Tallen is, and has been since his very first steps, a toe walker. When I voiced my concern about this to his doctor, when Tallen was about age 2, I was told not to worry, that as long as he was physically able to walk flat footed, everything was fine. Pardon me for being suspicious, but to me, my asking Tallen to walk flat footed and him complying by doing a duck/penguin like waddle across the floor, then going right back up on his toes, didn't seem fine at all. Although it isn't on all of the lists that I have seen, toe walking is absolutely a sign of Autism and when accompanied by other symptoms of Autism, should definitely raise a red flag.
For a long time, his toe walking took a backseat to working on other issues. But, over the last few months, we have really paid more attention to getting him off his tip toes. He has always seemed to respond very well to things spoken with a rhythm ( sing- song fashion) and music.
So, when trying to teach him something new, I first try putting them in poetry or musical form. He also loves marching. So one of the first exercises I developed was to walk past him while chanting, "Heel - Toe - Heel - Toe . That's the way that Mommy goes!" He couldn't help but follow... His curiosity got the best of him. Within minutes, he was following me all around the house and walking correctly!
Soon, I changed the words to include his name, instead of mine. Whenever any of us started chanting this poem, he would fall in behind and walk correctly. Otherwise, he remained on his toes. Soon, I made up a song for him to the tune of "Head, Shoulders. Knees, and Toes"...
Tallon's walking heel to toe!
Heel to toe!
Tallon's walking heel to toe!
Heel to toe oh oh oh!
He knows that's the way to go!
Tallon's walking heel to toe!
Heel to toe!
He absolutely loves marching to the song and positively beams when we are congratulate him for walking so nicely. Every day or so, one of the family marches and chants or sings with him. Well, this morning, he came walking through the house, walking flat footed, and chanting to himself, " Heel - Toe - Heel - Toe. That's the way that I should go." He did this on his own, without any prompting from us, even changing the words on his own!" I am so proud!
To help him even more, this summer I plan on putting down some paper outside and letting him and the girls step in finger paints and then walk across the paper. I know, once he sees that he doesn't have a full footprint, like his sisters, it will annoy him enough to walk the proper way. He really likes things to be perfect! I feel sure that walking on his flat feet must be just as hard for him as walking on my tip toes would be for me. But, with a lot of patience and practice, I think we can beat this!
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