shoe tying | ADHD Information

Does anyone have any advice about how to get my son tying his shoes? We seem to be running into two main problems with this. 1)His attention and memory are so bad, he forgets how to do it from one day (or hour) to the next, even when we've tried rhymes, songs, etc. 2)He seems to have a really hard time manipulating his fingers. He has a hard time with anything that requires him to use his hands together but seperate, if that makes sense. He's 8, and I'm getting frustrated! Did anyone elses kids have problems with this?My son is 8 and can't tie his shoes.  Partly due to attention, my frustration to his attention to it, and buying non lace shoes.  There is a movie about a young lady getting custody of her sister's kids (I know the name but having a mental block now) and the youngest girl is trying to learn to tie her shoes all through the movie.  She does it a saying with a bunny and the next time it is on I am going to write it down to help us with this.  My child can tie her shoes in the beginning she had trouble with coordination but she can do it now but chooses not to.  The deal is she has to tie some shoes for me 2x per month to show she can do it and I let her have velcro shoes she likes what is easier. 

What helped us was a book we got from the shoe store Red Lace Yellow lace and it is a poem catchy too  and the poem teaches you to tie the shoes and as you do the poem you tie the red and yellow laces together.
my daughter was well into second grade (8) also before she tied her shoes. My youngest is almost 6 and cant tie either.

My son is 10 and in 5th grade. He still struggles with this. He has sensory and I believe it falls under that diagnosis. His OT has worked on tiny proprioceptive(spell?) therapy with him. He can tie them, but not great and he just learned last summer.

You know another thing that got in his way was all the velcro sneakers I bought him earlier on. He never had the laces untying back then. I also find my son didn't have the desire that his sister did with learning.

My son didn't tie his shoes until his late 8's, ride a bike either. He has caught up now and wants to do everything himself. I like this phase.

I found it easier by teaching him with two loops (bunny ears) crossing one loop over and under the other and pulling through the "bunny hole."  .. . than the method of one loop and one straight string wrapping around the loop and through the hole.

I bought that red lace yellow lace shoe book and DS didnt really like it. It was too hard doing it with that method, that's why I switched to the two loop method. I told him when he turned 5, I wouldnt tie his shoe for him anymore.  I did help him though, but found out before/after school and school was tying his shoes for him and he ended up forgettign for a little while.  But, now he does it again. He's very slow doing it, and not the best knot, but it gets done and he does it himself!!

< =text/>_popupControl(); The only advice I have about shoe tying is, pick a different battle. There are SO many non-lace options in footwear now, that tying shoes doesn't have to be such a big deal. Even adults can go a LONG time without having to tie a lace!! Wait for your child to mature more try again.  

 good point!  Even I dont tie my shoes. I tie them once and then slip them on and off. Only re-tieing if them come loose, which isnt very often since I double knot!  And, I'm not even ADHD, I like to think of it more so of being effencient! LOL

And, so many shoes now are velcro or slip ons!

I do think it's important to know how to tie a shoe, but when a child is ready, they will learn!

My DD is 6 can not tie her shoe either.  We have tried several times to teach her but she just gets very frustrated.  Its a battle I have chosen not to fight, I figure she'll learn to tie them eventually.  For now if she does wear lace up shoes to school, I just tie them for her with a double knot, sometimes she comes home and the laces are undone (she just tucks them into the shoe) and sometimes not.