My dd has a mild curve (kyphosis) near her neck/upper back, so she often
appears to be leaning forward, her neck kind of sticks forward a bit (usually
keeps her head down too). She tends to have her upper arms tucked in by
her body, elbows bent w/ hands near her chest or shoulders. She'll often
hold/wring her hands too. If she is holding an object in her hands, then
they'll be at her side (but no swinging). Just by looking at her, most people
would recognize an odd gait. Any toe walking or limping too should be
noted. My dd's left side is a bit weaker than her left, and a trained eye can
pick that up by her walk & other gross motor skills.
My brother always had an awkward gait - most obvious when running.
Think about what our arms do when you run, then look at what your child's arms do when he/she runs. Often when kids have an awkward gait their arms are often not moving in synch with their legs, or are not moving at all, which can cause them to appear off balance.
Cassidy does too... more obvious when she runs, though ECI PT helped along with therapeutic horseback riding... she's monitored once a year in the Ortho. clinic at Scottish Rite here. She was referred at 2 for intoeing, tiptoeing & she drags her right foot alot. She started walking at almost 14mo. but didn't run until close to 3, she did this 'bilateral whip' thing instead where her legs would whip out to the side instead of 'one in front of the other'... she falls ALOT. Some because she's clumsy, some on purpose :p, etc...
The drs. aren't worried about her gait issues right now as they've said that she's completely functional and she's 'mild'. :) (in regards to her gait)
Chera2539346.8285185185Sarah runs real drunk like and not fast at all..her arms flail a bit and she doesnt have the motivation to get from here to there in a hurry:) I got her in gymnastics and it is really helping her upper and lower strength and they do alot of jumping and running..she was also a tippy toe walker when she was younger. I try to get her rollerskating, rollerblading..jumping rope..things to get her legs moving in rhythm. Each year she is getting better..not the best in class but not the slowest anymore:)Yeah I had an even weirder run than my walk from what I'm told. Got teased about it (and about my walk for that matter, the bending over thing someone else mentioned). My arms either hung straight down by my sides or bent up, in neither case swung unless reminded (and then often swung the wrong way).
Just remembered also that when young I had trouble pointing my legs in the right direction and was about to be prescribed a leg brace when they told my mom to try ballet instead which would serve the same function as physical therapy.
Daniel has a c1 malfirmation. He drug his right leg when he crawled. Gymnastics helped which a Ot suggested for him. This isn't his only spinal issue either.
Good morning all -
Just saw this work on my DS occuapational questionaire and was wondering if anyone can give me examples or explain what it it???
Ask if child had awkward gait??? Does this have to do with body movement, ie -walking from one room to another.
What are examples of this???
thanks so much
Yes.. Gait ... is the way they hold their body when moving.
When my son was just a few years old, people commented on how he walked with his body bent forward, and arms held at the chest, rather than swinging.
Toe-walking is also a common problem among children with autism, and that might fall under "gait" but I'm not sure.
You would notice it when a child runs. My oldest nt/child had a very
awkward gait when he ran. There is something in the movement that is not
smooth. When he was very young, he would trip often. He is 17 now and the
issues have resolved. He however would be a much better runner had I
known that a good OT or PT could have worked on these issues. AT that
time both the podiatrist and neurologist had ruled out ongoing issues.
Now my asd child does not have these issues, but I watch for them.KathyK39346.4181018519My ds has that also extremely noticeable when he runs. He looks uncomfortable in his own skin. Like his body isnt moving they way he wants.
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