getting clothes on the right way?

[purpledolphin]

My DD (8 1/2) still struggles with getting her clothes on the right way round (unless its really obvious or there are visual cue like a bow on front, or button at back). Is this normal?

[yawningmonster]

My ds struggles with this though he does have dyspraxia which doesn't help. We have done a variety of things like a making a small mark on the back of items of clothing that aren't obvious which way they go. We usually put a small L inside his left shoes as well so that he can get those on the right way. DS doesn't connect discomfort with the idea that something is probably on wrong. He still needs to lie a jacket out on the floor and lie down on top of it to put it on. Trying to think of other tricks that help him when he is struggling.

Is this the only area she is struggling with or are other organisational tasks difficult (keeping track of belongings, remembering sets of instructions etc)

My ds has multiple difficulties due to a number of neurological differences in how his brain functions and I have long since given up worrying if it is normal or not and just focusing on working out what is the biggest current struggle and experimenting with ways of helping him with it.

He is fairly independent in dressing now and we used a technique which I think is called back chaining/linking where we break the task up into steps and he starts by only undertaking the last of the steps so for example a t-shirt he started by just pulling it down over his torso. Once he was competent at this we would do everything for him but stop after helping him insert one arm. Then we spent ages and ages on helping him to work out the muscle planning in order to insert the other one (arms is still the area he struggles with the most. We went at his pace and it is painstakingly slow. We are working on doing up buttons at the moment (he can undo them just not the reverse -it is a hard one to break into steps.)

[purpledolphin]

Thank you, you are right it is probably best to focus on helping her, I have had to teach my DD all the motor skills, that she has she has a diagnosis of dyslexia, and I have taught her to lots of tricks to manage most clothes, shoes have a straight side and a bendy side, the bendy side goes on the inside, buttons at the front etc. I managed to source some blouses with larger buttons when she was in reception year 1 and I used to do half the button and let her pull it through have sat on a swing with her on my lap in a deserted playground taking her through the motions of pumping a swing as she loved swings but would not go on them when her friends where there because she could not do it..... I think in my heart of hearts I know she has dyspraxia as I do so she'll be fine just I felt really put down the other day as she could not tie up her own hair.... the implication being that because she is an only I do not make her do stuff for herself but I do its just when you have to teach each little skill and she fights you when its hard there are times when you do it for them just to survive but thank you again!