Help, my son outgrew his Fitflops and they don't have his next size :(

[Ibbygirl]

I thought about putting this just in the special needs board, but I figured I might get more responses here. My son has Autism, he is a toe walker and has been since he could walk and because of always being on his tippy toes, he has shortened the tendons in the back of his legs.

 

A year or so ago I was recommended (on these very boards I might add :) ) Fit flops sandals as a way to help lengthen the tendons in his legs and hopefully to help him avoid surgery. The type I bought him were these . I was going to buy the next full size up to replace the ones he has now because they're too small and pretty worn out, but amazon only has the baby sizes and I can't find this shoe anywhere. :( Not on amazon or any of the shoe sites I've looked at. :(

 

Does anyone know of another brand of shoe that works like fitflops to stretch out the tendons that are a sandal type like that? I would be so grateful for any help. Thank you to all who reply. :)

[Ibbygirl]

Try Zappos--looks like them got them.

 

They do have them, but only for women or men. No kiddos. :(

[ElizabethB]

:grouphug:

 

My son walks on his toes when he gets excited.

 

He got referred for PT and they gave him some good stretching exercises that have really helped.

 

I have no idea about shoes, my son only toe walks in bare feet when excited, but if you want leg stretching exercises and ideas, let me know.

Edited July 27, 2012 by ElizabethB

[ElizabethB]

They do have them, but only for women or men. No kiddos. :(

 

Would the smallest women's size fit him?

[itsheresomewhere]

What size is he now? He might be a womens or mens depending on the size.

[Ibbygirl]

Would the smallest women's size fit him?

I may have to go that route if I can't find a boy's one, but I really wish I could find the same style as the one he had before. They were great how you could adjust them for the perfect fit and they stayed on his feet well and he could even run in them. The flip flop options of the women's shoes are not ideal. I may have to get a him a closed shoe option if I can't find him a sandal type. It's so hot though where I live for most of the year I really prefer sandals if I can.

 

I didn't want to quote your other post if you are planning on deleting later, but I would absolutely love to know what stretches work for you. I massage my sons legs and try to stretch them gently, but I would love to know what is working for you. Thank you. :)

 

 

http://www.islandtrends.com/FitFlop-Boys-Hyker-Sandals-Midnight-11394

 

Ay, I clicked on your link, but it didn't have a place to select the size. :confused: I tried typing it in the search box and nothing came up. odd.

[Ibbygirl]

Any of those work?

 

They are all men's and women's sizes. The link that had women's options might work for me though. I'll have to measure his foot and see if he can fit one of those women's sizes. I appreciate your looking though. :) Thank you. :)

[ElizabethB]

We had 2 PTs look at my son. The first gave me stretching exercises that I was supposed to do on him, they really didn't do anything and were a pain for me, and I was not really sure I was doing them right anyway.

 

Then, we got a referral to a nearby PT. We actually have some visits left, but haven't needed them, we have been able to do well on our own once they gave me ideas, we just went for 1 visit.

 

Basically, most are variations of touching your toes. At first, he could only reach his knees. :001_huh: We were doing them twice a day and he got so he could touch his toes. We have now slacked off to once a day and he is about an inch above his toes. This seems to be fine, but we will have a better routine once we start school and will hopefully get back to twice a day.

 

I have him do different variations of touching his toes: 1. standing 2. sitting with legs apart to left leg 3. sitting with legs apart to middle 4. sitting with legs apart to right leg 5. sitting with legs apart to middle again 6. standing again

 

For 2 - 5, you have to make sure that the foot is pointing up.

 

At the appointment, they had a wedge thingy that made it so you were standing on a slight incline, so your toes were slightly above your heel. You could make it more of an incline the further up you stood on the wedge. She had him play a fun beanbag basketball game while standing like this. We would have done something like this at home but the stretching was working on its own so we didn't bother. (You can make your own from thick foam or a block of wood.)

 

She also said that walking or standing on an slight uphill incline was good. For the first week after the PT, we had him do a bit of this on our driveway.

 

Since my son only occasionally walks or runs on his toes, I now tell him to stop when he does it and make him touch his toes for 10 seconds afterwards.

[Ibbygirl]

Have any of ya'll used Orthaheel brand?? They don't have kid's sizes either, it seems designed to do the same thing and support the foot. Any one have experience with these?

[Ibbygirl]

We had 2 PTs look at my son. The first gave me stretching exercises that I was supposed to do on him, they really didn't do anything and were a pain for me, and I was not really sure I was doing them right anyway.

 

Then, we got a referral to a nearby PT. We actually have some visits left, but haven't needed them, we have been able to do well on our own once they gave me ideas, we just went for 1 visit.

 

Basically, most are variations of touching your toes. At first, he could only reach his knees. :001_huh: We were doing them twice a day and he got so he could touch his toes. We have now slacked off to once a day and he is about an inch above his toes. This seems to be fine, but we will have a better routine once we start school and will hopefully get back to twice a day.

 

I have him do different variations of touching his toes: 1. standing 2. sitting with legs apart to left leg 3. sitting with legs apart to middle 4. sitting with legs apart to right leg 5. sitting with legs apart to middle again 6. standing again

 

For 2 - 5, you have to make sure that the foot is pointing up.

 

At the appointment, they had a wedge thingy that made it so you were standing on a slight incline, so your toes were slightly above your heel. You could make it more of an incline the further up you stood on the wedge. She had him play a fun beanbag basketball game while standing like this. We would have done something like this at home but the stretching was working on its own so we didn't bother. (You can make your own from thick foam or a block of wood.)

 

She also said that walking or standing on an slight uphill incline was good. For the first week after the PT, we had him do a bit of this on our driveway.

 

Since my son only occasionally walks or runs on his toes, I now tell him to stop when he does it and make him touch his toes for 10 seconds afterwards.

 

Oh thank you so much. I'll try these exercises. I have a treadmill at home that can be made an incline, I'll have to try getting him to walk on it. We were taking him to the beach and having him walk in the sand to do the same thing. The fitflops are supposed to make their feet at a weird incline which is why they were supposed to be good for the tendons. Hopefully I can find a replacement for him.

[ElizabethB]

Oh thank you so much. I'll try these exercises. I have a treadmill at home that can be made an incline, I'll have to try getting him to walk on it. We were taking him to the beach and having him walk in the sand to do the same thing. The fitflops are supposed to make their feet at a weird incline which is why they were supposed to be good for the tendons. Hopefully I can find a replacement for him.

 

I hope they help you, they have been very helpful here.

 

The treadmill should be perfect--they actually had one there, I forgot to mention it. She said that if you had one, you could start out with a small incline and raise it gradually. I'm not sure what incline you want to shoot for, I didn't ask since we didn't have one. You might want to get a PT appointment with a good PT or ask here for an exact incline and more ideas.

[Ibbygirl]

Do they still make Earth shoes? They were negative heel. Of corse, he might still tippy toe walk in them.

 

http://www.earthbrands.com/kalsoearthshoe/kalso-the-negative-heel

 

Those look interesting. Do they have arch support do you know? The negative heel is one thing, but he really needs the orthotic support too to make sure his foot is properly aligned.

[Jan in SC]

How about here-

 

http://www.shoesthestation.com/fitflop-kids-scrambler-boys-sporty-sandals-p-1952.html

[Ibbygirl]

How about here-

 

http://www.shoesthestation.com/fitflop-kids-scrambler-boys-sporty-sandals-p-1952.html

 

Ay, they don't have his size. Thank you so much for trying to help though. :grouphug:

 

 

I think I'm going to try taking him to the shoe store tomorrow and try some sandals on his feet in both men's and women's sizes. Zappos had a foot chart thingy and I measured his foot and he looks like he is a size 7 in women's and a size 6 in men's. I figure I'll try those sizes on him in an actual shoe store so I can see how they fit and how the width is and I may get those Orthaheels ones online. They are a similar concept to the Fitflops. Wish me luck and thank you everyone for being so helpful. :)

[mom2att]

They do have them, but only for women or men. No kiddos. :(

 

A women's size 5 is like a kid size 3. So depending on the size of his feet, that could work.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Some other things you could do: have him stand on the edge of a step and drop his heels down. Walk on heels (make it a game). Stretch in a warm bath. Have him lay on his belly with his legs bent up at his knees and just push his feet down (doesnt give a great stretch, but better than nothing). Stand with feet flat on the floor a little bit away from a wall and just lean in.

 

These were all things i did, and sometimes still do, with my son. We would step on the edge of his step for a few seconds going upstairs to bed. Walk on heels around the living room, stretch nightly in the bath, etc. it's pretty easy to work them into the day.

[Laurie]

Have any of ya'll used Orthaheel brand?? They don't have kid's sizes either, it seems designed to do the same thing and support the foot. Any one have experience with these?

 

I wear them all...Orthaheel, Fitflops, Birkenstocks. Orthaheels are designed to prevent pronation so I'm not sure this is exactly what you're looking for.

 

Have you looked into the "minimalist"/barefoot designed shoes for a lower heel height? Maybe you might find something here (includes kids' shoes/sandals):

http://www.vivobarefoot.com

 

Here's the kids' page: http://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/kids.html

[Ibbygirl]

A women's size 5 is like a kid size 3. So depending on the size of his feet, that could work.

Yeah, when dh comes home from work I think we'll all go up to the shoe store and determine what size fits him best in women's or in men's. :)

 

Some other things you could do: have him stand on the edge of a step and drop his heels down. Walk on heels (make it a game). Stretch in a warm bath. Have him lay on his belly with his legs bent up at his knees and just push his feet down (doesnt give a great stretch, but better than nothing). Stand with feet flat on the floor a little bit away from a wall and just lean in.

 

These were all things i did, and sometimes still do, with my son. We would step on the edge of his step for a few seconds going upstairs to bed. Walk on heels around the living room, stretch nightly in the bath, etc. it's pretty easy to work them into the day.

 

I actually do stretch his feet and legs and massage them. He is profoundly Autistic and wouldn't be able to follow the directions of walking on his heels. I do have stairs in my house though and have tried to stretch his legs that way, but haven't done it in awhile. Thank you for the reminder. :)

 

I wear them all...Orthaheel, Fitflops, Birkenstocks. Orthaheels are designed to prevent pronation so I'm not sure this is exactly what you're looking for.

 

Have you looked into the "minimalist"/barefoot designed shoes for a lower heel height? Maybe you might find something here (includes kids' shoes/sandals):

http://www.vivobarefoot.com

 

Here's the kids' page: http://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/kids.html

 

Thanks. Do the vivobarefoot shoes work like the earth shoes the other poster linked above?

 

The reason I was thinking of the Orthaheels is because when I was looking at their page that image that they have on the right hand side of the screen toward the middle that says "natural pain relief", well that is exactly how my son's feet look when he is standing flat on them. He has horribly flat feet and the bones turn in like that so that's why I was thinking those shoes might be good for him. The fit flops were supposed to be motion control too and keep his foot in proper alignment.