Shoes for child with SID

[aliceinoz]

Hi there
Quick intro as I don't think I have posted on disABILITIES before. If I have it was last year.
We had a fantastic trip to the USA last year and I am trying very hard to get us there again next year.
I have 2 children. One with DD and SID and the other just SID. The youngest will be 8 next time we go and he had the most difficulties at DL because of his sensory problems. Last year I was able to bring a stroller which helped greatly. But I don't think he will fit next year and I want to try avoid hiring if I can.
Even though he is a sensory seeker he has problems with his feet. He doesn't like wearing shoes and a lot of walking causes problems. He could run, jump, spin, roll of whatever all day if he didn't have shoes on. So I don't think it's the actual walking, it's the shoes. He takes them off all the time and likes to wear them at least 1 size too big.
I've tried cheapy shoes and top brand shoes. I've tried all different styles of shoes. They all come off. He tells me they hurt his feet. He is willing to try all different styles except flip flops.
Has anyone with a child with sensory issues had this problem? Did you find a solution?
TIA

 

[deegack]

Dd would wear these sock shoes a lot, Skidders. They are like socks everywhere except the soles which were rubber. They don't have as much support as sneakers but will protect his feet. I got them in target and bru

 

[krisnme]

We had success with Crocs. you can wear them big, and they have that bare feet feel. Good luck.

 

[peemagg]

There are also shoes out there now that conform to his feet. They even have toes. They look like those socks with toes in them, but they are made of rubber, so they would be safe to wear out and about.

Check out this site: www.barefootrunningshoes.org.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Hi there
Quick intro as I don't think I have posted on disABILITIES before. If I have it was last year.
We had a fantastic trip to the USA last year and I am trying very hard to get us there again next year.
I have 2 children. One with DD and SID and the other just SID. The youngest will be 8 next time we go and he had the most difficulties at DL because of his sensory problems. Last year I was able to bring a stroller which helped greatly. But I don't think he will fit next year and I want to try avoid hiring if I can.
Even though he is a sensory seeker he has problems with his feet. He doesn't like wearing shoes and a lot of walking causes problems. He could run, jump, spin, roll of whatever all day if he didn't have shoes on. So I don't think it's the actual walking, it's the shoes. He takes them off all the time and likes to wear them at least 1 size too big.
I've tried cheapy shoes and top brand shoes. I've tried all different styles of shoes. They all come off. He tells me they hurt his feet. He is willing to try all different styles except flip flops.
Has anyone with a child with sensory issues had this problem? Did you find a solution?
TIA

My son LOVES his Crocs. He cries when he has to wear sneakers for Gym. The only other shoes he likes are slip on "mule" style flip flops.

 

[3doodlebugsmom]

My son was just like yours at that age -never kept shoes/socks on his feet, until that is, we tried Merrell's Jungle Mocs- those were the first shoes he really kept on. He was in 3rd grade when we found those. He's in sixth grade now, and the shoe thing is a lot better, although as soon as he is in the house or car, he immediately removes both his shoes and socks! He also loves his crocs- but he likes the CVS brand because they're softer. And yes, he's a sensory kid.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

I'm an adult with SPD (among other disabilities) and can't stand footwear (especially socks [I don't even own any socks] and closed-in shoes/sneakers/boots). I wear sandals of different types (regular, toe-ring, and thong/flip-flop) unless it is too freezing cold to do so (in which case I wear a pair of very roomy boots [the roomy feature is both for my SPD and for my nerve pain that prevents me from bending my toes - have to walk by picking up my foot and putting it down instead of by bending the toes - and can cause pain when something is touching the tops of my feet where my toes join my foot]).

Because of my above-mentioned nerve pain, many styles of sandal are painful for me to wear because they have a strap that goes over where the toes connect to the feet, so I had to learn to wear thongs/flip-flops. As a mostly sensory-avoider (with both over- and under-sensitive senses), I originally didn't think I could ever wear a thong/flip-flop sandal (or thong undies, but that's a different topic, LOL!!), but when I got the nerve pain, I had to give it a try (toe-ring sandals weren't available yet). I can wear them!

By thong/flip-flops, I don't mean the cheap plastic ones made for the beach, I mean comfortable ones where the part between the toe is fabric, leather, covered in soft plastic/rubber, etc. I have no idea if they make such things for boys/men, though! I do hope you can get him to try them. Just to TRY them to see if they might work; doesn't mean he HAS to wear them if he finds he can't.

I will say, though, that I do take my shoes off any chance I get, but of course only at appropriate places (not in public [unless I'm sitting and I need to remove my sandal due to the nerve pain issue, then I rest my foot on the sandal without having my foot in the strap], but at work and others' homes and, of course, my home).

It is like my feet are claustrophobic, if you're trying to figure out how it feels. Like someone was strangling your feet. And, back when I had to wear socks as a kid (before SPD was known), I could feel every lump, bump, and the sewed-up toe-line (which I often had to adjust throughout the day) - VERY annoying! I would never be able to wear those toe socks/toe shoes somebody mentioned. I don't wear sneakers. All my shoes, including dressy shoes, are sandals (all flats, due to the nerve pain) except for my one pair of roomy winter boots (which, yes, I wear with no socks - I can't wear socks! The boots are fur-lined for some warmth ... and I hate the cold, so generally am only in it to walk from one place to another).

If you do the brushing therapy with him, try brushing his feet (including the bottoms of them) before putting shoes on. I hear that therapy works well for kids. Also, you could offer him "foot freedom" time at Disney - for every X number of hours he wears his shoes, he can then go outside (or to the First Aid Center or back to the hotel room) and sit/play in the water shooting things/etc. without shoes on.