quiet hands

noun

In applied behavioral analysis, the enforced behavior of keeping one's hands still, suppressing stimming.

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Meanings

nounquiet hands pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyautismhuman sciencesIn applied behavioral analysis, the enforced behavior of keeping one's hands still, suppressing stimming.

    There’s a boy in the supermarket, rocking back on his heels and flapping excitedly at a display. His mom hisses “quiet hands!” and looks around, embarrassed. I catch his eye, and I can’t do it for myself, but my hands flutter at my sides when he’s looking.

    2011, Julia Bascom, “Quiet Hands”, in Just Stimming
    1 more example

    A treatment consisting of differential reinforcement of compliance and a quiet-hands procedure (repeatedly guiding her to place her hands in her lap for 30 s) contingent on SIB was shown to be effective in reducing Candy’s SIB to low levels during vocational training sessions.

    1999, “DECREASING SIGNS OF NEGATIVE AFFECT AND CORRELATED SELF-INJURY IN AN INDIVIDUAL WITH MENTAL RETARDATION AND MOOD DISTURBANCES”, in Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis
Cite this entry
APA

quiet hands. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quiet%20hands

MLA

“quiet hands.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quiet%20hands. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quiet hands,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quiet%20hands.

Source: quiet hands on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.