'Hand flapping' warning sign or completely normal.

I have noticed lately that DD (18 months) flaps her hands a lot. Specifically when she is excited or mad. Should I be concerned at all or is this still a fairly normal trait at her age?

I would go with totally normal. Excitement and anger are two VERY strong emotions for little people to grasp, even as adults most people will have a physical reaction to these emotions, so it makes perfect sense that a physical release of that energy will accompany the feeling in a small child. :)
Certainly always been the case here.

I would say very normal. My DD does it very often especially when she is upset she will flap her arms and usually screams "nooo" at the same time! :lol:

I've seen lots of bubs do this and lots that don't. I had a down syndrome child who used to flap his hands alot, but more as a form of communication that he'd been taught (not an actual sign but a 'family one').

It can be completely within typical development but it can also mean more for some children. Are there any other stereotyped or repetitive movements, obsessive behaviours, etc? On it's own I wouldn't be concerned.

I've noticed she also flaps when walking towards someone. She doesn't really have any other obsessive behaviours. Except for with my hair. She's has to be tugging on my hair to go to sleep. My hair is like a security blanket for her when she's stressed or tired it has to be tugged on. And when she's not flapping her fingers often flap like they are waving. Her speech has been a little slow but she's starting to say a few words now. Probably has about 10-15. Other than that she's perfectly normal, met all her milestones at the right levels. Just noticed the flapping as its recently become more prominent. There isn't a lot of info on whether it's a normal stage for toddler which is why I was asking.

She sounds like my DD. Mine has an obsession with mine or DPs ears, nobody elses but ours. When she is tired or in need of comfort she will grab onto them and rub/play with them. She often does it to her own especially when tired/upset or even nervous. I put these down to normal behaviour and nobody around me has ever commented about it.

My GF DD tends to wave her hands about when excited, she is 5 yo. She was initially referred to be 'checked out' but it just seems to be a quirky trait of hers. I'd say at your DD age it is normal but keep an eye on it & bring it up with your MCHN or other health carer just to be sure.

My DS (now almost 2.5 years) was flapping his arms mostly in excitement since he was 6 or 7 months old. He still does, but not as much. I was worried because he was late with most things, like sitting up, crawling, walking, talking, and even pointing to things. I was always more worried than my DP, so I started asking questions around the 16 month mark, I thought he might have autism. We finally got to see a very good developmental doctor, who ruled it out, but he did diagnose him with global development delay and said he's got a few little quirks but they do not amount to anything to worry about, iykwim . So at the moment he is going to childcare 2 times a week (3 hours a day) to improve on his speech, which has been working so far and he's only been going 3 weeks. My advice is to seek answers if you are concerned. I'm glad I did because I started stressing so much it was on my mind 24/7. Lots of kids flap with excitement, and it means nothing, but sometimes it does, so if you're getting worried, ask the question to rule anything out. GL hun x

It sounds like it could be a completely normal thing, or that it could potentially be an early indication of something more. To put your mind at ease I think you should see your GP and just discuss it with them.

My brother did a lot of arm flapping as a young child and he was later diagnosed with ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome and a few other aspects of ASDs. He was a lot younger when he was doing the arm flapping though (maybe 4-6 months) so that was at a completely different developmental stage to your child.