SN 8 y.o. who can't tie shoes

[Anonymous]

Any tips to get a SN kid to learn to tie their shoes? We have the book with laces to practice, and I bought a large poster with visuals. We have practiced and practiced, but he does not get it.

Also I replaced his velcro shoes with sneakers with laces. But DS has a friend at school who ties them, and he just does not care to learn. I think it is really hard for him. DS does not want to do anything hard!

[Anonymous]

Can't help you. The OT taught my 8 yr old how to tie his shoelaces, and he still ties them so loose they untie really easily.

[Anonymous]

Does he work with an OT on this? My kid never would have figured it out if it weren't for our great OT.

Patience and practice. Break down the verbal steps to the very basics.

You can try Hickies: http://www.hickies.com

But I think it's important for kids to learn how to tie laces. It's a basic skill.

[Anonymous]

Time worked for my DC. He finally did it in 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

DD learned at a class Nordstrom offers.

[Anonymous]

DS learned at that age, and it was painful. I did not buy him lace-up school shoes at first, because he would just have tripped over the untied laces. Here's the breakdown:

1. Learn to tie with the shoe book, to get the general concept and work the fingers. Not 100% transferable to actually tying one's laces!

2. Practicing with real shoes on his own feet. Difficult part!
We did hand-over-hand for a long time, so that I could guide his fingers to the right places. DS has no spatial understanding, so learning was tactile and my hands on his hands were essential.

3. Tying on his own. It is laborious and slow. Even now after one year, the knot is always loose or undone by the end of the school day.

[Anonymous]

We learned at the OT. She broke it down into tiny steps and had him practice each step for a while before adding the next one.

[Anonymous]

My son didn't learn until we found a youtube video that taught the "bunny ears" method. It was the only thing that worked.

[Anonymous]

Knot then Bunny ears. I actually just taught two kids in my scout group. ( We were working on knots.) They were thrilled. Sometimes it helps when it is not mom or dad.

[Anonymous]

This is what worked for us: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/shoe-tying-trick-_n_5678597.html

[Anonymous]

You don't say what is going on with your child, but this is a motor skill that requires a lot of fine motor coordination. I'm not wanting to tell you about your own child, but the assumption that an SN child is lazy or does not want to learn a life skill he sees his peers doing really bothers me. Most SN kids would do anything to keep up with their friends and not be seen as babies.

If he has OT at school, write this into his IEP.

Is there a reason you replaced his velcro shoes with laces other than to taunt him?

[Anonymous]

It took my youngest DS a very long time to learn to tie. He's now 8 and still doesn't do a good job but he can do it. He still can't tie his own shoes because of some flexibility/stretching issues but we're working on that separately. What helps is that we set up a schedule for him to practice. After he got the basics down, we had him practice twice a day - not a lot, just enough to start building competency and memory. He didn't complain much because it really wasn't burdensome. We had him practice on my DH's boots because the laces were longer.

[Anonymous]

My 8 yo without any special needs just learned how to tie hers this summer. She was an older 7. All of her friends have just been figuring it out recently so I wouldn't stress yet but I would speak with his OT. Since everyone wears velcro, the kids don't seem to learn how to tie. I remember my day camp counselor teaching us when we were entering kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

My DS who is 10 and not special needs can barely tie his shoes. Honestly, I wish schools would go back to teaching this. It's painful...

[Anonymous]

My DS who is 10 and not special needs can barely tie his shoes. Honestly, I wish schools would go back to teaching this...