My 4-year-old has in the past week started using this ritualistic set of gestures...one hand slaps the other, some elaborate hand and finger maneuvers, each hand slaps the front of the head, then one hand to each ear, and then often starting all over again within the minute. When asked, she will tell you it has to do with "cleaning".

I'm not as freaked out as I otherwise would be, because I used to have quite a menu of these behaviors myself as a child. However, I don't know what it is (or even what to call it, for googling purposes), I don't know if it's related to the other sensitivity symptoms I've observed, and I'm not sure how to react to it (if at all).

Is it related to other behaviors associated with giftedness---the sensitivity to noise, temperature, and shoes/clothing? Dabrowski mentions nervous habits and tics (along with the sleeplessness and need for speed that she also clearly has). Or should I be looking outside of giftedness entirely: it could be mild OCD (I suspect this too runs in the family), or it could be a stress reaction (positive, but big changes in the past two months).

Should I back off on cleanliness a bit (asking her to wash her hands or noting that something is dirty)? Should I just ignore it? Should I advise her that it's okay at home but don't do it in front of others? Any advice is much appreciated. This is my first time posting here, so sorry for the long message!

I'm just seeing your question today. It would be helpful for you to challenge her to go a period of time without tbe movement (maybe 15 minutes) and see how she cope. Does she get anxious? Does she start the ritual unconciously? "Evening out" is a common concept with OCD (compelled to mirror actipns bilaterally). The sudden onset of severe OCD-like behavior warrents a trip to her doctor to rule out PANDAS (google this) or any other neurological issues.

I have always been careful to be more casual about anything that could be habit forming - from when we realised our first child would get visibly upset when he spilled something, at the age of 15 months.

It's okay to clean up later it really is. Now he is 5 and he is soo happy when he can clean up his own messes - but I still try keep it casual and relaxed. I think the key, as with so much around kids, is to let them take their cue from YOU. you can be the model to even out compulsive or obsessive behaviours around anything.

But the more you draw cognitive attention to it, the more aware she is likely to be of it.

Can you try distracting her when she starts the routine, like if it starts while you are walking in a shop, take her hand and hold it as you carry on walking?

Welcome SpeedOfMom.

In addition to the wonderful suggestions you have received, I can't help wondering (because it sounds very similar to something my son used to do)...has she been on any medication lately or have her dietary habits changed?

My son would wash his hands, put some water on his elbows, one at a time, walk around our coffeetable (about 10 paces from the sink), put a little water on my feet (if I'm sitting at the couch or he would walk up to me if I was somewhere else) and then place a few drops of water on his own feet, and repeat the whole thing again and again (he was washing his hands every 20-30 seconds). He developed very bad eczema from this constant washing and had red, open sores too. I did freak out and wish I could have been more casual about it.

We eventually realized that my son's "episodes" could have been due to the red dye in some allergy medication he had been taking. He already had OCD tendencies but we are quite sure the red dye escalated the behavior because the ritualistic part of it stopped within a few days of discontinuing the meds.

About cleanliness, yes if it helps to back off a bit I would do that. It depends on the child though. It didn't work immediately for mine...we are still working on this, with much improvement after he turned 8.

About behavior in public I can truly sympathize. On hindsight I should have tried to take it more lightly than I did. I would take her aside if necessary when these behaviors occur (if she is personally affected or embarrassed by them) but otherwise, as long as she is not at risk of hurting herself or others, I would suggest to let it be and either gently distract her or just be your normal self.

Definitely talk to your pediatrician. Good luck. And hugs!

Hi SpeedofMom,
no need to apologize for a long post...have you seen some of ours (lol)?

I'd 2nd the red dye idea (this junk takes over my DD's brain it's awful) but also along that idea too, what types of soaps/hand sanitizers/household cleaning stuff do you use?

My DD hasn't had any of those types of behaviors at home, but this year when she came out of school she constantly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand over and over. She smells like chemicals. I suspect it's sensitivity to the clorox/lysol wipes stuff they use in school. I made sure she took a shower or a bath as soon as we got home and changed her clothes and within the hour she stopped. So I don't know if it's anxiety or the chemicals or a combination.

We'll be looking into the allergy/chemical sensitivity thing a bit more this summer with a naturopathic doctor because our "regular" peds don't have much to say about it. Avoidance is best of course but it's a big, chemically world out there.

Both my kids have had mild ticks - mostly throat clearing, burping, that sort of thing. They come and go. They've never been too severe, although my son's teachers mentioned his (my daughter's teachers never have). I've noticed they're associated with anxiety.

For instance, my son has a language processing disorder. In spite of this he can still read in English and French, although when he does, the burping and the throat clearing increase dramatically.

Thanks everyone, I only just realized my post finally went through! Thanks for the welcome. I am very skeptical that it's PANDAS or a reaction to food/environment, because I did the same sort of thing as a child. It seems far more likely to me that it's the combination of going through a move (which entailed changing babysitters, and a range of other changes, including getting a dog) which goes to the emotional facet of Dabrowski's "supersensitivities in gifted children" ("problems adjusting to change") as well as the psychomotor facet ("nervous habits and tics"), which are all in addition to the many, many other qualities Dabrowski talked about and which I've observed. Her father and I have discussed and feel that she also needs more physical outlets for energy, so I've signed her up for a number of activities that I hope will mitigate this outpouring of nervous energy.

Anyway, it's comforting to hear others have experienced the same issues and have outgrown them (as I did). I'm trying to make sure there isn't something else I may have missed that she may need (for example, I didn't even think about providing her more physical activity until her father observed that the gestures would dissipate after a strong action).