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TallyMan
Bad to the bone
Joined: Mar 31, 2008
Age: 48
Posts: 4241
Location: Englishman lost in France
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 Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:19 am Post subject: Arm flapping when young - anyone else do that? |
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Did anyone else flap both arms up and down against their side when they were young? It is one of my earliest memories when I was at infant school. I now think it may have been aspie related, and a way of coping with the stress of being around other children. I remember other children and adults making fun of me for doing it and I remember saying I was pretending to be a bird flapping my wings. I wasn't of course, it was just a way for me aged 5 to justify flapping my arms up and down against my sides.
Eventually the flapping stopped (before I was 10) but I think it just got replaced by more subtle stims such as twirling my fingers or tapping my fingers against my leg.
Anyone else used to flap their arms like that? Is it aspie related? |
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Ems03
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jun 14, 2008
Age: 22
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:46 am Post subject: |
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Mm I do it now! But it was not my main stim of choice when I was a child. I think I do it know because of the mimiating problem I have (I work with two boys with Autism who do this.)
Problem is it's not very functional. Especially when driving  |
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Angnix
Deinonychus
Joined: Nov 02, 2007
Age: 26
Posts: 363
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 7:01 am Post subject: |
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Is this considered arm flapping? I find myself hitting my leg with my fist, hard and very vigorously. I get wierd looks in public.
_________________
What my counselor that I found out works with Aspie/ADHD kids said when I asked him recently:
ADHD: No
Asperger's: Maybe |
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emmaC
Blue Jay
Joined: Mar 11, 2008
Posts: 91
Location: Sweden
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 7:47 am Post subject: |
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| Angnix wrote: | | Is this considered arm flapping? I find myself hitting my leg with my fist, hard and very vigorously. I get wierd looks in public. |
that's not flapping, this is:http://youtube.com/watch?v=dyiQ0F6LPRw |
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emmaC
Blue Jay
Joined: Mar 11, 2008
Posts: 91
Location: Sweden
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 7:49 am Post subject: |
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| Yeah, I did that. From toddlerhood till I was 6. When excited. I grew out of it. |
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n4mwd
Phoenix
Joined: Jun 08, 2008
Posts: 599
Location: Palm Beach, FL
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 7:52 am Post subject: |
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Yes, when I was younger. I grew out of it as people pointed out that it made me look stupid. I mainly did it when I was happy. Maybe that's the real reason I don't do it anymore. I felt like I was a bird and could fly away. To this day, I have a serious appreciation for birds and even raise chickens.
PS: The flapping thing is not a new discovery and has been known to be a trait of aspergers for a long time. |
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Jeyradan
Deinonychus
Joined: Jan 17, 2008
Posts: 397
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:42 am Post subject: |
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I did this, and not just as a child. I kept being told how strange it looked and not to do it - by parents and friends. I think I have pretty much replaced it with hand-flapping, which keeps movement to a minimum (sort of) and is still probably not a good idea.
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"Maybe the ones who have it easy are missing part of the adventure."
- Martian Child
"Can you imagine how liberating it would be to live a life free of all the mind-numbing social niceties?"
- House, M.D. |
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Tohlagos
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 26, 2008
Age: 37
Posts: 867
Location: Boise, ID
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:34 am Post subject: |
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I would vigorously shake my hands at the wrists. Occasionally I would snap my arm at the elbow (don't do that, not good for your elbow). I would also spin my arms round and round at the shoulder as fast as I could go, then stop suddenly, hold still for a second, then start going as fast as I could the other way.
It all felt good and helped me to focus on whatever I was thinking.
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Ah yes... that hurricane of hate and anger still swirls with reckless abandon within the recess of my soul... may the peace and light in the center of that never-ending storm lead me to that promised paradise... I only have faith in what I know. |
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Anniemaniac
Toucan
Joined: Nov 04, 2006
Posts: 281
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:10 am Post subject: |
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I used to handflap. Not often because I just kind of knew that it wasn't the "normal" thing to do, so I only did it in places I felt comfortable, like at home, but I remember doing it as late as 10/11.
I never knew it was related to anything like Autism back then, I thought most kids did it.
| Quote: | | I would also spin my arms round and round at the shoulder as fast as I could go, then stop suddenly, hold still for a second, then start going as fast as I could the other way. |
I did that too. |
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anbuend
Oak-Type Autie
Joined: Jul 06, 2004
Posts: 3055
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:24 am Post subject: |
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I did various combinations of arm-flapping, and assorted versions of hand-flapping (up and down, side to side, one-handed, two-handed, one hand going one way and the other another, etc). As well as finger-wiggling. Some of those things I still do, some I outgrew.
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"We may seem in the gutter from up there where you are but maybe you don't know we still see the same stars." -Donna Williams |
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Danielismyname
something something
Joined: Apr 03, 2007
Posts: 5380
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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My mother doesn't remember from when I was younger, and neither do I. I know I "started" doing such in high school when it was pointed out and made fun of, and I've been doing it since then on and off over the years depending on how overwhelming the environment was and is for me.
I've been more of a hand twirler, however, if one is to see what I do most with my hands when around others. |
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Angnix
Deinonychus
Joined: Nov 02, 2007
Age: 26
Posts: 363
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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Oh, I did used to do that... what would the thingy I do now be called, I wish I could not do it, though I stop when I realize I am.
_________________
What my counselor that I found out works with Aspie/ADHD kids said when I asked him recently:
ADHD: No
Asperger's: Maybe |
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Social_Fantom
Maverick
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Age: 24
Posts: 10883
Location: Watching from the shadows
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, flapping my hands is my very first memory, and my second.
I used to flap my arms and hands a lot as a child. It's so nice to see that I wasn't the only kid in the world that ever did that. 
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Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
-Confucius
5th Sin: Wrath |
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Chibi_Neko
Phoenix
Joined: Oct 24, 2007
Age: 26
Posts: 861
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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I still flap my arms today but only when I am in my house alone, when I get stressed or very bored I will relieve myself by flapping my arms. It actually helps a lot.
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Humans are intelligent, but that doesn't make them smart. |
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