My son wore AFO's for almost 3 years. Really helped! Physiatrist referred us to PT and OT. AFO's are currently off (hes grown out of them again) and keeping them off for time being, will see how he does without them. I would follow the recommendations of the physiatrist, but i believe strongly the AFO's and PT helped.

OK, what is a Physiatrist? I.m thinking I might have an answer, but maybe not.

My son is a little over 3 years old currently, and is a severe toe-walker. He is literally never down on his heels at any given point, and at times i have noticed him standing up on his toes curled forward and over. He had custom molds created for the best fit possible in creating his leg/foot braces. It was difficult as hell given the nature of his chunky little foot to find shoes to go over them that weren't too big, but we finally found some online. From the molds, night splints have also been made. Time will tell if they will help stretch his heel cords out properly....i am trying real hard to keep them on the suggested number of hours, despite his frustration with them at times. Recently one of his braces split down the middle, and now because everyone is closed for Winter Break, we are having to wait until Jan 3rd to get them re-molded, and you should check into your insurance benefits too (sigh), because they cost about $1,500 for us. They are different than the traditional AFO's i have seen online...i have no experience with those, but i have found that these work very well for him. Finn goes to his PT once a week to check in, but i'm not sure if she is as knowledgeable as i first thought, so i'm not taking any chances, and have scheduled an appt. with a Podiatrist at Children's Hospital for a second opinion. In my sons case, they say his heel cords are too short, and that perpetuates his inability to stand/walk flat-footed, that it is painful to put his heels down. If not properly corrected, they have mentioned leg surgeries, and i am trying to avoid that at all costs no matter what. So.....Braces can save him a lot of trouble down the road. Get good opinions, and put them on religiously! Good luck to you :-)

My son toe walked very early on. We got (and still have) a mini trampoline in the living room for him to jump on when he feels he needs the pressure. I rub and flex his feet a lot also. He is 5 now and we only see "foot action" when he is upset about something.

also, a great way we have found to promote flat footed walking is to put bubble wrap on the floor and let him walk on it. He loves the popping noise and needs to use his heels to get it to pop.