Toe walking and language development

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Portable Intermodal Preferential Looking (IPL): Investigating Language Comprehension in Typically Developing Toddlers and Young Children with Autism
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Portable Intermodal Preferential Looking (IPL): Investigating Language Comprehension in Typically Developing Toddlers and Young Children with Autism

Published on: December 14, 2012

P Accardo1, J Morrow, M S Heaney

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, St. Louis University School of Medicine, MO.

Clinical Pediatrics
|March 1, 1992
PubMed

Insights

Idiopathic toe walking in children may be associated with lower language development. However, this study found the link between toe walking and language delay not to be clinically significant for most children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

  • Early neurodevelopmental markers can indicate potential developmental disabilities.
  • Idiopathic toe walking is a frequently observed gait pattern in childhood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between idiopathic toe walking and language development in a general pediatric population.
  • To determine if toe walking is a clinically significant predictor of language delay.

Main Methods:

  • A study included 163 children attending well-child visits.
  • Data on language development and toe walking history were collected from caretakers.
  • Children were observed for toe walking during their visits.

Main Results:

  • The frequency of toe walking was 24% (39 out of 163 children).
  • Toe walkers (n=39) exhibited consistently lower mean language quotients compared to non-toe walkers (n=127).
  • Toe walking showed high specificity (85%) but low sensitivity (32%) for identifying low language scores.

Conclusions:

  • The study data support an association between toe walking and language delay.
  • This association, however, does not appear to be clinically significant for the general pediatric population.

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