How To Tie Your Shoes - and a Give Away!

Nearly a year ago, I posted about working with Iraq to teach her to tie her lace-up shoes. Though she was able to tie them once or twice, she simply didn't catch on and then refused to even wear her lace-up shoes.

I'm glad to announce that this post is proudly brought to you by the daily adventures of my crazy amazing family and by our newest sponsor, Loopeez!

Shoe tying can be very frustrating for a kid with Aspergers, Down syndrome or with fine motor issues. Many kids in the autism spectrum have fine-motor delays. While Iraq's hand writing has started to become legible with practice, she tends to avoid activities that require fine-motor coordination. This is why the majority of her Barbie dolls are stripe-4$$ nekid all the time. She can undress them, but lacks the coordination to put all those teeny-tiny dresses and shoes back on. Now that they live in the downstairs (basement) playroom, I'm thinking those poor, nekid Barbies may be a bit chilly in their current state of undress.

Anyhooo -

The other day... like the day after our big, crazy moving madness, I received an email from Courtney with Loopeez. When I paid a visit to the Loopeez website, it took me about a second (possibly less) to see how this product could ease the challenge of shoe tying for Iraq and in a year or so, for The Skink! I have (finally) gotten around to opening our new Loopeez and caught the whole Loopeez experience with my camera (me? take pictures? who would have guessed?).

Iraq was excited about the pink butterfly Loopeez we were sent! First, she crossed her shoelaces - that was the only step she truly mastered in our prior shoe tying training sessions.

Then I showed her how to loop the laces into bunny-ears and poke them through the Loopeez.

After that I demonstrated how to take the bunny-ears, cross them, push one under the other and pull tight... and then it was her turn...

And just like that, Iraq tied her own shoe! And look at the excitement on her face!

Of course then there was no stopping her! She did the second shoe all by herself!

Even putting the laces through the Loopeez.

Look at the pride on her face    : D

(And she even made me help her untie the first shoe just so she could do it again!)

High Five!

I'm thrilled beyond words! Iraq is ecstatic! I'm sure if her shoes could talk, they'd be pretty pleased also. I should mention that the kind folks at Loopeez even sent us an extra set of shoelaces with our Loopeez. Iraq doesn't transition well to change (not sure if I've mentioned that...          in this post) so we haven't change her laces yet. I'm sure we will (someday) when she gets used to the idea.



Is that the face of success, or what?

So... who wants a neat tool that will help your child(ren) learn to tie their shoes? Since I can't see how many of you are raising your hand, you'll have to leave a comment. On Saturday, May 28, 2011 I will use random.org to determine which lucky commenter will receive a set of Loopeez! To make it even more fun and interesting, tell me the 3 things you love best about the month of May! Good luck and happy shoe-tying!

 Enjoy this blog? Let me know by voting on TopMommyBlogs! 

Follow the link and scroll down until you find Adasperdown Town.

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Book Review, and Another Giveaway!

Review:

1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Girls

Everything You Need to Know About Diagnosis, Doctors, Schools, Taxes, Vacations, Babysitters, Treatment, Food, and More

By Tony Lyons

 

Congratulations! If you don’t become over-stimulated by this book’s subtitle, you probably aren’t in the autism spectrum :o) But if your kid is...

Click here to see the book's official web site!

This new book is crammed full of pertinent and useful information for parents of children in the autism spectrum. If you happen to have a boy and not a girl, you’ll be very happy to know Tony Lyons didn’t forget about you - there is also a “1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Boys; Everything You Need to Know About...” [all that stuff mentioned above] Yay!

 

So – you have a kid in the autism spectrum. Just flippin’ great, huh? And now your plethora of doctors, teachers and therapist are telling you to read up on the condition so you will be better prepared to handle your child’s scheduling needs, sensitivities, angry outbursts, melt-downs in WalMart, freaking out on Christmas morning, anxiety over school, lack of social skills, propensity to forget to wipe, limited tastes in food, random medications, gluten-free diet, strange or destructive behavior, terror over the sound made by the vacuum…

Yeah – you don’t have enough on your plate, and now your well-meaning doctor makes a recommendation for a 1,062 page compilation of medical studies for you to memorize so that if you’re lucky you just might remember what to do when little Suzie hides in a very inaccessible part of the giant, plastic tube-maze at a McDonald’s playland while the employees are yelling at you to “get her out” because the over-stimulation and noise made her lose her recently-eaten lunch somewhere in the ball-pit. Not feeling it…

For those of us who live in the real world – “1,001 Tips” is for us!

The tips are exactly that – short, precise thoughts about handling all sorts of situations. No long-winded, graduate-level psychology lectures. Just direct, to the point, points. For instance:

“5. A child with autism will often experience sensory overload; they will cover their ears to sounds which overwhelm them, cover their eyes or look away from painful visual impressions, and may self-limit their diet or attempt to taste non-food items to avoid or satiate acute tastes.”

(Page 5, 1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Girls / Lyons)

 Christmas... make it stop! (Iraq at 18 months)

Lyons also uses poignant quotes from other autism authorities like:

“133. When I was a child, loud sounds like the school bell hurt my ears like a dentist drill hitting a nerve. Children with autism need to be protected from sounds that hurt their ears. The sounds that will cause the most problems are school bells, PA systems, buzzers

on the scoreboard in the gym, and the sound of chairs scraping on the floor.

—Temple Grandin, PhD, author of Thinking in Pictures and

The Way I See It, www.autism.com/ind_teaching_tips.asp”

(Page 56, 1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Girls / Lyons)

The great thing about these tips is that I can reference relative subject matter right when I need it, keeping my other hand free to continue its death-grip on the wrist of my wailing, flailing child who has just been caught red-handed writing on the walls... again.

For Example:

Table of Contents:

…

Chapter 64: Responding to Undesirable Behavior 303

…

Fast forward to page 303… skim… skim… Ah!:

697.  Don’t threaten a punishment you’re not prepared to enforce. If you’re not really going to cancel the birthday party, don’t say you will. Don’t count to three, or ten—your child will learn that she always has that long, and you didn’t mean it the first time. If you teach a two-year-old, gently, but firmly, that you mean what you say, you don’t have to keep teaching it—at sixteen, she will still know that you meant it the first time. Too often parents allow their children to push them around because they want to be liked, but your child will neither like nor respect you. Children crave boundaries.

(Page 304, 1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Girls / Lyons)

Result:

“Iraq, if you write on the walls again, I will never let you use another pencil or pen for as long as you live!”

No, not really. But I WILL put her markers in “time out” for the rest of the week. And NO… even though I have upheld a “no means no” rule from the beginning, Iraq STILL tests that theory every single day. Every kid is different.

1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Girls covers everything from getting through daily home life to surviving the IEP process. It is so solidly based in reality, in fact, all I had to do was read, “Chapter 6: Individualized Education Program: Your Child’s Weapons 31” in the table of contents and my eyes glazed right over - just like in an actual IEP meeting!

That’s not to say that every nugget of wisdom is helpful to every person, for instance:

698. Use positive discipline methods that work. Many parents use time-outs, yell, or take away privileges as their top three discipline options. If those methods aren’t working for you, it can be frustrating, and can lead to more arguments if you’re not feeling successful.

—Toni Schutta, M.A., L.P., Parent Coach, Author, and

Founder of www.getparentinghelpnow.com

(Page 304, 1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Girls / Lyons)

Ok – so perhaps this isn’t as obvious to everybody as it is to me, but with 3 very different kids, each with their own special diagnosis, to me this sounds just a little like, “If the engine falls out of your car, don’t get in it every morning and try to drive it to work. Instead, try having a new engine installed.” Really? So that’s why I’ve been late to work every day for the past 5 weeks! Wish I’d thought of that sooner. 

I also wouldn't have minded seeing a long, creative lists of discipline methods to try instead of simply a suggestion not to try the same thing over and over. I always try to stay one step ahead of Iraq, but I've exhausted dozens of options now and would love to have a few more to fall back on. Then again... that subject matter might make for a great sequel by itself.

Other information the book offers will sound VERY familiar to parents. For me, lots of the points rang true, like:

• Does not understand typical social boundaries or behavior in social situations

 

• Extreme tantrums—uncontrollable (sometimes since day one - and still happening 7 years later)

 

• Inappropriate playing with toys or prefers objects that are not toys

 

• Difficulty with transitions (could be location or activity transitions)

 

Oh yes, and the list goes on!

All in all, I would say this is a must-have book for any parent wading through the quagmire of the autism or autism spectrum world! As I read through it I found myself thinking, "Oh thank goodness! I'm not the only one whose kid does that!"

And now for that giveaway! One randomly selected commenter on this blog post will receive their very own copy of 

1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Girls

Everything You Need to Know About Diagnosis, Doctors, Schools, Taxes, Vacations, Babysitters, Treatment, Food, and More

By Tony Lyons

Leave a comment - let me know what your biggest autism-related challenge has been this month. Be sure to leave an email address (you can format it like: "bulldogma[at]emailserver[dot]com" to avoid spammers).
I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, November 24th in the evening in a new blog entry, so be sure to check back then!

Of course, you'll have to add your own illustrations. Mine don't come with the original :o)

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Fall Fun and a Giveaway from Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen!

Since the hubby was working today, I loaded the kids up and took them to Mimi and Pop's house. I have found it's usually nice to have some "back-up" on the days I would otherwise have the kids to myself. The drive from our house to theirs is quite beautiful through the rolling hills and mountain passes. Unfortunately, as with many kids in the autism spectrum, Iraq's tummy isn't quite as thrilled with rolling hills. We made it most of the way before an emergency detour. The only place I could pull off quickly enough was in someone's driveway. I felt badly for my daughter, but even worse for the owner of the flowers that were getting a rather unusual sort of late-season fertilizer comprised of scrambled eggs and milk.

Broadway was the one who jumped out to hold his little sister's hair back while she... well... you know. What an awesome big brother he is! We were kind of out in the country so I wanted to stay behind the wheel just in case we started hearing banjos.

Just as we were about to leave, a lady came out of the house. I could feel the flush rising in my cheeks as she approached, and I fumbled for something to say. Just as I blurted out "I am SO sorry!" I saw the lady hold out a wet towel for Iraq to wipe off her face. You can't beat the people around here for kindness!

Iraq's tummy settled right down following our little detour, and the interior of the car and I were very thankful! Iraq was feeling so good, in fact, she jumped at the chance to go out on Mimi and Pop's electric boat. Driving around the area is a great way to see the fall colors, but boating about affords an even more spectacular experience to leaf and lake lovers alike.

And we even got to see some lovely geese as they rested along their migratory path.

And after the boat ride and a brief nap for The Skink, Mimi got the rake out and created the perfect pile of leaves to jump in!

And after the pile had been jumped flat, The Skink made sure it was piled back up for more jumping action.

Ready... JUMP!

 

You know what the neat thing about a pile of leaves is? In order to be a perfect pile of leaves, it doesn't matter what the leaves look like. Some are big and some are small, some fat and some thin, some are only parts of leaves and each one has it's very own color. Together, they are beautiful, and perfect to soften one's landing after a big leap. And that's the way it should be!

And after jumping in the leaves, The Skink took the opportunity to partially strip, because... well... why not?

And now for that giveaway! A lot of my readers are also parents to children with special needs. Kids or no, we all have plenty of every day stresses. My friend Rebecca makes hand-made natural soaps, and let me tell you... she has an amazing way with creating the most delicious combinations of fragrances!

She's got something for just about everyone! Does your child with Down syndrome have dry, red cheeks in the winter? Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen has an entire line of natural Shea soaps just for dry skin. Do you or your child in the autism spectrum have highly sensitive skin? Try her all natural soaps or her goat's milk line of products. Just look how beautiful they are, too!

 

Rebecca has kindly offered up a $25 Git Certificate to one lucky commenter! Check out her entire selection at her Etsy Shop! You can also click on any of the above soap images and you will be directed to her online store. Rebecca is also running her own contest which you can read about here: Awesome Soap Deli Contest.

So - be sure to leave a comment on this blog. On Monday evening I will do a random drawing of all those who commented and I'll announce the winner of the $25 Gift Certificate at that time. If you don't have a Google account, you may leave a comment on my FaceBook page to be eligible for the drawing.

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