ASD Tip-toe Walking - please explain

[Grey24]

I've heard of Tip-toe walking on SN before - and now my DD (2.5) seems to be doing it...! Or, at least, she is sometimes walking on what I would describe as the ball of her foot. Is this the same as tiptoe walking?
She is mainly doing this at home, on just her right foot (ie walking on each foot differently). Then today she was doing this with both feet. This week she was diagnosed, after a period of assessment, with ASD.
I'd be very grateful if someone could explain what the different way of walking is about/why/what it means/why it happens etc. Most things about her, I think I understand (reasonably..) - mainly thanks to MN over the least year - but this one I don't understand and would be grateful for any info. Also - does it progress/'get worse'? Many thanks.

Its hard to say why children with ASD toe walk, and mostly they believe its a sensory issue, but also to do with balance and finding where their bodies are in space. Its quite hard to explain. DD2 walks on toes a lot and has autism but also has sensory processing and hypomobility.
We have strong heavy boots for her to help with the hypomobility but also stops a fair amount of toe walking but as soon as those shoes are off

ds1 does it alot and also "prances" up and down the room with hand at chest height.

But he doesnt have asd...oh no......sigh......

Why the sad face Becarooo? That he doesn't have ASD is a good thing surely?
My 3 yr old doesn't toe walk but does display a few ASD traits, the main one being severe speech delay.

He does have asd alice but as the NHS paed told me in august "what good will a dx do you?"

Thats why the face.

Thank you for your responses.
LisaD - interesting to hear about your DD; my DD definitely has sensory issues, though the Paed says that she doesn't diagnose those things separately, she just says they have ASD and includes sensory issues in that.
But I would like to learn more about this as some of her sensory things 'make sense' to me, and some - like the toe-walking - I just didn't quite understand.

Becarooo - sorry to hear your paed doesn't think a dx would help - so unhelpful! My Paed, thankfully, saw that a dx would help her to get help and understanding when she goes to school etc.

if you want to help with the sensory issues, you need a referal to a OT, chance of finding a good nhs one is limited, most go private.

Agree with lisad The only things that have helped my son is the private stuff we have paid for;
AIT
RRT
Really helped his senosry issues and anxiety and balance and vestibular issues.

In decidedly no scientific talk I think for us when DS is doing it it might mean that DS is excited, upset, tired, stressed, bored or any combination of those emotions.

Alternatively it might mean he's having a very sensory day. when he's having a highly sensory day he will spin more, like to be squished more and more likely to accidentally break you nose when he pushes his head against yours!!! (hasn't actually done it yet) I'd probably be more inclined to warn DD against rough and tumble games especially if he started gritting his teeth too. On these days he is more likely to retreat into his own shell and less likely to communicate.

Dd2 tends to do it when excited or stressed. The hands flap aswell, and then the noises, then you really need to take action.

DS does this too, luckily it's not become a major problem and he only does it when he has his shoes off at home.

Sorry "becaroooo", it's hard sometimes (for me) to work out what someone is trying to get across in just script.
I am not sure my DD has ASD but there are enough signs to suggest it's possible. Both DH and I find ourselves bigging her abilities up at paed appointments.
I so so want her to be normal.

Normal is over rated IMO

I agree lisad.

I am watching this thread with interest, I am working with a LO at the moment who may or may not be on the spectrum, she tiptoe walks all the time. The are other things which are concerning too but the tiptoeing is very noticable.

Dd3 who is 9 and has asd has never tiptoed but I think that is due to her ankles being so unstable due to hypermobility.

My eldest doesn't tip toe and has autism but has very tight tendons. Dd2 tip toes alot. I do think that from the children I have observed that the more effected by the autism the more they tip toe.

That LO is lucky to have you as someone who gets girls with Asd.

Thanks Lisad, I don't want to jump the gun obviously but I am lucky to have previous experience of ASD with my own Dd's and a number of others both boys and girls I have worked with in the last 20 years or so.

I think if more children were spotted in preschool it would save much agony and heartache for them when they go to school.

Today a friend who is a SALT told me that at a specialist ASD school where she works there are only 2 children in the nursery due to no one else in the area managing to get a statement in early enough to be able to go..

Sorry for the hijack grey.

Dd2 special autism nursery was full but no statement or dx needed, but was private.

I can normally spy a child with Asd a mile off now

Thank you everyone for your comments - much appreciated. I don't mind a thread hijack, either - keeps it current!

LunarRose - thank you very much for the description of your DS, incl 'gritted teeth' & quieter days - this makes a lot of sense for me about my DD, though I am only just 'working these things out' - Paeds can't tell you what real life parents can: thank you!

Having spent a lot of time observing children of all ages who are on the AS I am more and more convinced that the stimulatory "behaviours" we like to consider as "different or unusual" are simply a child with AS response to processing the impact the world has upon them, the issue for us is that these wonderful children "do it" to the max.

Toe walking offers the child amazng proprioceptive feedback, try and do it yourself and see how it feels. It may help the child to concentrate -I "tip toe" therefore I exist!

However it may simply just feel great, it may offer the child more idea where the leg ends and the foot begins,it may be an interesting balance conundrum which needs puzzling out, it may allow the child minimal feedback from a surface they may have sometimes found difficult to deal with e.g sand, it may be a response to something they have observed, it may be a way of detaching from the world by allowing them the alternative of physical feedback to concentrate on or on the other hand it may be tight tendons and based within a medical need.

We all exhibit proprioceptive behaviours that are concious/unconcious to ready ourselves for a task,e.g pulling on necklaces, rubbing hands together etc. We all have unconcious habits that offer us proprioceptive feedback, hair twiddling, finger picking, nail biting. Processing the sensory feedback we receive every minute of every day is something we learn about as we grow older. AS children are just the same and they cleverly practice and practice sensory learning in a way that helps them to understand a sensory world.

Can anyone tell me a bit more about 'gritted teeth'. My DS has a (which he finally seems to be growing out of), where he runs up to people with gritted and bared teeth making a sort of growling (but a bit more friendly than growling) noise. He then stops just before he gets to the persons face. This is the only behavioural trait of autism we have, otherwise his 'traits' are all to do with social interaction and communication - hence our paed's diagnosis of 'traits of autism, but not on the spectrum'. Only got this non-diagnosis last Wed, till then we thought most of his problems were down to his glue ear... But we did have a hunch their maybe more to it. Now he's going through a bit of a 'switched off' phase again, but I've just noticed his ears are totally infected again. He never complains about his ears, we only notice infections when pus starts oozing. Do others have children with either ASD or traits of ASD that are highly stoic about illness?

Very rare toe walking though... Sorry to start asking lots of other questions on your thread.

if my son definately tip toe walks to concentrate!

When I ask him what he is doing when "praqncing" as we call it he always says the same thing;

"I am thinking"

My NT son grits his teeth and growls like a lion. Because I pretend to be frightened and that makes him laugh!

Cjn, many DC on the autistic spectrum are 'stoic' about illness, it seems to depend on their sensory issues. If they are hypersensitive to the particular painful area then you'll get instant complaints, if hypo (under) sensitive, they may have a high pain threshold. In my DS's case this seems to vary from month to month, and varies depending on which part of his body hurts. Never simple!

My DD with ASD does it when she's quite sensory.

I actually walked on tiptoes all the time as a child (maybe I have traits of ASD) and was constantly teased by my family. I remember when I did it it was because it felt like the only natural way to walk and walking normally felt weird...interesting discussion.