Shuffling feet

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Am I unusual as an autistic person in that I shuffle my feet when walking , and don't toe walk.?

A shuffling gait can be a sign of medical conditions such as Parkinson's Disease.

But it can also be normal for some people.

I shuffle my feet when I'm not feeling well and usually sick enough to really not be outside.

Or really exhausted. Like, walking for 5-7 hrs with no rest or stop and no water.
Or physically in pain enough. With no/ineffective meds.


But then, it's not just having to feel my whole body and where it is, but also the vibration and friction in every step.

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not all autistic people "toe walk" but most of us have difficulty determining where our bodies are in relation to almost everything else, and this can show up in the ways we walk or move just in general. I tend to walk like I am walking on a rope, one foot planted straight in front of the other, and I often touch the door frames, furniture, walls, etc. I was constantly being told to keep my grubby hands off the walls, furniture, etc... I have always been afraid of falling. Stairs are particularly tricky and I used to fall up or down them a lot. Not so much now, I move a lot slower than I did when I was a child and accidents have taught me that is the best way to be safe, to be cautious ... I do still touch everything around me as I go from room to room, but my feet still hid chair legs, table legs, baseboards, etc. It is part of "proprioception" and almost all autistic folks have some version of proprioceptive struggles. Shuffling might be your version!

I shuffle my feet a little. It is not super pronounced but my walk makes a distinct enough noise that people can tell it is me by the sound alone.

It really causes problems with my shoes because the soles get worn down so fast, especially because I am a very frequent pacer.

I shuffle my feet a lot.

I have been described as walking like I'm drunk. Something that worsens as my anxiety increases. I was never intensely afraid of falling until I had my two falls in October 2021. Given the time it took to find out I'd actually fractured my femur, and the pain was not 'psychological', the prognosis wasn't good. Thought likely to be wheelchair bound.

Indoors with things relatively near to hold onto/prop myself against I'm more mobile than originally expected. However below the pre falls level. I can only be upright for a short period of time, be that standing still or moving about, after that pain kicks in.

Outdoors though, in wide open spaces, the fear of falling is huge. A fear heightened by having premature osteoporosis, and the potentially disastrous effect of having a fall on hard ground. Outdoors I'm very much wheelchair bound.