Hand Flapping

Reading this, people might consider that we are not acting in the child 's best interest by normalising this compulsive behaviour.

We would argue that in giving Zoe a time and a place where this comfort action is accepted, we are able to define boundaries around the compulsive behaviour. This was originally defined in a simplistic way, with instructions such as "Dinner then twiddle", "Toilet then twiddle" and when we go out "leave twiddle on the stairs". For the latter we make absolutely certain that the twiddle remains where Zoe left it.

It is very much evident that when the 'twiddle' is withdrawn, Zoe becomes very agitated and distressed. We have even witnessed Zoe holding her opposing wrist and twiddle the free hand.

UPDATE November 2006

We have been through a fairly difficult period with Zoe where her behaviour is becoming slightly more challenging. This behaviour has manifested itself in many ways, one of which has been on the bus to school. Zoe travels in a minibus with a number of other children, all of whom has learning difficulties.

To recount this it is necessary to go back a few months to a time when Zoe was getting stressed and very vocal on the bus to and from school. The school had a book about a little girl called Tabatha who screamed a lot and had tantrums. This book was called Tantrum Tabatha. Now, the school had identified that Zoe showed an interest in this book and decided to try and get through to her through the book as a means of intervention. The school covered some of the words and put in phrases such as Mrs (teachers name) will be cross if Tabatha is screaming. This didn't work and Zoe's behaviour continued to the end of term.

On returning to school for the autumn (fall) term we found that Zoe was becoming stressed about something and as a result she would kick the seat in front and scream loudly with a considerable amount of crying. We began a process of trial end error with the bus driver and carer trying various methods to calm Zoe down. In desperation we suggested that Zoe takes her 'twiddle' onto the bus and hands it to the carer before going into school, so that it stays on the bus. Zoe's behaviour changed instantly and completely. The tantrums stopped and Zoe is much calmer throughout the day as a result of having this 'vent' for her frustrations.

We then asked ourselves why this had started again, what had triggered this behaviour? The answer came very recently, Zoe had found the modified Tantrum Tabatha book in school and the whole pattern of behaviour had begun again. The school threw the modified book away and Zoe had her twiddle on the bus. These two things combined have cured the problematic behaviour on the bus. In conclusion, we are guessing that Zoe did not appreciate the book being modified - she knew exactly what the words should be and for whatever reason, she made her displeasure very clear for all to see. Of course we could be wrong as only Zoe knows what goes on inside her head and she is completely incapable of reaching out to us and sharing her worries and frustrations.

Welcome to the world of autism....