Shaking head while talking?

[nayma]

hi. lately my dd has been kind of shaking her head from side to side when she talks. it's looks like she's saying "no" (unintentionally) with her head while saying whatever it is she has to say. it doesn't happen 100% of the time, but pretty frequently within the last week. the only thing we've changed is adding melatonin - which, btw, really has helped her get to sleep : : :. sweet baby jesus. it's been great! she doesn't sleep for any longer, but still, it's been a great relief. anyway, do/have any of your kids do/done this?

[sbgrace]

I'd be thinking something neurological like a tic perhaps honestly.
Tics can come and go though...it's not a disorder unless it persists. I don't think it sounds like seizure activity but I'm no expert in that.
My son does weird stimmy stuff that is tic like at times (frequent throat clearly, vocal stims, etc. mostly).

[OMama]

nayma - how old is she? does she have any other issues or concerns? Most of the time head shaking is benign but other times it can be an indication of a larger issue. One of my DS's first signs that something was wrong was heading shaking but most people told me not to worry about it. It did turn out that something else was seriously wrong. He had a vascular anomaly in part of his brain, diagnosed at 5.5 months. I don't want to scare you by any means but personally I wouldn't ignore head shaking. I say that from personal experience. Sometimes it can be a weird tic and other times seizures, and other times it is simply a baby or child experimenting, but it sounds like you think it is not voluntary. I would contact my doctor and possible a pediatric neurologist.

[nayma]

OMama, she's almost three (and her dx is ASD). i don't think it's intentional, and it seems to happen more when she's really trying to get things out verbally. she definitely stutters a bit here and there, but the head thing just seems more pronounced lately. as i said, though, it's not all the time - but it is daily right now. i just didn't know if it was anything connected to ASD, or something toddlers do sometimes, or something to investigate. thanks for your thoughts.

[OMama]

My son's head would shake too when he was trying to do something, like hold it up or even when he was watching something new and stimulating. I remember once when it started shaking when his older sister was dancing in her hula skirt. It was like it was a sensory overload and he couldn't process it all at once. Anyway, might be worth mentioning what you are seeing with your daughter to your doctor(s). Best wishes.

[kbosse0504]

I know that this is an old post, but I came upon it during a search for what my DS has been doing.  This is exactly what I've noticed him doing this past week.  When he is really concentrating on saying something his head kind of shakes involuntarily, like he is saying no. He also has been stuttering slightly. I haven't taken him to the doctor about this, but now I am really scared that he has ASD! Did you ever get any answers regarding this?