Have you ever had to put on your shoes to go somewhere and you don’t even have to think twice about how you put on your shoes?
Well, for someone with Cerebral Palsy like me. This task can be a lot more time consuming than you think.
Now, before I explain to you how I put on my shoes. This is my experience and many others with Cerebral Palsy may have different ways they put on their shoes.
Step 1: Getting prepared to put on your socks
As you can see in the picture whenever I need to put on my socks I use an instrument that allows me to roll up my socks so that it is easier to put on.For someone that doesn’t have the dexterity or range of motion to put on my socks like an able body person would this little blue instrument is a lifesaver.
Step 2: Putting on my socks
This next step is pretty self explanatory now that I have my sock rolled up and ready to go all I need to do is slide my foot into the sock.
Step 3: Putting on my left shoe 1st
The reason I put on my left shoe 1st is due to the fact, that if I don’t then step 5 would be a lot harder because I would be lopsided and unable to balance properly.
Step 4: Putting on my AFO
I use a brace to help me walk long distances. This brace is called an Ankle Foot Orthidic or AFO for short.In this process I would make sure my right foot sock is all the way up to my knee. So, that no bare skin will touch the AFO itself. This is to avoid any skin irritation.Then I would take my right leg and place it into the AFO. After I place my leg in the brace I would do up the 2 straps and then roll my knee sock over the top of the knee strap. I do this so that my sock does not slip down when I’m walking. Which can cause me discomfort.
Step 5: Putting on my right shoe
For the 1st part of this step I need to put my toes into my shoe before I can slide my whole foot in.Once I have my toes in to my shoe I am able to then stand up and with a bit of force and me holding on to something I’m able to slide my foot into my shoe.Sometimes my brace’s heel will crush the back of my shoe. So, I need to stick my thumb in the back of my shoe and straightened out the back.
Step 6: Zipping up my shoe
For someone with Cerebral Palsy they might not be able to tie shoelaces because of some of the dexterity issues they may have. Therefore, a lot of people with Cerebral Palsy use Velcro.
I personally use a hook, to hook my AFO and pull it towards me so that I am able to zip-up my right shoe.
After these 6 steps, I’m able to put on my shoes and walk around.
This process only takes my about 3 minutes and because of all the instruments that I use I am able to live more independently than ever before.
I hope you learned something about what some physical disabled people have to go through just to do some simple tasks.If you have any questions about Cerebral Palsy. Put him in the comment box down below or direct message me on Twitter @RyKokes and I’ll try to help answer them the best I can.
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