll look over to watch himself. He also does this in front of the tv, or windows, anything that he can see his reflection in. He also runs through the house slamming into things. He doesn't hurt himself, it's just like he enjoys the impact. When he does this, I usually pick him up and give him a big bear hug. He loves it. Lately his new thing is his tongue. He plays with it, grabs it with his hand, licks his lips, licks his hands and arms. I'm need to think of a way to replace this behavior with something else. Anyone have suggestions? IP: Logged |
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sparkymedic Junior Member Posts: 6 |
posted 08-11-2003 12:39 PM
Yeah, that sounds familiar..he likes mirrors too. He also sometimes stems so much he runs into walls and doors, but never on purpose. He's just so busy stemming he doesnt see where hes going! Its funny you mention your sons tongue..my son can flip his tongue upside down, yet neither me or his father can do that. I always understood tongue curling/flipping to be an inherited trait..hmm...so many questions, not enough answers! IP: Logged |
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Mom2all3 Newbie Posts: 5 |
posted 08-29-2003 09:46 PM
Wow, my son did the the same stims! He would walk back and forth along fences, verticle objects, counter edges while looking out the corner of his eyes. He would do this at family gatherings or when he was sleepy. When excited he used to jump up and down and shake one hand up and down really fast. Now he is 8 and he shakes both hands up and down when excited. The back and forth walking ended at about age 4 1/2 yrs old. My has suspected Aspergers IP: Logged |
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cymomtx Member Posts: 50 |
posted 09-01-2003 10:32 AM
I had never heard of the word until school started. Now my daughters sp ed teacher has commented about her stemming. Which to my understanding is a tactile motion that she uses to calm herself. IP: Logged |
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sunnie227 Newbie Posts: 4 |
posted 09-01-2003 10:59 PM
My son is almost 2 and was just diagnosed with autisim last week....he does the very same thing! Before i started realizing something was wrong i would laugh at some of the things that he would do cause it would seem as if he was gonna be the class clown type! I still see him as being a very funny child and for him being autistic...he is very loveable i feel as if maybe they have misdiagnosed him but i guess everyone feels the same. jennifer IP: Logged |
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parrishnc Junior Member Posts: 16 |
posted 09-03-2003 02:31 PM
Oh, I feel right at home!! My son was diagnosed with mild autism in Novenber of 2002. He just turned 3, and is in Pre-K. He's enjoying it immensely, but the teacher won't give him an inch! I like that, though. I had a feeling something was wrong when he was about 18 months old. He wasn't saying any meaningful words, just babbling all the time. He didn't recognize the family faces of mom, dad, or his sister. He's very echolalic. Right now, his stimming is running. From what I've read, a lot of his stimming behaviors are because he wants to feel something. He hates crowds, certain noises, sunlight, and getting his hair washed and rinsed. He can handle me brushing his hair, though. We know he has sensory integration issues, so we take our son to an occupational therapist. We're looking at switching hime over though, due to him not liking her and she's not "into the therapy" enough for him to be getting any benefit. We calm our son down by taking him to a quiet room, setting him down on the floor with one or two toys he likes, then we sit ont he floor next to him and wait until he calms down. Usually he'll climb up on our laps and snuggle for a few minutes and we'll play together if he wants to. Thanks for putting your posts here. I plan on using this board frequently. Sincerely, IP: Logged |
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jaspersmom Junior Member Posts: 6 |
posted 09-03-2003 08:05 PM
OMG, my 12 yr old son does this also,lol..he has for a long time actualy. his pt says he does it due to sensory issues wich he has several. its the impect she said, that he needs to relieve his stress after being in stressfull or over stimulative situations..he also throws his self down on the floor over and over again till he gets it out of him,we were afraid he would hurt himself doing this so we try to limit him or re direct it but he will sometimes disagree strongly if we try and stop him from doing it, he hasnt hurt himself yet (thank goodness)He is diagnosed "ASPERGERS" ------------------ IP: Logged |
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parrishnc Junior Member Posts: 16 |
posted 09-04-2003 02:35 PM
You know, I'm wondering if my son or other kids can be re-dorected to hit a soft object, like a blow-up punching bag, or even one that hangs from the ceiling. Man, the way a mind works. I'll have to talk with my son's OT to see if that will help. Maybe if there's an area or a place he can go to "vent", it might be better and easier for him, and for us as well. It hurts to watch him do this. I'm re-directing his behavior, and "knock on wood", he hasn't bit himself today yet. Good luck with what you try! Sincerely, IP: Logged |
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sunnie227 Newbie Posts: 4 |
posted 09-05-2003 11:20 AM
this question is to everyone....my son was just diagnosed with autism 2 weeks ago! i acepted it right away but now i feel as if they have misdiagnosed him....is this normal? did any of yall feel this way? IP: Logged |
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parrishnc Junior Member Posts: 16 |
posted 09-05-2003 07:47 PM
I sure did. At first, when he started to "get better", I thought he'd be alright. But then his behaviors and his self-stimulation would appear and I'd see the autistic side of him all over again. What I do now is take life one day at a time. One of my favorite quotes is "Challenges are meant to rouse, not discourage." I can't remember who said that, but it's stuck with me for a long time. There's going to be good days and bad days. When there's something in my way, I find a solution, then I try it. It's a hit and miss kind of thing, and yes, I get down on myself sometimes. But I think those thoughts through and I come out on the other side feeling much better. I didn't cause it, I can't sure it, but I can be the best mom and advocate I can be for my 3 yr old autistic son. And yes, I am good enough. My thoughts are with you. Take good care of you. Sincerely, IP: Logged |
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parrishnc Junior Member Posts: 16 |
posted 09-05-2003 07:48 PM
I sure did. At first, when he started to "get better", I thought he'd be alright. But then his behaviors and his self-stimulation would appear and I'd see the autistic side of him all over again. What I do now is take life one day at a time. One of my favorite quotes is "Challenges are meant to rouse, not discourage." I can't remember who said that, but it's stuck with me for a long time. There's going to be good days and bad days. When there's something in my way, I find a solution, then I try it. It's a hit and miss kind of thing, and yes, I get down on myself sometimes. But I think those thoughts through and I come out on the other side feeling much better. I didn't cause it, I can't sure it, but I can be the best mom and advocate I can be for my 3 yr old autistic son. And yes, I am good enough. My thoughts are with you. Take good care of you. Sincerely, IP: Logged |
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MJK98 Member Posts: 65 |
posted 09-17-2003 10:23 AM
My nephew is a faternal twin and is 3 years and 6 months to this day my sister in law has had him everywhere we did an early early intervention and the improvement we have seen has been fantastic....He has excellent motor skills and he doesnt have any sensory issues we took him to a specialist in nyc and they have ruled out autism , he is labeled right now PDD and that enables him to get speech,occupational, his problem is that he can not initiate conversation like if you ask him what he did today he cant tell you my sister law found this hard love type of therapist she is basically one of a kind in new jersey its private so it costs alot but what she is doing with him now is forcing him to speak and at first we were concerned that it may be too hard on him but the results have been terrific....he also potty trained himself a month ago just in time for school and he never misses which is ironic his brother on the other hand who potty trained at 3 has accidents his brother also is very very verbal and the agressive twin and D is the passive so i think thats his personality anyway my sister in law and brother not once ever stopped and the fact that they started with him so young is i think part of teh reason he is doing so well dont give up hope and use all the resources the state provides its worth it IP: Logged |
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abbylou Newbie Posts: 2 |
posted 09-21-2003 07:03 AM
hi my son sounds just like that age 4 why dont you join my support group. contact me at amanda@kinverwoodus.fsnet.co.uk for a formal invite
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House of the Autism Newbie Posts: 1 |
posted 09-22-2003 07:09 AM
My 12 year old HF beats his chest, sometimes so hard that he leaves handprints. My 5 yr old is also autistic, he hand flaps, but mirrors, he kisses his reflection IP: Logged |
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llama256 Newbie Posts: 1 |
posted 09-23-2003 02:26 PM
Did it ever occur to anyone that this "Stimming" isn't really abnormal behavior? I have a son, who is nearly 3 and is late talking, he was diagnosed as autistic before, but I don't agree. Autism is a disease which prevents sensory integration and manifests itself by a lack of social interaction. My son is affectionate, and playful and loves to see other children. He has a good vocabulary for his age, but just doesn't know how to express himself yet. He recently started hand flapping and echolalia, but I say, so what. I even have film of myself doing the same actions when I was 5. I'm not abnormal in any way, and I don't think it's fair for people to try to pigeonhole my son into some poorly researched diagnosis. Maybe we are a little too anxious to accept the word of the so-called experts when they tell us our kids are disabled. IP: Logged |
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