A Non-Invasive, Efficient and Effective Sensory Treatment Strategy for Children and Adolescents that Display Atypical Toe Walking. 'Taming Idiopathic Toe Walking: A Treatment Guide for Parents and Therapists' serves as a definitive manual for children and adolescents that display atypical toe walking behaviors. Inspired by the overcoming of toe walking by numerous children during her years of practice, McCaigue's professional expertise and experiences are fused into a vitally powerful resource. TAMING IDIOPATHIC TOE WALKING... is an easy-to-read guide for parents and pediatric, rehabilitation therapists with information on the categories and treatment of atypical toe walking behaviors. This manual explains when toe walking is considered developmentally unusual for a child's age, and idiopathic or done for no known reason. Idiopathic toe walking is often associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, Specific Learning Disabilities, Developmental Delays and other disabilities with sensory processing difficulties, but can occur with typical children, as well. This book serves as a thorough resource for use of an alternative treatment strategy to "calm" the toes, and enable a typical walking pattern in those challenged with this problem behavior. The ultimate goal is the prevention of tendon shortening and resultant limited motions of the ankles and feet from prolonged toe walking that can ultimately lead to the need for injections, bracing or at worst, surgery, to repair the muscular imbalance. TAMING IDIOPATHIC TOE WALKING... provides step-by-step instruction of how to make "Toe Tamers", a unique remediation tool that provides the sensory input that a child or adolescent with idiopathic toe walking needs to overcome this potentially serious problem behavior. A protocol and usage guide is available for: 1) How heavy to make the Toe Tamers, 2) How to apply them, 3) How often they should be worn, and 4) How long to use them to calm the toes. This would enable relaxation of the feet to stand with full weight bearing on the floor with or without socks and shoes. In addition... a HOME Program sheet is included in English and Spanish to instruct parents on the rationale for applying the Toe Tamers, as well as when and how to effectively use them. Additionally, forms are available for logging the impact of the Toe Tamers. A record and graphs are included to track progress on the length of time, as well as the reduction of heel height, as the Toe Tamers effectively help the toes to lower the entire foot onto a flat surface. As the author explains, her book introduces a sensory treatment strategy for idiopathic toe walking that all should consider exploring. "Children with idiopathic toe walking whose feet are always bouncing on their toes, seem to calm their bodies down after their feet are relaxed. If you think about it, when your feet hurt or figuratively scream at you internally, you cannot relax your body. So, it would make sense that by calming the toes and relaxing the feet, that these children's bodies would relax overall, as well! It is by providing the sensory input needed by these children's feet, that their toes can lower and enable a typical pattern of walking. Using a holistic, sensory strategy in lieu of more traditional interventions will give their feet the input needed to help them overcome this problem behavior," says McCaigue. The book is unique in the marketplace due to the author's own successful use of its methods over a lifetime of experience. "I personally implemented the strategies outlined in this book over the past 27 of my 40 years as an Occupational Therapist working with children. I hope this easy-to-make, therapeutic, sensory strategy will help many children with idiopathic toe walking, and prevent the need for surgery or other more invasive treatment techniques. My goal is to help children with the least restrictive, most effective and efficient way to remediate atypical toe walking," McCaig
A 1977 Summa Cum Laude graduate of the Medical College of Georgia, Ileana has 40 years of experience in the field of Occupational Therapy. She is nationally board certified/registered and licensed to practice in Georgia. Specialty certifications in Sensory Integration, Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist and therapeutic use of Interactive Metronome. Ileana has served as an expert witness for cases involving infants and children. She is a published author of 6 books to date for children's issues primarily, including the SCALE OF SENSORY STRATEGIES TOOLKIT. AUTISM SLEEPS: Sensory Strategies to Help Restless Minds Sleep is a prior book that is also available on Amazon. Ileana is an experienced speaker from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to pediatric concerns in the home, school and community. Since 2010 she has been presenting a series of seminars across the U.S. on developing an evidence-based Sensory Strategy Plan to treat sensory-based problem behaviors. Ileana was honored at the Medical College of Georgia when given the 2005 Barbara S. Grant Award from the GA O.T. Association for her dedication and lifetime of outstanding service to the field of occupational therapy. She received the 1977 Maddak Award in the area of Physical Disability for the design of the S.K.A.T.E. (Skateboard for Kinesthetic Arm Therapeutic Exercises). Among her most meaningful accomplishments, she is credited with implementing the first Neonatal ICU Occupational Therapy program in Georgia at DeKalb Medical Center in 1979. She was also the first Occupational Therapist to develop and implement services at Scottish Rite Children's hospital in 1981, and established the first private practice Disabled Driver Rehabilitation program in Georgia in 1982. Ileana retired from the Gwinnett County Public Schools after twenty years of service in 2015. She continued her work in school systems with Barrow County public schools, serving elementary, middle and high schools in the Special Education Department for the next school year. She provided Related Services for direct and consultative support to teachers and special needs students to help meet their Individualized Education Plan objectives. Since 2016 she has worked in two private pediatric clinics and in cyber school based services, providing home and community-based treatments as needed. As a wellness consultant and holistic therapist, she also incorporates alternative treatments as appropriate.
