A flap or not a flap...that is the question

What is "normal".

I am admittedly in a heightened state of paranoia right now but I have not been able to shake the nauseating feeling that is take hold of me.

I find myself continuously thinking, "Is that flapping?". So I have to ask...when does flapping start? JP doesn't really flap. I don't know what flapping looks like in a 16 month old. But then maybe all 16 month olds flap a little? We do seem to be flapping a lot. Could this just be an awkward coordination phase that all young children go through? He only does it when he gets excited. Uh oh, that sounds like autistic behavior. But then "normal" babies clap when they get excited and we don't deem them autistic. Maybe T is trying to clap. But he knows how to clap. He isn't clapping, he is flapping. Does this mean autism? If this is a sign, should we have seen flapping earlier? Is it just emerging now as he works on motor control? Does "autistic flapping" exist at 16 months. Can I really consider it a sign?

He seems to be doing okay elsewhere. He is verbal. He probably has a dozen words. He doesn't use them a lot but he does use them appropriately. He doesn't ask for things but he does label them. He doesn't ask for a bottle but he chants bottle when he sees it. Should he be asking for a bottle when he is thirsty? JP didn't initiate. I don't know when this should begin.

I am telling myself this is a motor development fluke. A few weeks ago we got a new Baby Einstein video "Baby's First Moves". T loves it. The babies in the video do all kinds of movements: Clapping, jumping, running, peekaboo. In fact, JP loves it as well so we are making it out to be therapy. I helped JP recognize how much T loves it and now it is JP's job to try to get T to do the actions. Great therapy for both of them!

However, for a couple of weeks now T has been waving his arms more. Actually more of just his hands. It sure looks like flapping. But I didn't notice this before we got the new video. Can it just be him learning the motor development from the video. He is just discovering how much fun it is to move his limbs?