Late walkers / insoles / flat feet&over-pronation

[katpw]

Hi, I wondered if anyone who's toddler was a 'late walker' and had insoles made by a podiatrist due to extreme flat feet /over pronation, roughly how long was it until they could then stand independently/walk on their own?

And were you recommended for your child to wear the insoles / footwear as much as they can? That's the advice we've been given however a physio I called this morning said barefoot is best.... So conflicting advice.

Our daughter is 22 months and has had insoles for a few months now.

Would be helpful to hear other people's stories - it's becoming a real struggle mentally.

Thank you.

Hi Op. Has your daughter seen the paediatrician? It’s just shoes can sometimes only help so much and other causes may need to be considered/ ruled out. Is your daughter able to weight bear at all or cruise along the furniture?

I understand the struggle, I have children with mobility problems and genetic causes are being looked at.

@catthanks for your reply @caterpillarteacup . Sorry to hear you're going through a tough time too.
She can weight bear and sofa cruise. But she doesn't walk independently and relies on holding someone's hand. She also can't stand independently.
We've had a referral and have been seeing a podiatrist only. I'm trying to push for a physio referral too.
It's the conflicting advice we're being told by various people... Physio's say to keep bare foot, podiatrist says boots and insoles 24/7.. how do you know who to trust!
Does this sound at all similar to your children's mobility concerns?

I think because of the over pronation I would definitely be putting the shoes on when she is weight bearing at all. I think what they mean is in an ideal world it would be barefoot. But where there are other issues such as over pronation then the shoes should definitely be worn. The shoes will help to correct this and help prevent any damage to the developing foot.

If she can weight bear, sofa cruise and walk holding someone’s hand these are all great signs. All the precursors to walking. The physios generally say it’s about what they are doing in the lead up to walking - what they are doing to build the muscles and strength required to walk. Your daughter seems to be doing all the right things. Keep encouraging the pulling up onto the sofa, cruising along the sofa as this will build the muscles she needs. Try putting some interesting toys out of reach from the sofa and encouraging her. Physio referral should be able to help with this.

My children’s mobility concerns are a bit different. One child can only take a few steps at 3 years old despite a huge amount of physio, my daughter can’t weight bear at all. They think they both have a genetic muscle condition.

My DD doesn’t wear special shoes but we have even had conflicting advice from different physios. Our first physio wanted DD in shoes with ankle support all the time and our second physio said barefoot is OK inside but proper supportive shoes outside. We even had our local John Lewis refuse to sell us the shoes the physio wanted us to buy as DD was not walking and they would only sell us pre-walkers. My DD also has mobility issues and got referred to the paediatrician at 24 months who had now referred us to genetic testing but everything is so slow. Our physio recommended lots of time standing and putting toys out of reach and also practicing going from sitting to standing and leaning down to pick up things. She recently took her first independent steps at 28 months but her timeline was probably a bit slower than yours OP.

@caterpillarteacup thank you - I agree re shoes being beneficial, so will keep her in them!
Thank you for the reassurance, I think it's always harder to notice progress when you're with them every day, but on paper I guess it is progress :-)
Sending lots of positivity your way x

@wishIwasonholiday10 thank you for your comment. Aww glad your little one has taken her first steps, that must've been a magical moment.
Hope the testing goes well. Could I ask what mobility issues she has/had? Does she have over pronation of the feet? That seems to be the physical concern our daughter has.
Thanks

Mine have both been late walkers (later than your DD). We were advised boots outside with ankle support. Neither had insoles made etc. we didn’t put shoes on indoors as it’s less comfy than bare feet when sitting down etc. Eventually they did walk. One still has difficulties the other is now ok though not an athlete.

It may be partly personality driven if she is generally more cautious.

She should be referred to Paediatrics and will probably be walking by the time she is seen if she is already walking holding a hand.

Over pronation will right itself over time (months to years not weeks!) as the ankle muscles strengthen.

@Alicantespumante thank you for your reply. We were wondering if it's also partly personality based however her feet are extremely pronated and ankles roll in so think it's more that she physically cannot stand / walk as her ankles aren't supporting her.
It does feel a bit mean having her in shoes other than when sleeping.. but that's the advice we were given 😭
Why do you recommend paedeatrics? It does make me frustrated this wasn't mentioned by the gp or the podiatrist we have been referred to. It will likely be a several month wait for any new referral. ☹️
Thanks again.

Is it definitely a podiatrist that she has been referred to? Or orthotics? My first was referred to physio first but then paediatrics. Mine are boys and muscular dystrophy (usually affects boys) can present with delayed walking so they normally do bloods to rule this out. There are other medical underlying causes to why is why Paediatrics usually assess. However your daughter sounds very close. More likely to have an underlying issue if very floppy, late to sit, recurrent chest infections etc etc. Would be worth physio having a look although my experience was that physio wasn’t very useful and it just took time,

@Alicantespumante it's definitely a podiatrist - and not one which specialises in children (if they exist). No mention of physio or paeds. I called the gp yesterday who have booked an appointment for 2 weeks time to then hopefully sort out a physio referral... But thinking we'll need to go private to avoid the likely long wait.
I wouldn't say I've noticed my daughter being late to sit or recurrent chest infections etc. It seems very much it's her feet causing the delay.. I hope anyway...

Yes, the first steps were such a relief (but happened at nursery so I didn’t witness them sadly) but not a magic bullet as she still prefers to hold a hand when walking. I kept reading stories on here about late walkers who just got up and started walking confidently but it wasn’t that way for us.

She did have over protonation when she was first weight bearing but not as prominently now. The physio and paediatrician both say she has hypotonia (low muscle tone) but we don’t yet know the cause, possibly a genetic disorder. She never crawled and was reluctant to weight bear until around 21 months. Every referral takes so long and it can be agonising not knowing what the future holds for her while watching all the others in our NCT group running around. Still love her to bits of course!

@wishIwasonholiday10 I know the feeling - it's hard not to compare and get upset when you see peers the same age or younger able to run and walk around. I just try and tell myself they're oblivious... Hopefully that's true as I find it heartbreaking.
Sending lots of strength your way x

Has it just been the podiatrist you’ve been referred to? I would push to see a pediatrician and am surprised at 22 months and not walking you haven’t been referred, it’s usually at 18 months the referrals start if not walking by then. It may just be her feet causing the issues and it’ll right itself with time, but there be conditions causing the feet issues and if so it is best to get diagnosed early.

@Overthebow hello yes podiatrist only who seemed confident in it being foot related only... But now I'm worrying 😢 I will call the gp on Monday to ask for a pediatrician referral. Thank you

I’ve never heard of a podiatrist being involved with this sort of thing. You need physiotherapy and paediatrics. Podiatrists won’t have the medical knowledge to say it’s just the feet / ankles causing the issue. I’m surprised they were confident enough to tell you that.