Why does He Walk Like That? Point Gait and Sensory Profile
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25759/spmfr.422Keywords:
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Child, Movement Disorders, Toes, WalkingAbstract
Toe walking (TW) is the absence of normal heel-to-floor contact during the initial phase of the gait. It can be normal during the motor learning, associated with different pathologies or it can be idiopathic (ITW). The therapeutic approaches are either conservative or interventive.
TW is commonly observed in children with autism spectrum disorder and it can be possibly related to sensory processing disorders (SPD).
This article describes a clinical case of a child diagnosed with ASD, TW and SPD, preceded by a literature review on the topic.
It has been described by some authors that children with TW seem to have subtle sensory disorders, such as vestibular and proprioceptive input seeking and tactile hypersensivity.
The clinical case describes a 4 years and 9 months old boy, diagnosed with ASD and TW. The SPM-P results showed a tactile over-responsivity, a proprioceptive and vestibular input seeking, associated with difficulties with ideation and motor planning (praxis).
Although it seems to be an association between TW and SPD, data is scarce, with many limitations. If a consistent association was found, conservative management could be a reliable option, namely Occupational Therapy with sensory integration.
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