Sometimes with Autism, it's the little things that mean the most. Like, tying shoes! My amazing youngest daughter, who just turned 11, has been working very hard at mastering this skill. I really can't think back to how long we have been practicing it, but in the world of Autism, it isn't how long things take, it's accomplishing them that's the triumph. The joy of seeing her proud smile when she realized she got it was priceless. I thought I would share the learning board I made from which we practiced this skill as part of our daily learning. We had tried many different way to learn this, but for some reason she took to this one the best.
I just used a piece of cardboard, shoe laces, sharpie and printed instructions I thought she could relate too, printed off the internet. I ended up going with the type of tying that starts by looping the shoelaces as "bunny ears". At least that is what we called them because she liked it! We first criss-cross tied the first part. Then we made up a simple saying together about making bunny ears, crossing them and then having one bunny ear jump thru the the hole. For some reason having the bunny ear jump "into" the hole instead of coming from under and up, was easier for her.
I hope by sharing this, it will help another add just a little more independence to their own life!
Priceless.
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