AS and Hand flapping: please clarify
A quick question for you guys with kids out of toddlerhood:
If your LO is doing some handflapping, when did it start? How do you react to it?
DS (19 mo) has never waved (like how babies wave to say hi/bye). So finally now this is emerging: at first situation-appropriately (for bye-bye), and slowly it is happening more often: when he is happy, when he is frustrated, when he sees an airplane, etc... It is kind of a full-arm wave, not a little wrist wave.
I have a hard time figuring out what to do: should I praise this? Should I try to ignore or stop this? He seems to think that I like it it when he waves (which I do when it is an appropriate behavior). And I want to make sure I do not set him up for an appropriate behavior with this waving thing. Also, since he is non-verbal, waving for an airplane is pretty clear, and is kind of his way of reaching out to interact.
Thank you for your advice!
Re: AS and Hand flapping: please clarify
DS has handflapped since, well, I cannot even remember when it started, so it had to be at a very young age. At first it was cute and age appropriate. We went back and forth for a while on whether or not to stop it. The advice is mixed out there. Now he is almost 4, and it is not so cute anymore. He does it not only when he is excited, but when he communicates with his peers and it is very distracting and socially it will affect him. So, we decided to work on redirecting the behavior.
Since he is non-verbal, I don't know what the best advice would be. Maybe talk to your dev ped about it. Maybe auntie would have some good advice?
When my son does what is akin to 'hand flapping' it is not directed towards anything. There is nothing to 'wave' AT. No planes, or people or anything. It's more of just a movement that he isn't in full control over. If that makes sense.
If he's actually waving, just not quite all that appropriate looking and it's not 'hand flapping' (two different things), I would model for him. We've done this forever and now that DD waves appropriately we've got a perfect little model as well (since adults don't really wave the same as kids). DS started waving (prompted) and it was very matter of fact, one wave and done. Now, he goes a little over board, but that is his pattern for learning new things that don't come natural to him.
My son slowly started in the first year of life. It seemed appropriate then - a lot of babies do it. In the second year of life - I noticed it being odd at about 20-22 months (can't remember exactly). By the time he was 2-2.5 it was very obvious and not at all natural.
Our dev. pedi suggested to just tell him to stop it. She was very blunt about it - it was a little surprising to me, but it worked for him. She went:"B, stop flapping your arms!" And he put them behind his back. He was very aware. We had to keep reminding him for a while, but then it diminished. I notice he starts flapping again if we have a slip-up in the diet. My son was verbal at that time already at 2.5 y/o and his receptive language was ok as well, so with your baby you may have to just gently redirect his attention and put his arms down for him. I remember my OT had suggested that when we were going through it. As you're redirecting, just put his hands down for him, just as a matter-of-factly.