2 1/2 year old tip toe walks, flaps his arms or clenches his fists, and vibrates his entire body when he is excited. What gives?

[?] Subscribe To This Site

2 1/2 year old tip toe walks, flaps his arms or clenches his fists, and vibrates his entire body when he is excited. What gives?

by Duke
(Alberta, Canada)

My 21/2 year old son displays many symptoms of the sensory seeker. As a baby he was inconsolable and is still using a pacifier at night. He is intense with every emotion, does frequent toe walking and arm flapping along with whole body vibrating (clenched fists and locking his mouth open wide). This happens when he is excited which is usually 100x or more per day. It seems to be getting worse. Does anyone out there know of any strategies that may help my son display his excitement normally?

Comments for
2 1/2 year old tip toe walks, flaps his arms or clenches his fists, and vibrates his entire body when he is excited. What gives?

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Feb 03, 2012
Rating

My 5 year old to the Tee
by: Anonymous

This explains my 5 year old to the tee, he has been doing this since he was born with the excited mouth open hands and arms flapping, he now does it when he is playing video games he has to pause almost just to do it, I ask him why he does it he says cause it feels good. He does it when he is into a tv show as well and sometimes just when he walks, he also walks on his tipi toes every where, I have to tell him to walk on his heels he doesnt like to at all.

He is a very smart outgoing kid, he has a lisp and he is always very active full of energy he never sits down to relax it seems. We are taking him to the dr this week cause I dont want him starting kindergarten in case something might be wrong with his learning ability or anything else. I also worry other kids are going to make fun of him, he is in preschool right now he does fine with the other kids probably the most popular kid in his class. but he just has a hard time sittin still.

He also is very concentrated when he plays with his toys he lines them all up in lines then does his arm and mouth open thing. My mom said I did that when I was his age too, I still shake when I get excited and nothing is wrong with me lol.

Sep 01, 2011
Rating

2yr old twins
by: Mo

I've been crying all week. I just read the first 2 comments here and just am so relieved. I can't thank you enough. *KAY*..thank you! Someone came over and noticed that my son was "hand flapping", a red flag for Autism. Neither twins are talking yet, they babble alot, only eat crunchy food, tip toe, spin. Beau definitely has Hyposensitivity to Movement, he's hurt himself twice already, but doesn't even act hurt. It's so scary. I was positive that he would be diagnosed Autistic, and maybe Bel as well. And hey, I'm ok with that. I will love my babies no less whatever the case. But just feeling alone, and scared, and will he always be like this fear, will I ever hear him talk, etc. I've contacted Early Steps already and am looking forward to the help. But I'm so happy I found this site, and feel everything will be ok.

Nov 02, 2010
Rating

tip toe walks
by: dara

My baby hes 2 1\2 years he flap his arms and sometimes tip toe walks , at first i thought that he had an autism but he act well with others but im still searching what this all about why he act like this when he gets excited .im glad that i know there's other like my son but im worried that this behavior will stay with him until he grows up.

Oct 26, 2010
Rating

maybe this will help!
by: kay

our son who is now 4 have been having the same behaviors since he was 2 years old.

at age 3 in pre-school they evaluated him and at the end of the year, they said that he had sensory processing disorder. so they told us to do some things over the summer to maybe help until he starts the school year again and then they will give him speech therapy and OT.
they gave us some home work for his speech and he really improved with that and they also said that when he would flapp his hands to say DON'T FLAPP CLAP and for his feet to get him some better shoes that supports his arch because his feet are flat, so we did. and no result he was still doing both things.

but praise God this year his only been to 4 OT sessions and he is already doing great, she told us that when he flapps his hands to ask him this question, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR HANDS? and he started saying squeeze them and he does so, and we ask the same for his feet and he says walk flat. by asking himself the question it is making his brain realize what his doing so now when hi starts to do it his brain goes, HEY WHAT YOU DOING AND HE STOPS. it's only been 4 weeks the therapist are us both are seeing progress and in his speech too.

please try it it may work for your child, God Bless.

Aug 24, 2010
Rating

my daughter is ten and still doesthe arms hand flapping and mouth open wide and her back arches
by: Anonymous

my daughter has been doing this since about 5 months old i thought it was just her way of dealing with excitement at first but i am worrying now that she is ten and only has a yr left til she goes to high school i have taken a few videos of her doing it to show my doctor now to see what it is my nephew has higher end spectrum autism and he does the arm flapping and mouth i dont think it is autism in my daughters case because other than the arm and hand flapping and open mouth she has progressed very well she is doing fantastic at school she struggles to get dressed i am really worried now need help do not know what to do.

Jun 28, 2010
Rating

Flapping could be Stereotypic Movement Disorder
by: Lisa

Hello all...
Have some info that might be helpful

You might want to look up Stereotypic Movement Disorder. This is when stereotypies occur in otherwise normal children. My daughter, who is 2.5 years old now, has been seeing a pediatric neurologist since she was 10 mos old, for the flapping as I was worried about autism in the beginning. but, that has since been completely ruled out. My child has mild sensory processing disorder, the sensory seeking kind, but the neurologist has said that the flapping and open mouth is actually a stereotopy. The definition is "a movement without purpose". He said, that while it looks odd, it is actually harmless and is not that uncommon in typically developing children. It is actually a calming method and although it doesn't look like it, they like doing it. It is not necessarily a sensory thing, but can go hand in hand with it. The doctor says that most kids don't actually outgrow it, but will learn to adapt the flapping into something less noticeable as they get older due to social pressure and not wanting to appear odd. I have looked up and found some great info online, with videos, and has really helped to try to put my mind at ease. It is harmless, so that is good, it is just some kids way of dealing with all the sensory input around them. The dr says that it happens more during times of tiredness, boredom, or when there is alot going on. Here are a couple of links. http://www.motorstereotypy.com/ and http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/specialty_areas/pedsneuro/conditions/motor-stereotypies/ .

I still am concerned about my daughter, I want to make sure that there is nothing else going on, but these sites have helped ease my mind a bit. Hope they help you!

Jun 27, 2010
Rating

I made an earlier post regarding this ;)
by: luisa

I made an earlier post showing a video of me son doing this, would someone please contact me on youtube and tell me if their child is doing the same thing...I need the peace of mind of someone else who has maybe seen it in their child as no one can seem to tell me what it is he is doing...thanks ;)

Jun 27, 2010
Rating

our 5 !/2 year old still arm flaps with body tensing, mouth open wide
by: Anonymous

hi all - so happy to hear others' stories. we have been working with our son via ot/pt/SEIT in classroom until this past year when he was 41/2 years old. he was diagnosed with mild sensory processing disorder at 1 yr.old and most of the symptoms (temper tantrums with transitions, sensitivity to loud noises) have diminished, however what continues unabated is the arm flapping with wide open mouth and body tensing excitement which can happen 50-100 times per day.

We don't know what to do at this point as we've done extensive and expensive auditory processing therapy (tomatis method)and many hours of sensory gym and OT at home and the neurologist and most OTs always said that the behavior would eventually disappear as he turns 5-6ish. when we researched this matter in terms of extinguishing the behavior there seemed to be a few schools of thought: ignore it as kids will grow out of it when they realize its socially inappropriate: draw attention to it and tell child to do something else with their hands ie. clapping; allow child to do the action during set times of day - as a means of release. w never felt comfortable with any of these ways of thinking and have yet to have peace of mind on the matter, especially with our son staring a new school for kindergarten>>>>> thank you to the person who spoke about their way of extinguishing the behavior - i will give it some thought and if anyone else has any similar stories, please advise

Jun 22, 2010
Rating

my 3 year old child walks on her toes, clenches her fists, and opens her mouth hen she is excided.
by: Anonymous

My husband and i noticed that our child gets excited and walks on her toes, clenches her fists, and opens her mouth quite often. She has been doing these things for a while now. I sometimes ask her why she does this, but it's like she doesn't even realize she is doing it!

Her pediatrician is sending her to pt, ot and speech therapy next month. She also has a speech problem. It's not really a delay, it is more certain letters (l,w,r,s). I thought it was something normal that kids go through, but it is not going away. Has anyone else seen this along with the other symptoms?

Apr 28, 2010
Rating

Srm flapping/ fist clenching. moth open w excitement
by: luisa

My son is doing the same thing, when he gets excited or overwhelmed he clenches his fists, opens his mouth and closes his eyes really fast, it only last a second, I am scared of what this is? His nuero said could be a motor tic, but I think it is a sensory thing? Do you have what he is doing on film? Would love to see it, I have a video online of my sons behavior, please take and look and comment if it looks the same....I would love to see if they are similiar...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLBOZ-MgUuY

Seizure were ruled out btw ;)

Apr 13, 2010
Rating

So happy to see this post!!
by: Lisa

Hello... I cannot tell you how happy I was to see this particular post! Most everything I read seems to be more about sensory avoidance rather than sensory seeking- which is what my 2 year old daughter is. She was diagnosed with SPD- sensory seeking, and has been in OT for a few months now. I haven't really gotten alot of answers so far, as our therapist said that it takes a while to get to know the childs behavior and what kind of therapy would be best suited given their particular sensory needs.

I have since started researching things on my own. What you two are describing suits my daughter to a "TEE"! She is extremely expressive- gets excited about everything, squeals with delight and flaps her arms and her whole body seems to move. To most people, it is just an adorable quirk and they laugh cuz she is so darn cute, but I do worry about the behavior continuing as she gets older and I was really interested in the technique of "extinguishing behaviors" that Dori mentioned.

I am going to ask my OT about it, but I was wondering if you could maybe provide me with more detail or point me in the direction on how you have learned different strategies to deal with your childs issues. I just feel like, even though I have done all the right things and am getting my child help through my states Early Intervention Program, I am still in the dark about how to handle my child at home and help her be the best she can be. Any advice would be appreciated.

Apr 11, 2010
Rating

Hope this helps....
by: Dori

Our son, who is now 4 1/2, exhibited the same behaviors from birth. It used to take two of us to get him dressed because he was so stiff. At 9 months, I knew something wasn't right. We worked with our family physician, who referred us to OT, PT and speech therapy. He also underwent an ADOS (autism spectrum screening) which showed he is NOT on the spectrum. With a straight diagnosis of Sensory Processing, we have proceed with all of the above mentioned therapies. He toe walking lessened with soft socks that didn't bother the bottoms of his feet and CONSTANT reminders to "walk on his feet." At flapping and vibrating has ceased with "extinguishing." Every time he does this, we give him a some "heavy work" to do. Move a stack of books, chairs, etc. and then give him a sensory toy (that vibrates). I can't stress enough how early intervention and extinguishing of behaviors have helped our little guy. Good luck!!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to SPD checklist

2 1/2 year old tip toe walks, flaps his arms or clenches his fists, and vibrates his entire body when he is excited. What gives?

Comments for 2 1/2 year old tip toe walks, flaps his arms or clenches his fists, and vibrates his entire body when he is excited. What gives?

Comments for
2 1/2 year old tip toe walks, flaps his arms or clenches his fists, and vibrates his entire body when he is excited. What gives?