Tip toe walking...

[concernedmummy]

Hi, I don't post very often but have read through very many of the posts on here and they have been very helpful.

Anyway, my little boy 2yr5months saw a paed back in July to look into possible asd, his half brother has aspergers.

The paed was very helpful and explained that diagnosis takes quite a while. She was concerned with regard to his tip toe walking and sent him for physio assessment which we attended today. The physio was quite happy that there are no physical reasons for his intermittent tip toe walking.

I would just like to know if there is anyone on here who could maybe enlighten me as to any connection with this and asd?

Thank you for reading.

Edited September 17, 2009 by concernedmummy

[ScienceGeek]

I'm not sure about the connection but I would get it sorted though. I have a lot of problems with my feet and achilles tendons because of the toe walking not being sorted. I'm 25 now and have problems walking for long distances because of it.

[concernedmummy]

Thanks for the reply ScienceGeek, the physio has advised that we buy him ankle type boots that he would be unable to tip toe in, which we will be getting him. He does it about 50% of the time and even in his trainers. I have read a few things on the net that say it is one of the red flags for ASD's, it would just be good to know a bit more about it.

[darky]

Sometimes I walk on my tiptoes, not because I get pain, but because I like it and it feels more comfy than walking flat footed (I don't do it in public though, or I don't think I do) My daughter does it to sometimes. I get restless legs, for me, I think it's sensory. I think it is for my daughter as well. Just a thought! If it's been checked over, it should be ok. If your not happy, seek a second opinion maybe, or have you asked why he does it? He is quite young though isn't he?

[concernedmummy]

That is interesting Darky thanks, maybe he does just like it, I wish I could ask him but his communication is very poor, just single words atm.

I am happy with what the physio has said as I didn't think there was a physical problem anyway, I suppose I am just curious as I have been unable to find much online. I will be asking the paed next time we see her.

[justine1]

That is interesting Darky thanks, maybe he does just like it, I wish I could ask him but his communication is very poor, just single words atm.

I am happy with what the physio has said as I didn't think there was a physical problem anyway, I suppose I am just curious as I have been unable to find much online. I will be asking the paed next time we see her.

 

Hi my son does this started at 3 and he is 6 now.I have been told lots of people withAS walk this way,I have also been told that there isnt much help out there for it because there is no "problem" with the foot.Like Science geek said I am positive this will cause problems later on in fact my son already has problems walking to and from school he has to have a break.I think when you see him try encourage him to walk flatfooted I know this does not always work but its worth a try.

 

[purplehaze]

Hello, tip toe walking has been linked to being a trait of autism and a stereotypical behaviour/sign to autism like no eye contact etc.

 

I have worked with many children who have been diagnosed with autism and a large percentage have tip toes walked however my son who has autism has never tip toe walked but my daughter has always done it and been to see specialist etc to make sure it was possible to put her heels down etc (nothing medical found). She is 18 now and still does it but doesn't have autism (she does have some other autistic traits as well but copes well with most of what life sends her way).

 

Hope this helps X

[thomastank]

My 3 year old NT daughter does that too. We too took her to physio. She said that we should sit her on the floor with her legs outstretched and bend the feet towards her legs, when you can't get as far as 90%, ie pointing to the ceiling you should go back but otherwise she should be OK.

[Lindyloo]

It was one of the things that was picked up during Luke's recent assessments. However, they did not tell us why it was so significant.

We were told not to worry about it too much, but to make regular checks to make sue he can put his feet flat on the floor, and to get it looked at straight away if this starts to give him problems.

[Mandapanda]

Hi

 

My eldest has always done this and still does - age 16!

 

At one point we told him that it would have serious consequences and it might even mean he would have to have an operation in the future. We got the GP to refer him to a Consultant who said....

 

 

"It's fine, it doesn't matter, it won't have any lasting effect"

 

We tried to 'encourage' him to stop, I took him to my Chiropracter who gave him some stretching exercises to do but he won't do them, so there's not much we can do. We do mention it very occasionally, saying we wish he would stop, but if he has no wish at all to change and the 'professionals' won't back us up we are stymied.

 

[Sally44]

I was told it is part of a sensory integration problem. There are probably lots of different reasons why a child might be doing that eg. some children have problems with the integration of their visual, balance and propriocptive senses. These children might tip toe all the time, or on certain patterned surfaces, or when changing from one floor type to another. Some children have this to such a degree that they cannot walk on certain surfaces or patterns and will even fall down.

Or it might be because it feels more comfortable to them then walking flat footed.

I have also heard an adult with autism say they tip toed to limit the amount of sensory input. The soles of the feet are very sensitive.

So it might be worth looking at sensory integration disorder if you feel that any or all of your sons senses are affected. These are the senses of sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, balance and co-oridnation. Senses can be over or under sensitive or can fluctuate between the two extremes. There can also be a lack of co-ordination and integration between the senses ie. the sensory information is received but not processed correctly or passed to the other relevant senses to help them understand how they need to adapt to sensory stimulus.

I found books by a woman called Olga Bogdashina very interesting and informative. Olga does day seminars for professionals and parents through the NAS local support groups. She also has three books in print.

[concernedmummy]

Thank you all for the replies. We bought him some boots at the weekend and initially it seemed like they would prevent the tip-toeing, however yesterday at my Mum's he was at it again!!! There are no physical problems and it isn't something he does constantly so we will just keep an eye on it and not worry.

Sally 44, I will have a look into the sensory aspect, I am sure that there could be some involvement with his senses, he can fall and scrap his knees one day without so much as a whimper and do the same the next day and be crying in obvious pain, so perhaps his feet are over-sensitive at times too....

[Grace]

Hi, I was just reading the thread. My son does not tip-toe, but does have orthotics, so I just stuck in orthotics and tip toe walking into google.

 

One of the things that came up was a suggestion to get children to walk on sand as much as possible. Apparantly it is impossible to tip-toe on sand (?!) The lady said she did not know if it was coincidence or what, but her son (dx ASD)stopped tip-toeing. Weekend trips to the beach or sand pits?!x

 

 

[GreatZapper]

I tiptoe walk even now at 37 and so does my daughter (diagnosed AS) at nearly 6. I'm not diagnosed but am pretty sure I'm ASD too - I tiptoe when in socks / bare feet for a lot of the time, but only do it in shoes going up the stairs. I have no idea why I do it, I just do it because I do and it feels wrong not to.

 

Perhaps I've been lucky as I've never had any problems with tendons, etc, over the years. But it petrifies my wife when I race up the stairs on tiptoes...