Toe walking has been linked to autism spectrum disorders, which affect a child's ability to communicate and interact with others.
Most Children Outgrow Toe Walking
This by itself usually isn't anything you need to be concerned about as long as your child is developing and growing normally, but toe walking after the age of 3, referred to as Idiopathic Toe Walking, may not be normal and should be looked into.
Toe walking happens more frequently in children with autism spectrum disorder than in children who don't have ASD. One large study found that 9% of children on the spectrum were toe walkers. The same study found that less than 0.5% of children without an autism diagnosis were toe walkers.
All children learn to walk on their toes. But persistent toe walking, particularly with language delays, may signal autism spectrum disorder.
Executive Director, Autism Research Institute. Toe walking is quite common in young children, age 3 and younger; but toe walking, especially in children 5 years and older, is often associated with neurological immaturity.
Our results demonstrate that roughly 9% of patients with ASD have a diagnosis of toe-walking as compared with less than 0.5% of children with no ASD diagnosis.
As noted above, experts estimate the general prevalence of ITW at about 2 percent. So, these results suggest kids with ADHD may be 10 times more likely to toe walk than the general population. A 2021 study involving 77 people with toe walking found that 9.1 percent of toe walkers had a confirmed diagnosis of ADHD.
Idiopathic toe walking (ITW) is a pathological gait pattern in which children walk on their tip toes with no orthopedic or neurological reason. Physiological characteristics of the gastrocnemius muscles, the Achilles tendon, and the foot of toe walkers differ from subjects with a plantigrade walking pattern.
Conclusions This study shows that a genetic component might be factor in toe walking. PF-TW children were more severely affected in all performed clinical tests than NF-TW children.
Toe walking is common in children who are learning to walk. After the age of 2, however, most children outgrow toe walking and begin to walk with a normal heel-to-toe pattern. In very rare cases, continuing to toe walk after age 2 may be a sign of an underlying medical condition.
Muscle tightness in the calf is the most common symptom of toe walking. If your child's case of toe walking does not resolve itself naturally, it can cause problems later on in life, such as painful biomechanical issues, shortened muscles, and increased risk of ankle injury.
Tell-tale signs in children with ADHD and autism
Lemcke says children with ADHD or autism display certain characteristics and behaviour more often than other children: Their motor development is deviant. For instance they start walking much later than other children. They may have certain cognitive problems.
Toe walking may be a symptom of a physical condition such as spinal dysraphism or injury, myopathy, and neuropathy. Children may also toe walk because of low muscle tone.
With some children, it's easy to see that toe walking is a result of sensory-seeking. Walking on the toes provides increased proprioceptive input through the leg joints, thereby giving more feedback about the child's position in space and his or her relationship to the floor.
Kids might toe walk because: They're learning to walk. They have tight calf muscles. Their Achilles tendon is tight.
Children with autism have a problem with decreased muscle tone or increased muscle weaknesses. As a result, their body posture falls in the forward direction putting their weight over their toes. This is why they tend to walk on their toes rather than their feet.
The cause of idiopathic toe walking is unknown, but close to 5% of children toe walk at some stage of development. In some cases, however, toe walking can by symptomatic of an underlying physical issue, neurological impairment, or sensory processing disorder. Some of these include the following: Short Achilles tendon.
Using a towel or having a parent help bring your foot up towards your nose whilst keeping the straight knee and/or slightly bent. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds. You can also stretch in standing or with your heels hanging off the edge of a step.
About 85 percent of the children in each group walked independently by 18 months. But when researchers focused on children with IQs of around 50, they found that 60 percent of the children with intellectual disability, ADHD or language disorders walked by 18 months compared with 80 percent of those with autism.
Children with ADHD often have trouble paying attention, and they may display hyperactive and impulsive behaviors. These features can affect the child's relationships with family, friends, and teachers.
ADHD causes kids to be more inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive than is normal for their age. ADHD makes it harder for kids to develop the skills that control attention, behavior, emotions, and activity. As a result, they often act in ways that are hard for parents manage.