My daughter's developed a habit of walking really strangely

HM

This discussion was created from comments split from: Hi, I'm Arlene. I'm a Specialist Learning Disability Occupational Therapist..

HM

Hello Arlene
I wonder if you've come across this behaviour and have any advice on possible solutions? My daughter is 16 with autism and attending a mainstream school with support. She is managing well and is mostly happy with the set up there. However, she has developed a habit of walking really strangely; she looks like she's been riding bareback for a week, or is possibly wearing a wet nappy! She says nothing is sore and dismisses my concerns and comments from staff at school. It is very probably a stress/control behaviour, but I don't want to discount physical causes. She has poor coordination and has always had a clumsy walk. But this is more extreme and I worry she will be a target for bullying.
Thanks! Hazel

BusyOT

Hi Hazel, Sorry I missed your post last night. It's really hard to answer specific queries when I don't know the client. However I think I would want to completely check out all the health aspects with a GP and possibly a physio. If, as you suspect, it is a stress response I would try hard to identify the cause of the stress and attempt to alleviate it. If you think it might be a sensory issue you could ask your GP to refer to a specialist OT. Sorry I can't be more help.