7 year-old-girl intense "stims" - Nothing fits!

by Davis
(Bothell, WA)

For the past 4-5 years I have researched and sought out help in diagnosing the behavior my now seven-year-old daughter displays. We have visited multiple doctors and researched conditions along the lines of SPD, ASD, ADD/ADHD and even OCD. Nothing fits.

My otherwise usual functioning child (who seems happy, social, loving, outgoing, and only slightly below average academically), exhibits a behavior I describe as "her intensity." On a daily basis, my daughter gets very excited and tenses the muscles in her arms, neck, face and most apparently down to her wrists and fingers. She then makes tight fists or awkward positions with her fingers and then rotates her wrists in a sort of "stimming" fashion. When she does this her face become tightly contorted and her mouth is usually open, her breath held. She will do this anywhere from once to several dozen times each day.

Has anyone else seen this behavior in their children (apart from other accompanying symptoms of the SPD/ASD conditions), and if so, have you been able to get an identifier or diagnosis for the behavior?

Since she was 3, doctors have advised that she will hopefully grow out of the behavior, although clueless as to what might be going on with her. Although, it has continued to become more and more predominant and seems to have fused its way into her life even more with time. My daughter's teachers have observed the behavior and indicate it has some distracting downfalls in the classroom, mostly for her. It also impacts her extra curricular activities and social relationships. I feel that every couple of months we attempt to chase down answers and then when left with nowhere to turn, we sadly go back to our daily routines again (which the behavior is very much a part of).

Hoping reaching out on this site may provide some new avenues for us to try down. We just want to do whatever we can to help our little girl. Any ideas are welcome!