I am totally blown away at how blind I am! I asked a coupe months ago what hand flapping looks like and I still didnt realize my son did it!
I took my son to his OT eval. and after doing some game where he throws balls into a net the therapist laughed and said how excited he was and mentioned hand flapping. I was totally taken aback. Anywayz he does this thing usually when hes excited and jumps up and down and his hands and lower arm kind of move or shake but not in a flicking motion. I never gave a second thought about it because he was jumping little excited jumps so I figured it was pretty normal you know? But how do I make him stop? I dont want him to be teased at school or when hes older. Is there something I can do to help him do something else?
At the eval. yesterday the therapist told him he cant suck his fingers only babies do that. I felt really bad for him because he got upset and kept switching back and forth that he was a big boy but then crying and saying hes a baby because he WANTED to suck his fingers. But last night he kept putting my hand over his mouth because he didnt want to suck his fingers lol I was and still am amazed that he tried so hard! Of course that ended up making it hours till he actually fell asleep and then with his fingers still in his mouth
Is it right to try and redirect or try to stop doing things that comfort or stabalize them because they look weird? If it is what can I do for handflapping?
ETA: He starts OT on monday, is this something that they will work on there?
Yup, nuthin. I would also NOT let her sway you on other self-soothing behaviors. Because that is what they ARE. I have encountered ONE OT who was out to change "habits," and she only managed to irritate my child!
But ... T ahd a lot of "little" behviors and symptoms and signs Iwas not aware of till I read about them!
I don't think it's anything to be overly worried about. I really like the book "Raising a Sensory Smart Child." It says, ".....there's no practical reason why hand flapping must be prevented unless it interferes with participating in activities such as academics and play." (p. 193)
The book suggests providing deep pressure into the shoulders, arms and hands by doing things like wheelbarrow walking, brushing and joint compressions.
They also suggest distracting your child with a toy or activity that requires them to use their hands.
Good luck!
I agree on the "nuthin."
NT or not, we all have certain things we do as self-stims for calming when nervous or upset; play with our hair, tap fingers, find comfort in a rocking chair, etc. To me, the stims my son does are just the "Texas-sized" version of what all of us do. If that is his way to calm himself and integrate all the sensory input, then I'll let him as long as it doesn't harm himself, others, or the furniture
I've noticed that since Mr. B. has been in his developmental preschool and his outside therapies, he's substituting other, smaller actions in public for his usual stims (except for his running!) and leaving the bigger ones for when he's at home, so it's pretty apparent he's learning what others will or won't accept in that department, and that he's also safe to be completely himself at home.
[QUOTE=YepperBepper]Jeez, does this lady have kids?
[/QUOTE]
And if so ... are they mentally healthy? I envision a lot of (true) neurotic tics.
I wouldn't do anything about it either. I mean, if you didn't notice it, how noticeable is it going to be for everyone else?
The comment about only babies sucking their fingers kind of bugged me. It seemed like trying to make him feel ashamed for something he can't fully control. His needs for self-soothing and sensory-input are real, and should be respected in my opinion, even if one seeks to replace them with a more age-appropriate alternative.
[QUOTE=NorwayMom]The comment about only babies sucking their fingers kind of bugged me. It seemed like trying to make him feel ashamed for something he can't fully control. His needs for self-soothing and sensory-input are real, and should be respected in my opinion, even if one seeks to replace them with a more age-appropriate alternative.
[/QUOTE]
I missed that, but it SURE tells me a LOT about that OT. She may be good on physical aspects of her job, but ... OY. (maybe she needs some social skills training?).
Hi Hayden. We redirected....the flapping just seemed to take up so much of his time. It was a disaster. He has a new stim where he squeezes his face soooo hard that he leaves finger marks. I would never redirect again.
After rethinking this, I know now that this is his mechanism for calming...just like a hot bath or a stolen smoke is for me (I quit..lol).
I too, take issue with the finger sucking comment. I would never want my child to be embarrassed over a simple habit that is not harmful to anyone. Nose picking maybe, but sucking on fingers? Jeez, does this lady have kids?
Thanks everyone for all your input
Ive been noticing it alot more but its probably only because I now know that its there know what I mean?
I felt alittle offended when she said that but then just put it out of my mind because I figured she is an OT she knows what shes doing. I asked her about his constant questioning and she said its normal for aspbergers syndrome so she sounded like she knew what she was talking about. Also my husband tells hayden this ALL the time but of course hayden dosnt care when my hubby tell him but he got very distressed when the OT told him that. She does have a daughter, I dont know if shes onthe spectrum or not but I mentioned that Id like him to stop stimming on my elbow as much because its gotten to the point of ridiculousness (is that a word?) The OT just said Aw but my daughter loves playing with my ears. Well obviously her daughter dosnt feel the need to dig this OTs ear all over her body leaving it sore and red! But shes not going to be his actual therapist because of the assigned times I got so thats good tho!
Ive tried deep pressure massage but so far it hasnt worked for anything! I guess I sholud be more patient but Id figure its sort of a immediate response thing right if its a massage? Also I got a wilaburger brush because he is tactile with clothes, blankets, cetain touch, textures but he said it tickles and I cant really brush him. I think thats pretty strange!
I would try the weighted blanket, I actually have one that didnt really work for my son. It is really cute, handmade that i bought off ebay. Covered in Spiderman. But it would probably be pricey to ship to ya! You can check eBay, the same lady might still be making them.I would try the weighted blanket but he hates things touching his skin likes that (ex. clothes, reg. blankets). He even has time limits for snuggling even with me sometimes. Also when he stims when were trying to sleep and I cover him with a blanket he gets real upset and kicks it off or complains that were squishing him even tho were barely touching him. I literally wake up millions of times a night out of habit since he was a baby and cover him and he ALWAYS kicks them off. That why what to do to help him is usually really confusing! I really cant wait till monday the start of his OT! Im also happy hes not getting that therapist, im glad now that Ive got opinions on the thumb sucking thingy!
Hope2 the spiderman blanket sounds adorable! Maybe ill look her up just to see
When I was little my parents tried to stop me from hand flapping by grabbing my hands and forcing me to stop and telling me I looked like a freak. This as you can guess was not helpful.
I still flap now as an adult and it doesn't bother me or any of my acquaintances.
I wouldnt worry about it ....I sucked my thumb in secret till at least 4th grade.
Sometimes Sarah still watches Teletubbies...at first I was downhearted but watching how HAPPY she was seeing the biggest fattest smile on her face while she was watching themMy dad is 85 and he handf laps when excited (undiagnosed aspie) -
never stopped him from anything and he had a full and successfull life.
I never thought that my ds (8) was doing any of the movement stims. But
then I walked behind him last week and he was doing his little excited
jumps and with them he kind of would twist his upper body and head like
he always does. And it suddenly occured to me that I had seen that same
movement in a kid with asd at his school. I gues that is stim that escaped
me in plain sight. Sometimes our kids are so familiar to us that we don't
notice. Made me laugh. My opinion is that the handflapping is not a big deal unless it gets so pronounced, as with my son, that he would inadvertantly slap the face of the person next to him at school when he started flapping--not realizing someone was right next to him! I have teachers tell him "quiet hands" if it gets going too violently or fast. Sometimes he'll sit on his hands and rock--which for circle time near other children is probably preferable. Still, not a big deal.
Our OT suggested that he could chew on rubber tubes. I didn't like the idea at all. My child already looks different and now you want him chewing on a tube in class? At least sucking on fingers is something that many, many people NT and otherwise do. The tube idea is good when kids are chewing on themselves or things that will eventually wreck their teeth. However, my OT finally suggested something I thought was a great idea: CHEWING GUM. She says it is great oral input--and I remember that when I used to study in school, I often would chew gum. That is a harmless habit. Other oral things:
Have your child sip a shake through a straw
Have your child use a straw whenever possible
Have your child blow bubbles when they need to calm down--you can carry the bubble solution and wand in your purse and pull it out when you need it-
The brushing never worked for my son--in fact, it made things worse in the short-term.
I used to get really annoyed at OTs when they would come up with stuff to do that required my son doing things that either looked bizarre or required special equipment when there would be a perfectly acceptable alternative:
Instead of trampoline -- jumping rope
Instead of pushing on a wall -- push-ups on the floor
Instead of chewing tube -- chewing gum
Instead of brushing -- giving them a washrag or loofah during their bath
Instead of joint compression -- jumping jacks and monkey bars
Instead of expensive auditiory earphones -- regular earphones, listening to music
Instead of brushing -- swimming
There are so many things you can do for sensory input that kids do all the time--I just get annoyed when OTs try to make their diets so complicated...
Nowwhat
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