Hi M.! My son is in PT also and we had a similiar problem trying to find shoes. We did get the extra wide lace up tennis shoes from Stride Ride, but then we ordered a slip in insert so he could have the arch. It was our PT who told us about the custom made inserts...its a company called Cascade DAFO. The website is www.dafo.com. The PT measured out my son's foot so they would have all of the exact measurements, indicated the foam strength, the arch, etc. The inserts cost us about $40-50 (and the shoes were about $30), so it does get a little pricey. Oh, we also went up half a shoe size so the shoe could hold the arch (and we also removed the cloth padding at the bottom of the shoe to make a little more room). Hope this helps...I know how frustrating shoe shopping can be...I went to Stride Rite three times in two days returning/exchanging/buying...ugh!
M. C.