Staff 
January 18, 2013Autism is a complex disorder that impacts on how the person with it interacts with the people and environment about them. There is a very wide variety of clinical symptoms associated with autism, it is probably better terms autistic spectrum disorder. Some of the symptoms include repetitive behaviors, poor language development, and poor social interactions. Despite lots of research and clinical trials on autism, not a lot of progress has necessarily been made and there are plenty of conspiracy theory’s regarding the causes. There is no cure for autism, just behavior modification approaches.
What has autism got to do with the feet and podiatry? Podiatrists treat children with foot problems. Some of those children will be on the autistic spectrum, so podiatrists do need to be familiar with autism ad how to interact with the child and have empathy with the parents. Secondly, those with autism tend to toe walk, so Podiatrists need to be aware of this when considering a differential diagnosis of a child that presents with walking on the toes. Thirdly, toe walking affects the weightbearing pattern on the foot, so symptoms and things like unusual callus patterns can often show up in those who toe walk over a long period of time.