Is flapping unique to autism?
The people who get older, who seem more NT and don't flap their hands anymore, are usually suppressing their hand-flapping. They can suppress it because they're older and they've gained that skill, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't flap their hands if they had never been taught to suppress anything that looked "weird". It's common to re-direct hand-flapping to more surreptitious or normal-looking stims, such as tapping fingers, wiggling legs, or even clenching the teeth, breathing in patterns, twitching muscles, or entirely mental stims like playing with patterns, shapes, sounds, and images in their heads.
But sometimes, those people who have been taught to suppress hand-flapping decide not to suppress it anymore, and it's usually a great relief.
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Thanks for all your interesting answers!
I do of course mean sustained flapping, for at least a minute without any obvious external trigger. Always wondered what the cause was and was surprised (and relieved) to find that other people do it too.
When leaving my home I automatically adopt another persona which is very uptight and vigilant - I wouldn't flap in an sustained way without complete privacy. I have to make a mental note to be aware of the flapping, sort of like a mini-blackout I'm so absorbed in what I'm thinking that I don't register it unless that privacy is disturbed, or I crash into something.
Really appreciate all the insight, very interesting about ADHD.
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