Many children experiment with toe-walking in the early years of life. However persistent toe-walking can be related to tight muscles, motor coordination difficulties and/or sensory processing differences which are commonly seen in children with neurological or developmental disorders such as Autism. For many of these children, it is thought that they toe-walk to get increased proprioceptive input (sensation from our muscles and joints which tells our brain where our body is so it can plan movements and reactions) which can help the child to feel more stable and it also has a calming effect. For other children, they may have tactile sensitivities and therefore dislike tactile input to their feet so they toe-walk to decrease this. Persistent toe walking can cause the calf muscles to shorten which will require intervention to remediate.

Using a sensorimotor approach and sensory integration techniques, our Occupational Therapist can implement a program for your child to help decrease toe walking and provide alternative sensory experiences to help your child receive the sensation they are seeking in order to maintain a calm state of arousal.

We are here to help you.