Need help identifying a sign my autistic son is using.

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Tina Powers

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Hello, my son is profoundly autistic and nonverbal. We use sign language and know many signs but this one came out of nowhere and he has become self abusive while repeating this sign over and over. We have asked him to type it to no avail. We tried to reverse search with no luck. Is there someone who can help if we post a video of it? We would be sincerely appreciate if someone would be kind enough to assist us so we can calm the poor dear down. When I say "self abusive" I mean hitting himself in the head repeatedly with full force. He is 19. Thank you for your time.
 
AlleyCat said:
Post the video. Let's see if we can help.
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If the hands were flat out, I would say "maybe" (but that seems unlikely doesn't it?) if he would have brought those hands together, I would say "more".

What are the circumstances that he's using that sign? I can't think of any other possibilities, so it might not be a sign at all.

I've been deaf all my life, so I know all sign, so it puzzles me I can't think of what he might be trying to say.
 
AlleyCat said:
If the hands were flat out, I would say "maybe" (but that seems unlikely doesn't it?) if he would have brought those hands together, I would say "more".

What are the circumstances that he's using that sign? I can't think of any other possibilities, so it might not be a sign at all.

I've been deaf all my life, so I know all sign, so it puzzles me I can't think of what he might be trying to say.
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First, thank you for taking the time to try and help. We are puzzled as well as we know the signs for "maybe" and "more" and so does he. He is out of school so we are the only ones teaching him sign language and just can't figure out where this came from. He woke up at 5 am crying and using this sign and soon began to get frustrated because his brother and I didn't understand. He also said window and moon but that is all we could get. Thank you again for taking time to help us. It is so frustrating for him being unable to communicate. He does know how to type some things so maybe we can eventually find out what he means. He has calmed down somewhat now so it is just a waiting game. :)
 
I wish you well and hope you get this figured out. I'm sorry I was not of more help. I have had co-workers with deaf/autistic children, and they've had similar scenarios that they ask me me about. I totally understand the frustrations of being deaf, being that myself, but not the autism spectrum frustrations. Post here if I can help with anything else.
 
Thank you for posting the video. Unfortunately, I can't figure it out either. Like AlleyCat said it is hard to see the full context. If you are able to capture more instances of him using it and a longer video so we can see more of what came before and after we might be able to be more helpful.

What is he holding on to? Does he use the sign only when he is hold that or something similar?
 
Is he maybe saying "drive" or "driving"? hard to see in the video if he is holding a video game controller? If so, it may be game related?
 
From the context as far as I can see, it seems he is asking "Which one?" or "What do I do with these?" That is just the best guess I have.
 
It's very hard to interpret a new sign that's isolated out of context. Also, if the signer is upset, he might not be forming his sign correctly.

There's the possibility that it's a created sign. Since you stated that you are the only people introducing new signs to him, he couldn't learn a new sign out of the air. Either he has another source for signs, such as the internet, or else he's making up a sign for something he's trying to express but doesn't have an adequate vocabulary for.

Does he use this gesture by itself over and over repeatedly or does it seem to fit within his other signing stream? Are the circumstances before he uses the sign always the same?

Sorry for all the questions. It's just very hard to answer, "What's this sign?" with so little information.
 
Beowulf said:
From the context as far as I can see, it seems he is asking "Which one?" or "What do I do with these?" That is just the best guess I have.
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It does look like he's making a comparison or evaluation of two options or two objects. Or using a place-holder sign while trying to think of the correct sign. Like saying, "ummm." :dunno:
 
I know you say he is not in school but does he have contact with others around his age? Somehow I keep coming back to the thought of it coming from something that is going on locally.
 
zephren said:
Thank you for posting the video. Unfortunately, I can't figure it out either. Like AlleyCat said it is hard to see the full context. If you are able to capture more instances of him using it and a longer video so we can see more of what came before and after we might be able to be more helpful.

What is he holding on to? Does he use the sign only when he is hold that or something similar?
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Thank you for your help. Scott is holding on to a jump rope that he is obsessed with. He slides the handles over two fingers and uses it to self stim. We made longer videos but spent much of the morning trying to upload them here to no avail. They were either too big or when we tried to post links the forum identified them as potentially containing spam. o_O! lol We didn't have anything else before or after except him saying window and moon as previously indicated ... that and a lot of serious self abusive behavior. He has used that same sign once or twice since early morning but managed to stay calm when we explained that we didn't understand. Can anyone advise us what we are doing wrong regarding trying to post the video? Is there a particular format that works better? My older son is a tech guru and he helped, however, admittedly we were half asleep and shook up as you can imagine. Rushing to figure out and stop Scott from hitting himself and doing real damage. Luckily, we have avoided detached retinas thus far but there is always the potential for that along with many other problems deriving from severe and repeated blows to the head. That is why we are so very appreciative of your kindness and willingness to assist. Everyone who helps is seriously heroes in our eyes for that reason! <3 Bet you never thought you would get to be a super hero when you got out of bed this morning, huh?
 
As far as the the videos go, try 1) make them far shorter so you are able to upload them, or 2) make a YouTube account that you can upload to, and then post the link here.

I'm inclined to think this is a made up sign of his own when he is upset, as you indicated, since no one else can identify it either. Is there a way to find out if he's upset over something and makes that particular sign?
 
What is he upset about? That is the billion dollar question and what we are working so hard to find out. He has never made this sign before but if we can eventually figure it out we will know for the future and/or teach him the correct ASL sign for what he is trying to express. Thank you for helping us. :)
 
Hmm I'll have to give it some thought... Either pain or nightmare comes to mind for me.

I am deaf... and I also worked with intellectually delayed (aka mentally retarded when I was working in that field)- who were hearing, deaf or non verbal. Some of my deaf "kids" have done that- used signs that seemingly have no meaning but must mean something to them if they consistently use it (one would sign the sign for 'smoke' or well.. 'pot' but she never had experience with either- I figured food or drink...).

If he's using window and moon along with that sign- I wonder if he either is seeing something outside or hearing something like the wind blowing (I'd say thunder and lightning too but don't know what your weather was like). I know for some on the autism spectrum sound or sight can be overstimulating.
 
DeafDucky said:
Hmm I'll have to give it some thought... Either pain or nightmare comes to mind for me.

I am deaf... and I also worked with intellectually delayed (aka mentally retarded when I was working in that field)- who were hearing, deaf or non verbal. Some of my deaf "kids" have done that- used signs that seemingly have no meaning but must mean something to them if they consistently use it (one would sign the sign for 'smoke' or well.. 'pot' but she never had experience with either- I figured food or drink...).

If he's using window and moon along with that sign- I wonder if he either is seeing something outside or hearing something like the wind blowing (I'd say thunder and lightning too but don't know what your weather was like). I know for some on the autism spectrum sound or sight can be overstimulating.
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DeafDucky said:
Hmm I'll have to give it some thought... Either pain or nightmare comes to mind for me.

I am deaf... and I also worked with intellectually delayed (aka mentally retarded when I was working in that field)- who were hearing, deaf or non verbal. Some of my deaf "kids" have done that- used signs that seemingly have no meaning but must mean something to them if they consistently use it (one would sign the sign for 'smoke' or well.. 'pot' but she never had experience with either- I figured food or drink...).

If he's using window and moon along with that sign- I wonder if he either is seeing something outside or hearing something like the wind blowing (I'd say thunder and lightning too but don't know what your weather was like). I know for some on the autism spectrum sound or sight can be overstimulating.
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Thank you for your help. Scott is often sensory bombarded and we are acutely aware of his issues with this but it is unlikely during sleeping hours. Nightmare is a good possibility and he may very well trying to describe something he visualized in his mind's eye while sleeping that he is unable to communicate in any meaningful way. Thank you again for taking the time to assist us in trying to help him. I am certain he also appreciates everyone's efforts in that regard. :)
 
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