Expert: James Michael Roan - 12/15/2008

Question
Hi, I never thought Id be an worry wart parent but I think im turning into one! I have a 7 month old daughter..for the past couple months she has been doing an odd thing with her right hand only. Its not classical "hand flapping" but more like flicking of the wrist, kind of like waving but with a fist.. she has been doing it more and more often, it used to be just when we put soemthing in her right hand, now ive been noticing shell do it when shes holding nothing...if you go to youtube and under SDsurf8469 there are videos of her doing it. she has met all her milestones so far, sits babbles, rolls, etc. she does have an extreme temper! and looks at us when we call her name about 70% of the time. our pediatrician said shes fine but he didnt even see her do it...it seems to be involuntary..im getting worried! does this sound like an early form of autism to you?

Answer
Hi Amity;

I have had other parents of children with high functioning autism describe this to me. Please keep in mind that a recent research study reported as many as twenty percent of typically developing children show stereotypies such as hand flapping. The good news is she is responding to her name well. With autism you want to look for low sociality. Look for social anxiety, social avoidance or social aversion.

Kind regards,
James






James Roan Bio:

James Roan (roanpsych@gmail.com) has been consulting in the areas of autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and learning difficulties in the United States and in Ireland for over ten years. James Roan has traveled to Galway, Limerick, Mayo, Clare, Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and other cities and counties across Ireland assessing children and adults, and consulting with solicitors (lawyers) in defense of children with disability and with enforcement of their rights. James Roan was the consulting psychologist responsible for many of the autism and ADHD screening tools and other content for www.accessspecialneeds.com. James Roan is the past president and current board member of the autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation. James Roan consulted with the graduate department of the Waterford Institute of Technology in the development of their graduate program for the certification of private autism tutors.