However, I still had a lot of questions about the disorder and what, exactly it meant. Standing in the corner of the classroom by himself, jumping up and down, flapping his arms, Matthew stares at the second hand of the clock, anxiously awaiting another minute to pass. Matthew usually stays in this position staring at the clock the same way a newborn baby stares at a bottle filled with formula in his mother's hand. His big brown eyes with amazingly long eyelashes do not even blink, until one of the counselors brakes his concentration by repeatedly yelling his name . . . Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, get away from the clock.
Most autistic children exhibit unusual body movements.
These movements include flapping the arms and hands, jumping up and down, making weird faces, and also sometimes walking on tiptoes. After reading and doing some research on unusual body movements, I was amazed to see that the unusual things that I saw Matthew doing, like flapping his arms, are actually normal and very common in autistic children. It is really incredible to see a child show his excitement in ways that are completely uncontrollable. Most autistic children also hold their arms in a weird and different way when they are not using them. Matthew is one of the cutest kids I have ever seen.