Re: Shoes

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/24/2003 12:27:40 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

kelleydinkins@... writes:

All you parents of children with shoe issues: have you ever noticed that

when your kid finally finds a pair of shoes they are willing to wear they

are

the ugliest and most uncomfortable looking things in the entire store?

Kelley

HEY! Did you see Annie walking to school in her brown high heels from a

garage sale with white sweat socks yesterday????? Are you spying on us?

[Guest guest]

I've noted that with my other sons. I've refused to buy a few pair!

> All you parents of children with shoe issues: have you ever

noticed that

> when your kid finally finds a pair of shoes they are willing to

wear they are

> the ugliest and most uncomfortable looking things in the entire

store? Kelley

> in NV

[Guest guest]

Do her feet sweat? Karac use to do that; Maybe some socks that would be more absorbing. Pat K

I work with a 15 year old on the Autism Spectrum, she is non-verbal and has global developmental delays. She recently reverted back to a bad behavior she had in Kindergarten. She takes her shoes and socks off constantly. Before this summer, she would wear her shoes for the majority of the day, only taking them off once or twice. Now she has them off as soon as we put them back on. It has begun creating problems at school being it is a major distraction. Her mother just bought her a pair of high top tennis shoes, so hopefully this will slow her down some while she is in school. Does anyone have any ideas as to why she does this (aside from attention) and how to change this behavior?Thanks,Joni It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

[Guest guest]

I very much doubt she is doing it for

attention. I’d even refrain from calling it a “bad behavior”.

With most autistic behaviors that seem odd, out of place, or ‘make no

sense’, there is almost always something that behavior is meant to communicate…the

person just may not have the ability to pinpoint, identify, and verbally

express it. Does she have sensory issues? Maybe her feet are hot, or the shoes

pinch her somewhere – nonverbal kids can’t tell us that kind of

detail. Maybe her feet have grown and the shoes are uncomfortable. If the

socks and/or shoes are made of synthetic vs. man-made materials, she could be sensitive

to the textures/contents of the materials.

I know a lot of Neurotypical people who just

prefer not to have shoes and socks on unless they absolutely have to…maybe

that is the case with this girl – she may just prefer not wearing shoes,

and with an autistic person, it very well may not occur to her that there is

any reason not to just take them off when she feels like it. As for the high

top shoes slowing her down, that sounds like a good way to drag out the process

if you ask me… it will just take her longer to get them off, wasting more

time at school.

Can’t she wear slip-on shoes and

just slip them off under the desk and slip them on to go outside? With picture

cards, ABA, or

whatever system motivates her, that is a teachable pattern. This seems like a ‘pick

your battles’ thing to me – how big of a deal is it if she slips

shoes off under the desk or by the classroom door as long as you work with her

to teach her that when she goes outside the classroom they need to be on?

I recently had the chance to attend a

day-long seminar on using Positive Behavior Support Plans for individuals with

developmental disabilities like Autism. The focus there was that when you

identify a behavior that is causing a problem or distraction, you try to figure

out what it is that the person is ‘getting’ from that behavior…what

the behavior accomplishes or communicates. Then you try to help them replace

that behavior with something that achieves the same purpose. That was my

thought process for the idea about slip-on shoes and letting her have them off

during classtime. And as for why it is happening again after being better for

so long, that’s another guessing game. But there has to be a reason…could

be teen angst, hormones, changes in her body, stress, a hot summer, who knows…?

Whatever the reason, just trying to get her to stop doing it because we think

she shouldn’t be doing it does not respect the underlying reason for the

behavior, which may very well be her form of ‘communicating’ on

this issue.

I don’t intend to sound

disrespectful, really I don’t…and it is always hard to communicate

in an e-mail the real core of how one feels about an issue. But I do have a

son who has odd behaviors that are sometimes seen as “disruptive’

in school, but they are nearly always found, in retrospect, to have been

communicating something…not just acting out to get attention. I would

want the people working with my son to look deeper than the behavior, and to

look at it as a communication, not a bad behavior…that’s the

perspective I’m coming from in making my comments. I really do hope they

are helpful to you!

Dora Lattish

From: AutismBehaviorProblems [mailto:AutismBehaviorProblems ] On Behalf Of jwarner09

Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008

8:05 PM

To: AutismBehaviorProblems

Subject: Shoes

I work with a 15 year old on the Autism Spectrum, she

is non-verbal and

has global developmental delays. She recently reverted back to a bad

behavior she had in Kindergarten. She takes her shoes and socks off

constantly. Before this summer, she would wear her shoes for the

majority of the day, only taking them off once or twice. Now she has

them off as soon as we put them back on. It has begun creating problems

at school being it is a major distraction. Her mother just bought her a

pair of high top tennis shoes, so hopefully this will slow her down

some while she is in school. Does anyone have any ideas as to why she

does this (aside from attention) and how to change this behavior?

Thanks,

Joni

[Guest guest]

This is going to sound crazy but when my feet sweat or my shoes are

tight especially around my small toe I feel like my toe nails are going

to fall off. I can't help it I have to take my shoes off too. Also,

wearing socks inside out so that the seam doesn't bother the foot is a

big help.

If her feet are hot high tops are going to make it worse. There is

obviously a problem. Its a terribly uncomfortable feeling I hope you

help her. BTW I am not on " spectrum " per say but I do have a lot of

sensory sensitivities...

;-)

Bonnie

[Guest guest]

My daughter had a problem removing socks and shoes. A change in her

routine schedule and visual prompt associated with the change seemed

to have been the trigger. Her teacher decided she could leave the

shoes off in class instead of being occupied with them. This took

about 2 weeks of letting her shoes and socks stay in a bag,bus trips

included and car if she removed them. They allowed her to wear them

on request or motion. Otherwise ignored that she was barefoot. I

reorganized/found the visual cue where the change was made in her

routine schedule. Her routine change was in the morning where getting

ready for school was the time frame. She started wearing the

socks,shoes agin after a few weeks. It was a big accomplishment for

her prior to put on her own socks and one of the first places to

reflect that a small change had been made in her routine schedule.

Sometimes when my daughter was learning something new she clung more

to the status quo. Changes come very slow in that manner. The good

thing is that its still a part of progress,just the long road. Also

check her feet for playground sawdust/bark slivers

Best wishes,

Tishanne

>

> I work with a 15 year old on the Autism Spectrum, she is non-verbal

and

> has global developmental delays. She recently reverted back to a

bad

> behavior she had in Kindergarten. She takes her shoes and socks off

> constantly. Before this summer, she would wear her shoes for the

> majority of the day, only taking them off once or twice. Now she

has

> them off as soon as we put them back on. It has begun creating

problems

> at school being it is a major distraction. Her mother just bought

her a

> pair of high top tennis shoes, so hopefully this will slow her down

> some while she is in school. Does anyone have any ideas as to why

she

> does this (aside from attention) and how to change this behavior?

>

> Thanks,

> Joni

>

[Guest guest]

I would differ with you - don't think it is done for attention. My son does it all the time during the day - if we are going out in the car we put his shoes on - he takes them off and we usually repeat the process a couple of times and then we strap him in his car seat and they are off again - we get him out and if he is walking it is not too bad but if he is shopping and in trolley or his special buggy they come off again. Never wears them in the garden and takes them off all the time at school. The plus point is he has feet that are as hard as nails. My son has extreme sensitivity on his feet. If he has a bath we have to spray a cooling spary on his feet when he gets outs as they get quite sore and he gets really uptight.

I just think some of our children have a lot of a higher threshold for sensitivitys.

Shoes

I work with a 15 year old on the Autism Spectrum, she is non-verbal and has global developmental delays. She recently reverted back to a bad behavior she had in Kindergarten. She takes her shoes and socks off constantly. Before this summer, she would wear her shoes for the majority of the day, only taking them off once or twice. Now she has them off as soon as we put them back on. It has begun creating problems at school being it is a major distraction. Her mother just bought her a pair of high top tennis shoes, so hopefully this will slow her down some while she is in school. Does anyone have any ideas as to why she does this (aside from attention) and how to change this behavior?Thanks,Joni

[Guest guest]

I understand that it is not a " bad behavior " and that she is trying

to communicate something to us, I apparently did not convey this as

well as I wanted. And as for the fact that we are trying to get rid

of the behavior, is only at the request of the teacher at school. Her

parents, and helpers do not feel it is out of control and needs to be

changed. The reason the school wants to change the behavior is

because she becomes fixated on her shoes and socks once she gets them

off. She will grab them and not let go for maybe 5 minutes, so it

does become a distraction at school and she is not getting work done.

This being said, the slip on shoes would also be a huge distraction

at school because she would be worried about picking them up off the

floor and handing them to a teacher/aide/student. She really does not

use Pecs, so understanding her reason for doing this is just a

mystery at this point. However, after a few weeks at school in her

high top shoes, she has not been able to get them off herself, and

the school has worked out a plan where she gets rewarded by having

some " shoes off " time during the day, and as soon as she is done

running errands and taking a walk in the evening she is shoes free.

Thanks for the insight.

>

> I very much doubt she is doing it for attention. I'd even refrain

from

> calling it a " bad behavior " . With most autistic behaviors that

seem odd,

> out of place, or 'make no sense', there is almost always something

that

> behavior is meant to communicate.the person just may not have the

ability to

> pinpoint, identify, and verbally express it. Does she have sensory

issues?

> Maybe her feet are hot, or the shoes pinch her somewhere -

nonverbal kids

> can't tell us that kind of detail. Maybe her feet have grown and

the shoes

> are uncomfortable. If the socks and/or shoes are made of synthetic

vs.

> man-made materials, she could be sensitive to the textures/contents

of the

> materials.

>

>

>

> I know a lot of Neurotypical people who just prefer not to have

shoes and

> socks on unless they absolutely have to.maybe that is the case with

this

> girl - she may just prefer not wearing shoes, and with an autistic

person,

> it very well may not occur to her that there is any reason not to

just take

> them off when she feels like it. As for the high top shoes slowing

her

> down, that sounds like a good way to drag out the process if you

ask me. it

> will just take her longer to get them off, wasting more time at

school.

>

>

>

> Can't she wear slip-on shoes and just slip them off under the desk

and slip

> them on to go outside? With picture cards, ABA, or whatever system

> motivates her, that is a teachable pattern. This seems like

a 'pick your

> battles' thing to me - how big of a deal is it if she slips shoes

off under

> the desk or by the classroom door as long as you work with her to

teach her

> that when she goes outside the classroom they need to be on?

>

>

>

> I recently had the chance to attend a day-long seminar on using

Positive

> Behavior Support Plans for individuals with developmental

disabilities like

> Autism. The focus there was that when you identify a behavior that

is

> causing a problem or distraction, you try to figure out what it is

that the

> person is 'getting' from that behavior.what the behavior

accomplishes or

> communicates. Then you try to help them replace that behavior with

> something that achieves the same purpose. That was my thought

process for

> the idea about slip-on shoes and letting her have them off during

classtime.

> And as for why it is happening again after being better for so

long, that's

> another guessing game. But there has to be a reason.could be teen

angst,

> hormones, changes in her body, stress, a hot summer, who knows.?

Whatever

> the reason, just trying to get her to stop doing it because we

think she

> shouldn't be doing it does not respect the underlying reason for the

> behavior, which may very well be her form of 'communicating' on

this issue.

>

>

>

> I don't intend to sound disrespectful, really I don't.and it is

always hard

> to communicate in an e-mail the real core of how one feels about an

issue.

> But I do have a son who has odd behaviors that are sometimes seen as

> " disruptive' in school, but they are nearly always found, in

retrospect, to

> have been communicating something.not just acting out to get

attention. I

> would want the people working with my son to look deeper than the

behavior,

> and to look at it as a communication, not a bad behavior.that's the

> perspective I'm coming from in making my comments. I really do

hope they

> are helpful to you!

>

>

>

> Dora Lattish

>

>

>

> _____

>

> From: AutismBehaviorProblems

> [mailto:AutismBehaviorProblems ] On Behalf Of

jwarner09

> Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 8:05 PM

> To: AutismBehaviorProblems

> Subject: Shoes

>

>

>

> I work with a 15 year old on the Autism Spectrum, she is non-verbal

and

> has global developmental delays. She recently reverted back to a

bad

> behavior she had in Kindergarten. She takes her shoes and socks off

> constantly. Before this summer, she would wear her shoes for the

> majority of the day, only taking them off once or twice. Now she

has

> them off as soon as we put them back on. It has begun creating

problems

> at school being it is a major distraction. Her mother just bought

her a

> pair of high top tennis shoes, so hopefully this will slow her down

> some while she is in school. Does anyone have any ideas as to why

she

> does this (aside from attention) and how to change this behavior?

>

> Thanks,

> Joni

>

[Guest guest]

I am sure that this has already been mentioned in some form but. Those darn knots in their socks can drive them crazy. Did anyone try to turn her socks inside out and see if that works?

I have found through my experiences that the sensory issues can come and go through-out time just like allergies.

It's ME!

Terri

Shoes> > > > I work with a 15 year old on the Autism Spectrum, she is non-verbal and > has global developmental delays. She recently reverted back to a bad > behavior she had in Kindergarten. She takes her shoes and socks off > constantly. Before this summer, she would wear her shoes for the > majority of the day, only taking them off once or twice. Now she has > them off as soon as we put them

back on. It has begun creating problems > at school being it is a major distraction. Her mother just bought her a > pair of high top tennis shoes, so hopefully this will slow her down > some while she is in school. Does anyone have any ideas as to why she > does this (aside from attention) and how to change this behavior?> > Thanks,> Joni>

[Guest guest]

Walmart....(STARTER SOCKS) fit nice, no toe mending, very stretchy and easy to put on.

The only sock my son will wear. Comfy sock to say the least.

Subject: Re: ShoesTo: AutismBehaviorProblems Date: Sunday, September 7, 2008, 1:32 PM

I am sure that this has already been mentioned in some form but. Those darn knots in their socks can drive them crazy. Did anyone try to turn her socks inside out and see if that works?

I have found through my experiences that the sensory issues can come and go through-out time just like allergies.

It's ME!

Terri

Shoes> > > > I work with a 15 year old on the Autism Spectrum, she is non-verbal and > has global developmental delays. She recently reverted back to a bad > behavior she had in Kindergarten. She takes her shoes and socks off > constantly. Before this summer, she would wear her shoes for the > majority of the day, only taking them off once or twice. Now she has > them off as soon as we put them back on. It has begun creating problems > at school being it is a major distraction. Her mother just bought her a > pair of high top tennis shoes, so hopefully this will slow her down > some while she is in school. Does

anyone have any ideas as to why she > does this (aside from attention) and how to change this behavior?> > Thanks,> Joni>