Hand Flapping in Kids with Autism

Hand flapping is a common self-stimulatory behavior for kids with autism. Today, I’m talking all about hand flapping and giving you insight on what to do about it. Hi, I’m Dr. Mary Barbera, autism mom, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and bestselling author. Each week I provide you with some of my ideas about turning autism around, so I’m glad that you are here. Stimming Not Just in Autism Have you ever been in a lecture where the material is way too easy or completely over your head? Or have you been bored waiting in line at the grocery store? In these situations, you might doodle, play with your hair, or scroll through your Facebook feed. These behaviors are the equivalent of a child with autism—or a toddler with signs of autism—engaging in self-stimulatory behavior, otherwise known as stimming. You see, we all stim. In fact, many of our solitary leisure activities, such as shooting a basketball, playing a violin, or watching reality TV, are actually forms of stimming. These behaviors keep our neurons firing when we’re not engaged with others or working on a task that requires concentration. Since children with autism often have poor language, social, and leisure skills, some engage in self-stimulatory behavior for hours each day. Unfortunately, these behaviors can become very disruptive across settings and significantly impact a child’s ability to learn new skills. Is Hand Flapping a Sign of Autism? Hand flapping is one of the more common self-stimulatory behaviors. It can involve flapping hands at the sides, in front of the face, or even waving objects like pens in front of the eyes. Hand flapping can be a sign of autism and is considered a repetitive movement. If your child is stimming and hand flapping for long periods of time, it almost always interferes with learning and socialization. My son Lucas, for example, engaged in stimming when he was young. His stim was often watching TV or later, playing on his iPad. When excited, he sometimes hand flapped, often paired with vocal stims. This not only affected his learning but was also disruptive in quiet environments like church. I’ve also worked with clients who flapped objects. One waved straws in front of his face, while another flapped pencils or even toy spatulas. In fact, in preschool we had to hide the spatula because one little girl would rush in every day and start flapping it immediately. Some high-functioning autistic adults believe stimming shouldn’t be considered a problem behavior, and that we shouldn’t try to reduce it. But for children who aren’t developing language, social, or leisure skills, and who instead rely heavily on stimming, I believe we have an ethical responsibility to help them learn new skills while reducing the stim behaviors that interfere with progress. Reducing Hand Flapping So, how do we reduce stimming behaviors like hand flapping? First, we need to assess, take data, and plan meaningful learning activities to replace or reduce the stimming. I am not a believer in telling kids things like “hands down” or “hands quiet.” Instead, I prefer to engage children with appropriate activities and give them something to do with their hands, rather than simply demanding they stop. The overall key to reducing stimming is to teach needed language, learning, self-care, and leisure activities. As these skills increase, children become more engaged, independent, and happier—leaving less time and need for stimming. While hand flapping is not dangerous, it can interfere with learning and socialization for kids with autism. If you have a child or client who is exhibiting this behavior and you want to know how to help, you can download my free guide: “6 Steps to Reduce Stimming” at marybarbera.com/stimming . If you liked this video, I’d love it if you’d give me a thumbs up, leave a comment, and share it with someone else who might benefit. I’ll see you right here next week.