Adorable 2 Year Old Boy Displaying one of the Early Signs of Autism (Hand-Flapping)

This video was taken of my son the week he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He was a little over 2 years old. As you can see, the toddler in this video is very happy, chasing his shadow, dancing to music, and following some instructions, but he is clearly displaying stereotopy (hand flapping when happy or excited). Screening for this type of behavior is one way behavior analysts and doctors detect autism. If your child is exhibiting these types of behaviors, you may want to have him or her evaluated for autism spectrum disorder. That being said, autism or not, look at how adorable my baby was! Shortly after this video was taken, he began behavior therapy, (Applied Behavior Analysis), and began to make tremendous progress. Today, (2011), he is 6 years old, and continues to be a happy, enthusiastic and affectionate little boy who loves people. Because of ABA therapy, he says words, makes academic progress, enjoys many activities with family and has numerous self-care and coping skills. He continues to make progress and I have a lot of hope for his future.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Early signs of autism
• hand-flapping
• repetative behaviors
• stereotopy

[TheRockerMommy]

Hi. My e-mail is thethraxgoddess@yahoo.com

[TheRockerMommy]

Trouble sleeping is another symptom of autism. You may want to have your daughter evaluated. General pediatricians usually aren't well versed on early autism detection, so you may want to contact your local regional center for a comprehensive evaluation.

[TheRockerMommy]

Hi Amy Sarah: As you can see on the video, he only flapped sometimes, mostly when he was happy or excited. There are other signs for autism besides the hand flapping and repetitive hand movements. How is her language and communication? Does she imitate?

[TheRockerMommy]

Dear Roses. I'm sorry I did not respond earlier. I did not see the message. My son has always engaged in teeth grinding but it's much better. He has always (since infancy) experienced sleep problems and continues to have trouble sleeping, odd sleep patterns, etc.

[lubnaz86]

hi ...just loved the little angel...is there any possibility we can talk or chat? wanna talk abt something related autism . kindly lemme know abt ur any email...

[Carolynnnn1]

My son may have autism and he only flaps his hands when he is excited or frustrated. The sound of the microwave calms him, he tries to turn the microwave on himself just to hear/watch it. He shakes his head back and forth and spinning calms him. Your little boy is cute!

[Valene615]

I must ask what does he do when he is sleeping? I ask only because my daughter does these odd repetitive movements with her arms and hands at night and has a lot of trouble sleeping.

[amysarahh]

May I ask if he constantly flaps his hands or just sometimes? I have a 2 year old and I know she does weird things with her hands but not constantly.

[stephaniemsanford]

He's beautiful!