6 yr old toewalker with an attitude

My daughter is almost 6 and only walks on her toes. I have had doctors say that there is not a problem and others say different. In addition, she is in her 3rd year of speech therapy, has major behavioral issues when her "routine" is changed (she often gets in trouble at school), at times she will hit herself in the head (started at 18 months) or scratch herself, is VERY active and talks non-stop. She is very bright and maintaines A honor roll. Her memory is magnicifient and she has a vast vocabulary. She recently informed me that she was meditating and defined the term.

I took her to a psychologist and they said that her IQ was high and she was functioning at a much high level that a typical 4 year old. They diagnoised her with ADHD and I was advised to medicate her. I have not medicated her because I do not feel that the diagnosis is correct.

Also, she has been sick all of her life with URIs, pneumonias, staph infections and skin disorders due to a undectable IgG sub 4 level. The illnesses seemed to start with respiratory for the for year of her life then move to skin issues. I have conflicting information from her peditrician and the immunologist that she was seeing. One Dr. says that there is no proof that a low IgG sub 4 is linked to anything and the immunologist has suggested IgG infusions. I have done a lot of research on the IgG infusions and it seems as is there is not a lot of strong evidence that the good outweighs the bad. She has been thru so much and I feel like I am at witts end trying to get her to the right specialist to help her. Any suggestions? Thank you!

[mommyinfl]

I failed to mention that this is a consistent pattern. She can stand flat footed but immediatly goes back on her toes. She even stands on her toes while brushing her teeth, etc. It does not matter is she is barefooted on in tennis shoes.

[rilbrianne]

You REALLY need to check out this link.... I googled your problem and this sounds exactly like your problem.  This is just a short part of what I read... Idiopathic toe walking "This is a catchall diagnosis that means the cause is unknown. Idiopathic toe walking may be associated with language delays and with certain forms of autism, so it's important to verify that your child's not having other problems with communication or socialization skills. You may want to schedule a development assessment to make sure."

Read the whole thing, it might help point you in the right direction.  It talks about how it could be physical (achilles tendon) or physological (when together with slow speech or motor skills).  Now, a high IQ can still be part of a mental condition.... some people are exceptionally smart but have certain mental disabilities although your daughter probably doesn't.  

It's strange how the brain works but sounds like your daughter needs a neurological specialist to check things out.  

[rilbrianne]

Oops, forgot the link...
http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-child-is-walking-on-her-toes_12580.bc

It really sounds like a neurological issue, I really think you should get it checked out.  

[mommyinfl]

Thank you so much for the link. The doctors kept telling me she would grow out of it and not to be concerned. They said it should be evaluated at 5 if it was still happening. When I took her in they still dismissed it. She will be 6 in two months and I can tell something is wrong as she can not walk in sandals or certain other shoes correctly.

Thanks again and have a blessed day!

[marshastu]

Get the toe walking looked at for sure. My son (now 8) started to prefer walking on his toes at around 3 years and I was told by the health visitor that he'd grow out of it. Back then he could walk flat if prompted but as he got older it became impossible. I finally realised last year that he wasn't going to outgrow it and took him to the GP who told me that it shouldn't have gone on this long, would've been easier to fix at 4. He now faces an operation in 2 weeks time to lengthen the ligaments in his legs which will leave him wheelchair bound for 3 months, I only wish I'd had it looked at properly when I first noticed. Good luck, keep us posted.

[mommyinfl]

I hope all goes well with your son's operation and recovery. This is why I am looking into the matter with as much information as possible. I have heard about special shoes and braces and hope that this will help her if appropriate. I just want to make 100% sure that it is not attributed to something that does not involve surgery. Thank you again for the insight. Did the GP say that he needed surgery or did you take him to a specialist?

Have a blessed day!

[WISEMOM]

I don't want to alarm everyone but this story I am about to tell you is true.
My daughter never crawled.  She went from rolling to standing to walking.  She walked around 9 1/2 months old.  When she first started she would walked on her toes and did so most always and when barefoot. I don't remember when she quit.
A friend of ours who was a child psychologist mentioned that it was not a good idea that she never crawled. He said it may lead to behavior or learning disabilities such as OCD.I took all this in with a grain of salt. Ignored it and continued on.
My daughter has always had problems.  She never got the word THE, AND in reading until about 5th grade.  She would come to those two words and just never recognize them. She refused to attend the learning center when offered because she was already in the 4th grade and after attending on time she was teased for being in the dummies class.
She would get into trouble for not paying attention.  This was before ADD or ADHD was discovered. My daughter was born in1974.
Her teachers would make comments at conferences such as: she just doesn't stay on task.  She pays too much attention to her neighbors or looking out the window. What was offered at the time was just more homework, which took her hours after she got home.
By the time she was 12 she harrassed classmates along with some other behavior children. She wrote terrible notes to other children who did not see things as she and a few others did.  These were all girls.
We tried everything. Counseling, punishments to fit the crimes.Being grounded was the popular choice back then.  She just ALWAYS never was remorseful for her behavior.
By 14 she was running away.  ETC, ETC.
Yes, you guessed it, she has been into drugs for the last 15 years.  
I really feel that when we ignore such little behaviors when they are little they turn into bigger behavior problems later on.
It is a wise parent to at least probe further.  Good luck, my prayers are with you.  An old mom.

[marshastu]

Hi, my first step was to take my son to the gp (I was half hoping he'd tell me it was going to be a simple fix but I knew in the back of my mind that this wasn't going to be the case) The gp took one look at him when we walked through the door and I didn't even have to explain my concerns. He told me there and then that it was going to require surgery and referred us to a specialist to have a closer look. He said if I'd had it looked at when he was 3 or 4 there was a strong possibility that braces or special shoes would've sorted it before it got so bad, I was annoyed because I had pointed it out years earlier to the health visitor who blamed me for using a baby walker! I used a baby walker with all 4 of my kids and so did all of my friends and I have never known it to affect them. How high up on her toes is your daughter? My son is right up on the tips of his toes now, he got higher and higher as the years went by, now he can barely stand still because he can't balance like that. I'll be thinking of you both, keep us posted.