So, here is Special Needs Jungle's top tip of the day that I think many of you will find very handy.
Lots of our children have difficulty with laces, especially if they are dyspraxic, and Youngest , for one, has developed his own, somewhat unique, style of doing his shoes up. These days it's easier with velcro straps, but sometimes, such as with trainers or football boots, it's just not possible. Plus, as they get older, velcro isn't very cool.
However, there is a very nifty solution we've found - elastic laces with a toggle tightener. As you can see in these pictures taken of Youngest 's school shoes as we sat in the ever-long queue trying to get down Farnham's Castle Street, he can manage them with ease.
You can get them from Amazon.co.uk. We tried the spiral ones but they're very difficult to get through the lace holes on the shoes.
You might wonder why Youngest is wearing quilted mittens on a warm September day in the pic on the left. Well, that's another story...
I'm having the rest of the day off - it's my 15th wedding anniversary. It's been a long, interesting journey that has changed me in so many ways. Little did I imagine that on that day, already expecting Son1, how many challenges were to come. But we've made it - we promised patience and understanding and no two words could be more true!
Tania is an experienced broadcast and print journalist & author. She also runs a PR, web & social media consultancy, SocialOro Media.
Tania is a rare disease & chronic pain patient advocate with Ehlers Danlos syndrome.
- WEBINAR RECORDING: Will the SEND Improvement Plan fix provision for disabled children and young people? - March 16, 2023
- Can you legislate for love? The Government’s plans for children’s social care aims to - February 3, 2023
- Don’t make it harder to get EHCPs warns Equality and Human Rights Commission as DfE considers “raising the bar” - January 26, 2023
Congratulations on 15 years and enjoy your day. Thank you for the post on the elastic laces, our daughter is now a size 6 can’t do laces and therefore it makes it very difficult to buy shoes. This gives us more options.
Keep up the good work on the blog.
Wow! My 12yr old son has dyspraxia as well as autism and buying shoes has always a minefield as we can only buy slip-ons or velco which he hates. This is going to make life so much better for all of us, why didn’t anyone tell me of these before!! Can’t thank you enough X x
Hello, I really enjoy reading your blog. The things that people struggle with the most are those basic daily activities. I found out about these magnetic pictograms which have helped to reinforce those daily tasks and develop important life skills whilst still having fun!
http://www.mag-print.co.uk/educational-pictograms-education-personal-hygiene
I also now put this star chart on my fridge so all the kids know when they have done a good job!
http://www.mag-print.co.uk/childrens-magnetic-star-chart
Enjoy, and good luck!!
Greepers (toggle laces) should be available on the NHS – they are life-changing! I have just ordered replacement mittens (also worn all year) as one got lost somewhere recently, which was a DISASTER! Have now ordered 2 pairs so we always have a spare…