Autism and the feet
It has also been found that children with Autism can have difficulty in performing and developing gross motor skills, coordination, and balance. These are all factors, which contribute to ones walking pattern. Such factors as well as appearing clumsy and demonstrating delayed/ atypical motor developments will all contribute to affecting your child’s walking pattern.
From a podiatrist’s perspective the below factors may be observed in children with Autism
- Low muscle tone (hypotonia)
- May vary from a moderate to severe reduction in muscle tone
- Your child may appear floppy and have a poor physical endurance such a difficulty standing and walking for prolonged periods of time.
- Poor balance, coordination, joint proprioception, and an awkward walking pattern
- Changes to one’s gait pattern may include
- Taking shorter steps while walking
- Wider base of gait
- Toe walking
- Children who are more prone to walking and standing on their tip toes involuntary
- Can lead to an imbalance in the leg muscles as well as have a reduction in joint range of motion at the ankle join
- Sensory sensitivities
- Have heightened senses such as sound, touch and taste
- They may often find that particular surfaces such as grass and sand cause irritation
- Children may also find that footwear and socks to be intolerable as well
At The Podiatry Experts one of our podiatrists will be able to assess your child’s:
- Foot posture
- Joint range of motion and flexibility
- Foot and leg muscle strength
- Walking pattern and biomechanical assessment
- Balance, coordination, and pelvic stability
- Footwear assessment
Many people with flat feet don’t experience pain or other problems. But certain types of flatfoot can be painful. Symptoms may include:
- Leg cramps.
- Muscle pain(aching or fatigue) in the foot or leg.
- Pain in the arch, ankle, heel or outside of the foot.
- Pain when walking or changes in your gait (how you walk).
- Toe drift (front part of the foot and toes point outward).
Treatment:
Neuro Sensory Orthotic Therapy
After a biomechanical assessment, our specialists can provide you with orthotics which are custom-made especially to your child’s feet. With the Orthotics help, it can help improve the alignment of your child’s feet, improve stability and reduce muscular fatigue.
Strengthening Exercises
We will provide a comprehensive strengthening program for the feet and ankles for your child.
Proprioception Exercises
We will provide you with a comprehensive exercise program to increase the proprioception, balance and co-ordination.
What you should do next?
If your child has autism and has any of the following, flat feet, hypermobile feet, poor balance, low muscle tone, feet roll in. Then it is important to get a biomechanical assessment straight away. It is easy to book with us- fill out our online form and we schedule an appointment as soon as possible.
We will discuss with you the best possible solutions for your rolling feet to fix your foot’s positioning straight away – it is important to remember not to delay in sorting the foot problem out soon as it will worsen over time. Make sure to schedule an appointment with us today.
New Patient Gait Assessment
$25 off for new patients
*Claimable on your private health insurance!
