Autism and Tying Shoes

Teaching children with autism to tie their shoes is in some ways really complicated. But after teaching my son Lucas to tie his shoes, and then many other clients, I developed a system that works. So keep watching as I go over the steps to teach shoe tying. Hi, I’m Dr. Mary Barbera—autism mom, board-certified behavior analyst, and best-selling author. Each week I provide you with some of my ideas about turning autism around. If you haven’t subscribed to my YouTube channel yet, hit the subscribe button and notification bell so you don’t miss anything. I had a client, we’ll call her Suzy, who was eight or nine years old at the time. I had been consulting with her for four years. Before Suzy started school, I tried to convince her mother that we should teach her to tie her shoes, knowing that if she went to school without this skill, she probably would not pick it up easily. Sure enough, in second grade, just as I predicted, Suzy still couldn’t tie her shoes. It had been an IEP goal for over a year, with the occupational therapist working on it, but without progress. I attended one of the OT sessions, and the teaching procedures I observed were really ineffective. I talked to the OT and tried to convince her to use my techniques, but she insisted on her own way. So I spoke with Suzy’s mom again, sent her a short video modeling clip, and encouraged her to try my procedures just five minutes a day. Within two weeks, Suzy was tying her shoes. For those of you who have followed me for a while, you may remember that back in 2009 I did a blog about teaching Lucas to tie his shoes. Later, I even presented this as a case study in front of B.F. Skinner’s daughter, Dr. Julie Vargas, at an ABA conference where she was the discussant. Since then, I’ve had a lot of success teaching clients this skill. So today, I want to go over the steps you can use to teach your child or client to tie their shoes too. Assessment Whenever we want to increase or decrease a behavior, we have to start with assessment. This doesn’t just mean shoe tying. Ask: Can the child put their shoes on their feet? On the correct feet? Can they use Velcro? Can they do any steps of the actual shoe-tying procedure? Since everyone ties shoes a little differently, it’s important that one person take the lead in teaching—usually a parent, teacher, or occupational therapist. If that person is left-handed and the child is right-handed, it’s best to have a right-handed person take the lead. Shoe tying should also be practiced daily. Planning Even a paraprofessional can lead the teaching with oversight from the team. You’ll want to use an adult shoe with two different-colored laces—for example, black and white, or red and yellow. This way you can give clear cues such as “cross red over yellow” or “yellow into red.” I’ve found two colors to be extremely helpful. The shoe should be placed on the table, facing outward (as it would be if it were on the child’s foot). One problem I saw with Suzy’s OT was that she used a foam shoe that wasn’t stable and even had it facing the wrong way. That kind of setup doesn’t work. Steps Next, write down the steps of your shoe-tying procedure, keeping each step to five words or less. For Lucas and my clients, the steps looked like this: “Cross red over yellow,” “Yellow into red,” “Pull strings tight,” “Make a loop,” and so on. At one point, Lucas was making his loops too big. To help, we put masking tape on each lace and had him match tape to tape as a prompt. For professionals and parents, it may also be useful to take data on independence with each step. When teaching, don’t sit across from the child. Stand behind or slightly to the side, especially if you’re giving physical prompts. Video Model Another helpful tool is a video model of the procedure. Many kids learn faster by watching a video than live instruction. Here’s an example: “Cross blue over red. Red into blue. Pull strings tight. Loop red around red. Push blue through. Pull blue bow. Pull bows tight.” Teach the first step until it’s mastered, then move to the next. For Lucas, we worked on “Cross red over yellow” for a full session before moving on. Even if you’re focusing on step four, always start from the beginning so the sequence is learned in order. Practice Once the child has mastered shoe tying on the table, move to real shoes on their feet—still using the same colored laces. You might also have them practice tying a shoe you hold in the air to simulate the angle on their foot. Different children need different amounts of generalization practice. But once they can tie shoes on their own feet, it’s important to let them practice daily, even if it’s not perfect or as tight as you would tie them. If you do it for them, they may lose the skill. Many people get overwhelmed with the thought of teaching shoe tying and stick with Velcro sneakers—even for kids who could learn. But with just five minutes a day using these procedures, you should see success. To help you get started turning things around for any child with autism, download my free three-step guide at marybarbera.com/join. Whether you’re a parent or a seasoned professional, I know you’ll find it helpful. Leave me a comment, subscribe to my channel, and share this video to help others. I’ll see you here next week.