6 yr old toewalker

[mommyinfl]

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.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

What is her subjective feeling about toe walking? Does she feel any pain when she stands on flat foot? Please let me know.

The basis for diagnosing ADHD is not only hyperactivity. The fact that she is doing very well in the academics shows that she probably may not have attention deficit.

Even if she has ADHD, she may outgrow the condition. You can take a second opinion regarding medication for ADHD. They have certain side effects which are a bit disturbing to the children.

Regards

[mommyinfl]

I totally agree with the great academic progress not pointing toward ADHD. This is one on the main reasons that I question the diagnosis and have not medicated her. At the time of the evaluation she was in PreK.

She does not have pain when she stands flat. She has absolutely no arch when standing flat. She often has emotional/behavioral outbursts during PE. I have looked back in her daily progress book (communications from the teacher daily on behavior and other issues) and 4 of the last 6 major outbursts/meltdowns occured during PE. Possibly the excitement or excercise sparks these meltdowns. She went thru a period that her legs hurt her. I was told by her peditrician that they were "growing pains".

Thank you again for your help!

[BobbHilton]

Hello,
       At what age she started or was able to walk unaided? does she start walking normally before  shifting/changing to tiptoe walking if yes then how long could she walk normally ? has she ever been seen by a movement disorder specialist? any abnormal blood tests/nerve conduction EMG/ Neuro-imaging? what is the cause of the speech issue?

  God bless
   Bob Hilton

[mommyinfl]

She started walking unaided at 10 months. She has walked on her toes for as long as I can remember. All of the pictures that I have of her standing/walking are on her toes. The docs kept telling me she would outgrow it and not to be concerned.

Currently when she walks she starts on her toes. She is also on her toes when standing in a line or brushing her teeth. She has never been seen by a movement disorder specialist only a physical therapist when she was 3. All he did was stretch her muscles and have her hop, etc. This is the same thing I do for her at home, but her Dr. says that her muscle rang is not so tight that it limits her range. She does have a hard time standing flatfooted and squatting down.

She has had some abnormal blood test but mostly dealing with her immune system. The speech issue is caused my a high roof of her mouth and other structural issues.

It has been recommended to do surgery, but as I said the Dr. told me that he muscle range is not that bad. So, why would I allow them to cut on her if there is not enough evidence that it will help.

Is there anything that I should be looking for? Blood work, activity, etc.? Thanks for your time!

[BobbHilton]

You should take her to a neurolgist who is specialized in Movement disorders

    God bless
    Bob Hilton

[mommyinfl]

Thank you for your comment. I will look into this and seeing what is available to our area.