re: hand and feet twirling

munchease247 · September 2011

Hey everyone! My little man just turned 9mo and I've noticed that lately he is constantly twirling his hands and feet. He mostly does it when he's excited or upset while in his high chair or in his stroller. I guess i"m just curious if anyone else has experienced this!?!? You read so much on autism and I know flapping is a characteristic of Autism, but would this be considered that?! TIA Smile

bumpuser260585 · September 2011

DS twirls his hands some, but I think it is pretty normal. They're just learning how hands & feet work. Does he make eye contact? That is another sign of autism I think.

munchease247 · September 2011

Yes he makes eye contact all the time!! I also feel that he has been ahead on reaching all his milestones too. I agree with you I think he is just learning how things work...I just have been noticing it more lately. THank you!!

sroszc · September 2011

Oh my gosh, DS twirls his hands all the time, almost like he's twirling and revving a motorcycle. We call it his 'jazz hands' It is too funny, he does it when he's super excited or wants to get at something badly.

He has met all milestones, makes eye contact, interacts with me constantly. I actually never even thought that autism could be a cause of that.

jenna3016 · September 2011

E does this, too.

munchease247 · September 2011

I never even considered autism....but after hearing someone talk about autism and how their son flaps I didn't know what flapping was or even what to think of the twirling! i'm glad others are experiencing this. I feel like I have a musician on my hands!

bosha711 · September 2011

oh great, after the "flapping" comment, I am now in a black hole of "early signs of autism" youtube videos Tongue Tied

let's hope all our babies are perfectly normal.

Mommytott · September 2011

Dylan has been doing this probably since around 6 months. He twists or "kneads the dough" as I call it with his hands but his legs and feet kinda get stiff. He only does it when he is excited or bored. I asked about it at his 6 month appt and his pedi said it was totally normal but I will probably bring it up again at his 9 month visit. I think its a way for them to burn energy and I wouldn't worry to much about it

Cheekers2010 · September 2011

bosha711:
oh great, after the "flapping" comment, I am now in a black hole of "early signs of autism" youtube videos

let's hope all our babies are perfectly normal.

Ack! Now you have me going. I can't watch any more of those videos. I'm already super paranoid about autism. So many of the behaviors seem so normal like spinning and flapping. I suppose that they have to be seen in combination with other things for a diagnosis?

babyfished · September 2011

"Autism," also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder, covers a ridiculously wide range of severity and characteristics (thus the "spectrum" part). Hand-flapping by itself doesn't indicate autism any more than, say, only wanting to eat the same 3 foods every day. You are the mom, and you will know if something is going on with your child. There are so many variations and signs and signals, it's not worth getting concerned over this early. Most "habits" are really just our kiddos learning about themselves. The patterns of self-stimulation that can be characteristic of autism (flapping, rocking, swaying, twiddling, etc) are only truly cause for concern if they extend far beyond the period of baby-exploring-the-world and are coupled with other social or behavioral symptoms.

I realize this comes across as sort of lecturey, and I don't mean it that way. I'm trying to be reassuring.

jmrsdve · September 2011

My LO does the same thing, but only with her feet. So often actually, that other people notice it. I never heard about that, but I'm not going to worry about something until I need to.

JesscanTri · September 2011

I'm a December mom that's pretty much a lurker these days, but wanted to chime in. DS does the exact same thing as you and the other posters describe (down to the motorcycle hands). I was freaked out too, but I think it is just a developmental thing. My LO has reached all milestones, smiles, makes eye contact, babbles, and is a social butterfly. I think it's ok. Wink

alicb · September 2011

We were showing our pedi a video of LO (for another reason) and at the beginning of the video she is twirling her hands and feet because she saw the video camera out and pointed at her. The pedi laughed and said "wow she is very excited about video cameras." So I don't think there is anything to worry about.

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