Hand Gestures of 11.5 Month Old

Hey JS, My six year old starting doing the samething about a year ago. He looks like a little mouse with his hands. He does patterns, open/close and toching his hips and chest. He does this especially if he is playing sports. We thought it was a complulsive disorder. We were told it just a nervous habit, that he will outgrow. We will see. Hope this helps. K.

My darling daughter, who is now 13, for years rapidly wiggled her fingers in front of her eyes whenever extremely overjoyed or excited. We miss it now that's she's older and does not do it anymore...she's a very expressive child who feels joy and sadness deeply and we just saw it as her way of physically expressing what she could not put into words when she was younger. I would not be too worried if you're child is engaging you with their eye contact and speech.

My older daughter used to do that all the time when she was excited. She's 16 now and perfectly normal. Well, as normal as a teenager can be.

Sometimes I wonder if we have too much information at our disposal... I know I worry way more than I should and I know it's because I've seen something on Dateline or I read it on the web.
That being said, my son is now 12 years old. He always had his own little quirks, he was VERY active, sometimes a little hyper, didn't sit still too well and even my ex's new wife (who has two autistic children herself) tried to start labeling our son as ADHD or other things. She was constantly telling him he was "stimming". Because she was persistent and she pushed a custody case (now over and he's still with us) we did have him screened when he was 9 years old just to put the subject to rest. The psychologist stated he is a normal child with nothing wrong with him. (His teachers had already said this but now it's official- he's just fine!)
In fact, he is just highly intelligent. He's in 6th grade, accelerated GT program and straight As. He's in music and he has a small group of close friends. He's social and happy with who he is. He's not necessarily athletic but he's ok with that.

My daughter is 17 months old, talking in sentences, walking, hitting all her milestones etc. Everything you've said about your baby. She also does the opening and closing of her hands when she's excited though or wants to be picked up. She also dances whenever she hears music (actually shakes her head to the music if she's laying down when it comes on)

I'm pretty sure (but I'm not a doctor) that you have a completely normal child. :)

I'd also recommend, as a mother of a boy, you look up the following books. A lot of boy's behaviors fits some "ailment" these days but in all actuality most of boy's behavior is completely normal and in contrast, restricting it actually hurts male developement, not helps.

'The War Against Boys' by Christina Hoff Sommers- You can read the first chapter here http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/sommers-war.html

'Raising Confident Boys: 100 Tips for Parents and Teachers' by Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer This link is long but you can access the reviews and part of the first chapter here.
http://books.google.com/books?id=MhvK3ZZO3W4C&dq=rais...

Hi,I am a mother of 11 month triplets, two girls and a boy. My son when he gets upset or very excited flaps his arms up and down very fast. Almost like he wants to fly.I too was concerned. But I am waiting to see if things change in a month or two. The girls don't do this or the opening and closing of the hands either.

He sounds a lot like my just turned 1 year old grandson. My grandson is also developing normally, very happy and outgoing, but does wave his hands and open and close them when he is excited. Your baby sounds normal to me. I'll bet he is adorable. He sounds like he has a great personality.

My son at that age was useing several signs we had taught him, for baba, juice, play, outside, dog. Children want to communicate and don't have the words, try teaching him some signs sounds like he is trying to tell you something. When he is excited try clapping at him and saying YAY! and if he is upset try giving him a sign for that. The library in our town has the baby sigining time videos you could watch with him or do what we did and just make up a few things that make sense to you and your family. Use the sign several times a day and he'll pick it up fast. I have used signs with both my boys and they are a life saver! Good luck! I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Hi,

You are going to find that there is such a wide range of "normal" in your child's development. There is so much information about various diseases and conditions that can affect us that we worry that anything that looks remotely different may be a red flag for something. In some ways this is good in that many things that can afflict our children can be caught early and hopefully the affects can be lessened. On the other hand, it can make for a lot of needless worrying. You probably have your son's one-year appointment coming up. This would be a very good time to discuss any concerns you may have.

Until he was close to a year, my now almost 2 year old would open and close his hand while rotating his fist. The speed with which he did this would depend on how excited he was. He would also rotate one of ankles while doing it. I asked his dr. about it and she wasn't concerned. And this is with a child who has a very unually large head and who hit his major milestones on the late end of normal. (didn't crawl on hands and knees until his first birthday and didn't walk until 19 months. But he is very communicative (although still with only a few understandable words), affectionate and secure with himself. (He also has a father, brother and sister with large heads) What I am trying to say, is that like others have said, you have to take the entire child in to account, not just one symptom. Because of my son's large head, his dr. really wanted to do a CT scan on him. When I persisted in declining, she explained that she had another patient who had had a similar head growth pattern who died of a brain tumor. When I asked if he had any other similar symptoms she told me that he did not. So I stopped (mostly) worrying about it. He seems to be developing very normally in every way. I hope I am not rambling. What I wrote really doesn't address autism, but I intended to show you how you'll just need to take your child's development as a whole into consideration. Ask your dr. and try not to worry. :-)

L.

Hi JS -

What I believe you are refering to is your sons fine motor devlopment (vs. his gross motor). If your son does not exhibit all of the other critera for Autism, I would not harp on that one feature. Kids develop differently in this way. If he is still exhibiting the hand flapping at 1 1/2, take his to his pediatrician.

A.

Hi - I am by no means an expert on autism but as a Kindermusik teacher I see about 100 babies under 18 months every week and what your baby doing sounds completely normal to me. I think you'd need to be concerned if your baby wasn't responding when excited or upset. Hope that helps :)

Hello JS,

I am Certified Teacher for Children with Autism. Your son is exactly on track. At 11 months it is more that developmentally accurate to flap hands when excited or nervous. He is still in the experiential stage for expressing extreme emotions. Take a deep breath, turn off the news, and enjoy these months. They go by WAY too fast!!

Hi there, I am the proud mother of as of yesterday a 1 year old boy and I was worried like you regarding the autism, I did ask my pediatrician and they said it's normal, it's like they have so much energy and don't know what to do with it so that's sort of a way of releasing it. My boy is the same as yours, hitting the proper milestones, friendly , loving etc. all the same! My boy still does it-especially at meal time, but not as much since he is more animated and vocal. It went on for a few months which is why I was so nervous, he just started early. If you are still worried, there is testing they can do and a good website I found when researching it was called: autismspeaks. My advice to you though is to just chill and give him a little time, I trust that he is fine, afterall how would you feel when you want to really get your point across and you don't know how? I'd flail around and be excited too if I was happy! Just relax and don't worry so much, this is my first baby too. Feel free to KIT if you want to! Good luck! :)

My child did this all the way through. He is 18 months old and has also hit all his milestones. We just went in for his appointment and the doctor said everything is fine. He speaks a lot, hugs, kisses and does everything else a normal 18 mth old would do. I would not worry about it unless you see other symptoms. It is totally normal.

My eight month old son does the same thing. I think that it is just a normal part of development. My son is also reaching all of his milestones on time if not early.
H. B.

My daughter is now almost six and since the time she was learning bodily control she has opened her mouth wide and shaken when she gets excited. She is perfectly normal and above average academically and socially adjusted. I just think they don't realize self control and awareness of what others around them are seeing or how they will percieve their behaviors. They are still learning. If your child is engaging with everyone around him, smiling etc. I would say you have no reason to suspect autism. I just smile when I see my daughter's behavior because I know she's being excited by the world around her. Once she has a grasp for how other's respond to her funny looking motor behaviors they will stop. I'm sure your sons will too. If you can't shake the concern you could always pose your question on Web MD or askdrsears.com or with your child's pediatrician.

Hello JS~ There is a disease which is affected by the striatum cells in the brain dying and as a result, the thalamus, which causes movement to happen, can cause more movement to happen and could manifest as sudden, involuntary movements. The name is Huntington's disease. It's genetic and is caused from a missing protein in the brain. It may be something you might want to explore as an alternative to autism. Sincerely, M.

He sounds darling to me. I wish doctors would stop filling you young mothers heads with a bunch of parinod stuff. I always thought it was cute and funny when they did that. It is just an expression of joy or excitment for them. Nothing else. Enjoy your baby and quit stressing over every litle thing.
Like my mom said to me you don't see many kids in kindergarten that can't talk or walk or eat. You doing a fine job.

N.
mother of 3
grandmother of 2

Sounds absolutely normal and wonderful.

Keep up the good work!

Hi there :) I have an 11 month old boy as well....loves spinning things, fans, etc...all the paranoid things you read about autism :) My DS does the same thing with his fists, I wouldn't be worried. Could he also be practicing "bye bye"? It's always good to be on the lookout for signs (an indication you're a good mom), but if he's babbling and engages with you via eye contact and doesn't fit any of the other indicators, try to relax (I know it's hard!) Hang in there :)

I am the mother of a 5 year-old autistic child. I think you should follow up if you have concerns, if only to ease your mind. Also, the sooner a child is diagnosed, the more they can learn. You might start by checking out the resources on the Autism Speaks web site (www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/learnsigns.php). One really important thing to know is you can't make the diagnosis yourself. It's possible to look at the video and think your child is autistic, when they're not and visa versa. So if you still have concerns, get a screening by a professional. (Don't just rely on your pediatrician, however. Ours missed our son's autism, just calling it a speech delay.) In San Deigo County, you can go to First 5 through Children's Hospital for a free screening. Lastly, I might suggest looking to see if your child points and starts talking. My son didn't do these things at a year old and that's when I became concerned. I had a hard time convincing my pediatrician and it took a while to get through the bureaucracy of gettng the diagnosis and treatment. I wish I had started earlier (I really pushed things around 20 months). If you educate yourself and your child isn't autistic, you'll be able to understand and help the wonderful autistic kids and adults who live in your community. If you educate yourself and your child is autistic, you'll be giving them a great start in life.

No need to worry. My son is almost 3 and did the same thing when he was a baby. (only when he was really excited) He is now a very social, well adjusted little boy. Your little boy will outgrow it too.

It's WAY too early to see signs of autism, and hand clenching is not a sign of autism. Signs usually start showing up between the ages of 2 or 3. If your baby starts LOSING skills, won't make or keep eye contact or seems unusually stressed by normal stimuli, THEN think about getting him tested. But remember that almost all 'mental' disabilities do not show up until at least age 2. Only physical 'anomalies' show up earlier.

Hi J S,

My son (who is now 11) used to do similar hand gestures when he was a baby, especially when he was excited, happy, or watching something with interest (say from his bouncer or highchair). I too was a bit worried that I didn't see other babies with the same behavior, but he did hit all of the other milestones and his pediatrician did not seem concerned. GREAT NEWS, he is now a handsome 6th-grader who plays baseball, has lots of friends, gets straight A's and has a wild sense of humor. If your beautiful baby is meeting all of the other milestones, I would not worry about a little extra hand movement. I would mention your concerns to his pediatrician at your next regular visit, but chances are, it's nothing to worry about. As he hones his fine motor skills and his hands become occupied with picking up, sorting, turning pages, and the like, the behavior will likely disappear.

C K

At this point I don't think you have anything to worry about. My 12 month old does this and he flaps his arms when he gets excited. As long as he meets all of his other milestones, I don't think there is anything to worry about. Two of my friends have children with Autism. You can see more of it in one. They have hardly no eye contact whatsoever. I think at your sons age he is just trying to communicate. However if you are extremely concerned, don't be afraid to talk to your pediatrician.

Do you have any reason to believe your baby has autism? I have a neighbor that was told by her doctor that her 4 year old got Autism from the shot pertussa I'm not sure on the spelling. I have a sister that did that when she got excited. She was hyper and a fun person to be around. Good luck. MR

Look at autismspeaks.org. My lo flapped hands when excited.. but it was normal I think

hi
i just wanted to let you know that my soon does something similar. he has been doing it for some time now- he is 3yrs. old. my close friend who is a pediatric physical therapist said they are "pleasure bursts." basically, he does this when he is excited (or has to pee).
i hope this helps.
t

Don't give autism or Huntington's another thought. Your son sounds delightfully normal. Mother of four here,grandma of one, and I used to do daycare in my home. The hand thing is absolutely nothing to worry about. Your sweet little guy is perfectly normal, just releasing extra energy and showing his excitement or distress. And if he is still doing it at 1 1/2, or 2, or 2 1/2, he is still normal. Save your paranoia and stress for the teen years and enjoy your wonderful son. :0) Mine are now 27, 22, 21, and 8. Thank goodness autism was not the disease du jour back when my older ones were small! It was SIDS back then, and I lost so much sleep checking on my perfectly normal babies all night long. There is nothing wrong with being a diligent, informed mother, but we, as mom's, have enough worries without being subjected to media overkill, whether it is regarding autism, SIDS, the bird flu, etc... Almost makes one long for "the olden days".

Hi JS,

Your baby sounds absolutely lovely and normal! I have worked with many babies and toddlers, some of whom are in the autism spectrum. There is so much info out there that really scares parents when actually it is supposed to help parents identify things early.

As for the hand flapping, his little body is still adjusting to the world and he is learning how to use his body, as well as express himself emotionally. Hand-flapping looks much different than what you describe AND it is only one symptom out which one of the most telling is the lack of social engagement and reciprocity. The link below is fo National Institutes of Mental Health but there are others that can be helpful.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-dis...

My daughter is 6 now and I was paranoid about all sorts of things when she was at your son's. I would often talk to her pediatrician (they are great sources of info on this stuff) or go the web to look at what is normal at different ages of development. Your baby sounds like he is right on track.

Good luck and have fun with your babe!

A little about me: Single mom of 6 year old girl and working with lots of kids and families.

My daughter did this when she was in the high chair and excited to eat. I can't remember how old she was but certainly sitting up and eating baby food in the high chair. It seemed like she was excited to eat. Today she is a healthy, intelligent 9 year old and we laugh about it today when we tell her whay she used to do.

Just wanted to let you know that my little guys did a lot of that "excitement" movement with their hands as well. They are four now and don't get as "excited" with new things where they are incapacitated! LOL. I have also had other g/fs with babies who did the same thing.

I definitely wouldn't be worried about your guy being on the autism spectrum because of the opening and closing of his hands. He will probably grow out of that habit and into something else!

My little guys now are chewing on the sleeves of their shirts (I am constantly looking for short-sleeves in the winter time) - and I was worried but have been reassured by others that this too shall pass! Good luck with your little guy!

JS,

My son did the same thing. We were concerned too, but my son is very normal, just as I'm sure is your son.

Enjoy him. It goes fast!

M.