What age does arm flapping start?

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My son is 13 months old and in addition to some other early signs of autism that he's displaying, he recently started flapping his arms. He does this when he's frustrated. He'll kind of raise his arms up in the air and smack his hands into his thighs over and over again. At first I was kind of ignoring this until my husband asked him if he's trying to fly away, than it kind of sunk in that he is in fact flapping his arms. I'm not around a lot of babies his age, so I have no idea if this could be considered normal behavior and I have no idea when arm-flapping as a sign of autism is supposed to begin.

So, I guess I'm asking any parents that have children that arm-flap, what age did you first notice this behavior?

Thank you

That's probably about the age but what you describe doesn't sound like the autistic hand flapping. That's more like hands out to the side, flapping up and down. You can probably find some videos on Youtube that show this.

my son was older and only did it when he was jumping. He was prob 2 ish...it used to freak me out, but I thought it was like balancing when he was jumping. He is not much of a hand flapper but to this day, and he is 7, when he jumps he might flap his hands a bit. At this age I fiind it cute...lol, and he isnt doing it all the time so it doesnt get on my nerves.

what other signs do you see in your baby?

The arm movements you describe seem typical for children that age, and not like the type of flapping associated with autism. My son flaps, and was probably about 4 years old when he started.

Thank you so much for the responses. Like I mentioned, I really don't have any other babies to compare him to, so I appreciate it.

The other possible symptoms that he's displaying are (according to his pediatrician):

- Soothing with toys instead of hugs/cuddles
- No stranger or separation anxiety
- Refusing to be held since birth
- Prefers to play on his own rather than to interact with others
- Possible speech delay (still a little early to know for sure)

My husband has AS and his father most likely has it as well. I'm also in the process of trying to be evaluated for it myself because I am fairly certain that I have it too. I feel like I'm so paranoid about every little thing that my son does because of all of these factors.

Have you brought this up with your son's pediatrician?

NT kids flap, I noticed that when my son was playing with other kids, and they were older kids. I tought it was an autism related behaviour, but it isn't. The thing that was different at that age was rocking. He rocked back and forth and laughed, he liked it. Now he is 5 and rocks but the behaviour is lessening

Thanks everyone, yes I have talked to his doctor about this. She referred him to an early intervention specialist, we're currently on the process of getting put on the waiting list for an evaluation.

I guess you are trying to dx him, but just a note: hand flapping is normally not a problem. Some kids do it when they are frustrated and some when they are happy. Some both.

I noticed my son's stereotypical flapping and spinning at around 18 months. That's when I realized what was going on and all his other difficult behaviors made sense. It was quite some time before others accepted that I was right. Hand-flapping alone is not cause for concern, but it's a red flag if you already have a laundry list of symptoms.

Thank you for your response. I did kind of feel like it was a red flag, but I don't want to worry about things that could be "normal" either. I'm just so worried about my family, I think I'm getting a little paranoid to be honest. I'm fairly certain that my husband and I are going to be diagnosed with AS sooner or later (it's proving to be impossible to find someone who assesses adults) and I just can't imagine us trying to go through the struggles of raising an autistic child when we are dealing with the same issues ourselves. At least I know where I can find tons of support - this forum is a lifesaver!

I missed it too. I thought all kids flapped at that agewhen they got excited.maybe a lot do, but i think most NT kids stop pretty young. My daughter didn't stop and then moved from flapping to other stim activities. I had no idea any of it was strange because I'm not around a lot of kids.but now that i have more opportunities its obvious and looking back on a lot of it i see the red flags now.

I arm flapped in the way the OP describes right up to the age of around five years old. I remember feeling embarrassed when quizzed by teachers about it and saying I was playing and pretending to fly like a bird. It was often a response to stressful situations or having to interact with others. I started getting picked on by the other kids because of it and the behaviour transformed into internal counting 1,2,3,4,5 etc often into the hundreds - I remember finding this really soothing plus nobody else could see me doing it. The counting has become an internalised form of stimming / OCD behaviour and I still do it now at the age of 52! I'm always counting... hence my username here.