Walking on toes again ..

[Stephanie]

I may have posted something similar before ...

 

My five year old HFA son has always walked on his toes when out and about or walking long distances, at home he is usually flat footed when standing still. He doesn't walk on high tip toes doing one of those bouncy kind of walks - but his heels do not touch the floor. When I have explained the heel-toe way of walking he can do it ok for a few steps but then goes back to the toe walking habit. He always insists on the shoes with lights on the bottom and I keep telling him they won't work unless he tries walking differently.

 

My other son who is 17 months is also toe walking (he started walking at 11 months and is still wobbly but walks well independantly). I know its too early to judge but I can't see any development problems in him, he points, gestures, talks quite well etc etc, good intelligence, eye contact, laughs a lot. He too can stand really well on flat feet but always walks on his toes when we are out.

 

I haven't mentioned it to anyone medically speaking ... should I? How long should I give the little one before I should take the matter further? Do they normally grow out of it?

 

Has anyone had children who have grown out of doing this? Can it harm the child in anyway? Do they have trouble walking long distances? Are there any leg strengthening exercises, physio that would help etc?

 

Any advice would be great!

[butterflycake]

Hi stephanie. my 3 year old also walks on his toes. He was seen by a physio at a cdc months ago and they say he doesnt need physio. He even walks like this outside and usually falls a good bit because of the way he walks. Sorry i cant be of any help. I hope its something they grow out of.

[curra]

Stephanie,

My son is 12 and he also walks on toes. When he was a toddler I thought he did it as a kind of game. He doesn't realise when he walks that way, which is most of the time, and it has been the cause of much teasing by other kids.He is also clumsy and bad at sports . I've read somewhere that it's frequent in people with ASD. I wonder why it happens...

 

Curra

[Zemanski]

a lot of toddlers walk on their toes, it's only a problem if it continues past about 3 or 4 years and then it is associated with dyspraxia and autism usually although it can indicate other problems - a friend of mine does it because her muscles were affected by polio when she was a child

 

Z

[sue1957]

One theory is that the leg muscles are influenced more by the adrenal glands. (The flight bit of the "flight or fright" response) In stress the leg muscle responsible for walking on the toes may get into action, presumably for if our ancestors needed to tiptoe away from something.

 

Although our stresses are different they think that some people with adrenal problems can have knee, feet or back problems, or any combination. Apparently sometimes treating the adrenal glands can help relax overtight muscles etc.

[Bagpuss]

Toe walking can be a sign of other problems. Would get it checked out, and monitor any other mobility problems your child is experiencing. I'm afraid i don't know very much about toe walking re ASD.

[bid]

It's actually what they used to call one of the 'stereotypical' behaviours of ASC...don't know if they still use that term.

 

My son has always walked on his toes, and still does (although not very much in shoes).

 

I used to worry about it when he was little, but now that he's nearly 17 I don't even notice it any more, and it doesn't seem to have done him any harm.

 

Bid

[lil_me]

I agree on the getting it checked, can be other things. My son has flat feet, very tight hamstrings and knockknees and his chiropodist told me she is unsure which part causes his toe walking, one of those or his ASD

 

I've spoken to adults with ASDs who say that the pressure on their feet from walking they sometimes find unbearable so thats why they walk on their toes.

[Flora]

Up until William was 9 he walked on his toes. Around the age of 9 1/2 he became less active and stopped the toe walking round about the same time. He's very dyspraxic and lopes about and it's hard to really see how he is on his feet because he sort of stumbles along when he walks.

 

I don't think the toe walking did him any harm, but he always has sore feet and aching legs.

 

Lauren

[LizK]

Adam used to tiptoe walk a lot as a toddler, does so less now but still doesn't really heel strike. Toe-walking is fairly common in ASD something to do with proprioception and perceptual issues but lots of other things can cause toe walking like tight achilles tendons, lax joints or other soft tissue problems. It can also be normal in young children though not sure up to what age. Might be worth asking your HV about your youngest though I expect at 17mths it falls within the normal range

 

Lx

[jen]

my son has always walked on his toes. His last two/three toes have started to turn inwards to accomodate his balance. I was concerned that if the small toes continue to turn inwards than it would cause a problem with his circulation. Hence, I took him to the doctors and asked for a referral. The doctor told me his theory are children do not need their small toes as they do nothing. I said I was not happy with this explanation and I would like a second opinion. We were referred to a podiatrist who put insole supports into his schools, these have been raised over 3 months and have just been reviewed agaoin. My childs lower spine and mid spine was also being put out of alignment due to the way my child was walking. Walking on toes also affect the muscles in the legs.

 

Jen

[Lila-Zen]

My son toe walks and was prescribed piedro boots by the physio at the child development centre and provided by the orthotics department.

 

They made them with an extra metal plate in to weigh him down even more. I was also shown exercises to do to try to stretch (gently) his hamstrings.

 

He still has the boots in blue but only for use at school and TBH they haven't stopped the toewalking entirely. We were also prescribed those leg splints on the same webpage for night time use but he just pulled them off his legs (sometimes whilst still asleep )