Is Normal a Bit of Flap Hands for Baby

Every bit a parent, yous have an Hawkeye middle for whatsoever new behavior that your kid starts doing. If that behavior is hand flapping, you've come up to the right identify.

Hand flapping is a form of stimming that kids practice to calm down, self-soothe, or regulate their bodies. Information technology'south common when kids are excited, nervous, anxious, or having any other type of high emotion state. It tin also get a habit.

Let's dig in to what hand flapping is.

As we move forward, please proceed in heed that this is general data. This is not advice or and is not specific to your own child. If y'all have any concerns or questions about your kid'southward unique state of affairs, please reach out to their pediatrician or occupational therapist.

What is hand flapping, exactly?

Hand flapping is a way to cocky soothe and regulate the body. Have you ever been nervous and realized that your leg was bouncing up and down uncontrollably? Well, y'all've experience cocky-soothing without even realizing it.

This self-soothing is likewise known as stimming, or cocky-stimulation. While it'due south often associated with autism, all of us engage in stimming most every mean solar day. Our bodies need it. It'southward just that some bodies need it more than others.

Here are some examples:

• Rocking
• Nail biting
• Fidgeting
• Spinning
• Thumb sucking
• Pacing
• You guessed it--paw flapping

The matter well-nigh manus flapping and other stimming behaviors is that they don't always happen at the same time for the aforementioned reason. It actually depends on the kiddo and the state of affairs.

Let's talk about a few different emotions and why manus flapping may testify upward when someone is feeling that way.

Excitement and Paw Flapping

Have you ever seen someone get then excited that they tin't help simply throw their arms upwardly and scream? Mayhap you've been that person!

Now, I'm not but talking about planned excitement, similar hugging someone or doing the wave or something. I'm talking about excitement that feels uncontrollable. One second, you lot're sitting quietly and the side by side moment someone throws a puppy in your lap or your long lost best friend walks through the door and you get overwhelmed with excitement. Without fifty-fifty realizing information technology, yous're waving your hands, jumping around, and throwing an exuberant fit.

Aside from how fun these reactions are, our bodies actually need this tom foolery in society to stay regulated. To best explain, allow's plow to Pixar.

In Monster's Inc, screams are collected every bit free energy. The more screams each monster can collect, the more full their canister gets. In the prequel, Monster'due south University, ane of the canisters becomes so full that information technology explodes. That scream energy has to become somewhere, correct?

When nosotros get excited, our sensory systems become overwhelmed. "What do we exercise with all of this extra input and excitement?" they enquire.

Basically, the scream canisters of our sensory systems are bubbles over and the excitement needs to be allow out however in any fashion possible.

Mitt flapping and arm flapping is a mode to let the excitement out.

Excitement is a very common reason for kids to stim. In fact, a study on repetitive hand and arm movements found that 70% were triggered by excitement.

Anxiety and Mitt Flapping

Retrieve that mitt flapping is a self-soothing beliefs? Well, hither'south where the literal soothing comes in.

You may notice that manus flapping increases when your child is nervous, anxious, or uncomfortable. Hand flapping makes them feel better.

If you lot've always been nervous before a doctor's date and noticed your legs jumping up and down, you know what I mean. Information technology'south physically uncomfortable to stop your legs from bouncing all over the identify.

In the same way that your body needs to release excitement when it gets worked upward, it besides needs to release tension when it'southward anxious.

In the spirit of everyone's favorite ear worm, hand flapping is a fashion to "allow it get."

Habits and Hand Flapping

At this point, you may be thinking, "this is swell, only my kid hand flaps ALL THE TIME! Non simply when they're excited or anxious." At that place's a reason for that.

We all like things that feel skilful and our kids are no different. Self-soothing behaviors feel adept.

Your kid may not exist especially excited or anxious in any given moment, but only likes the feeling of stimming and has made a habit of information technology.

One of the most important things to note is that, while stimming may be involuntary, 98% of people in the study mentioned higher up were able to stop on cue.

Mitt Flapping and Sensory Integration

As we go through our days, we constantly take in sensory information, send information technology to our brain, and then spit out a response. We hear our favorite vocal and get-go borer our anxiety; we feel a tap on our shoulder and turn effectually; we odour some chocolate scrap cookies and walk towards the kitchen.

If nosotros don't struggle with sensory issues, our bodies are generally swell at taking in sensory information and processing it in a productive fashion. We by and large don't even notice it, every bit it is such a fundamental office of life.

That said, there are times when our brains just tin can't handle the amount of sensory information we're throwing their way.

We get overwhelmed in a noisy shopping mall and walk outside; we hear a loud noise and encompass our ears; nosotros go exciting news and start jumping around like fools. Our scream canisters boil over and our sensory systems struggle to handle it.

Cocky-soothing behaviors are technically soothing our sensory systems. Our sensory system says, "Ah, I have too much input and I demand to get rid of it somehow!" Hand flapping and other stimming behaviors are the sensory arrangement's way to re-regulate.

Think virtually a scream canister right before it explodes. It's tight, stressed, and pressure-filled. That's not a comfy place to be in.

When your kiddo hand flaps and stims, they allow some of that force per unit area and excitement go. Eventually, they hand flap plenty that their sensory systems start to re-regulate and they return to a calm place.

Hand Flapping and Sensory Processing Disorder

Information technology's common for kiddos with sensory challenges to stim. As we talked about, cocky-soothing is all about regulating the sensory organisation and managing sensory input that comes in.

When kids struggle with sensory input to brainstorm with, their bodies have to piece of work extra hard to re-regulate.

The reason why some kiddos hand flap and others don't is considering all of our sensory systems handle sensory input differently and need different strategies for dealing with it.

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Source: https://thesensorytoolbox.com/hand-flapping-should-i-be-worried-does-it-only-happen-with-autism/

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