I love connecting people with the technology that can improve their lives. When you’re a special needs parent, sometimes the simplest life hack can make all the difference in the world.

One example of this in my house, is U-Lace. I’ve worked with, written about and did a detailed review of U-Lace before. You can check out the YouTube video, as well as the gallery from that review below.

https://youtu.be/vfbX5UnGvSw

Click the image to view the gallery

[foogallery id=”67595″]

Seeing as it’s Autism Awareness month, I wanted to circle back and share how U-Lace has benefited my Autism family because they may just benefit yours as well. ☺

Let’s start off by explaining what U-Laces are and how they can benefit a child with Autism. If you check out their site, you will notice their catch phrase is U-Lace no tie laces. That’s pretty darn accurate because they replace traditional laces, and make it possible for kids with fine motor issues to put their shoes on, all by themselves.

The process is incredibly simple. You simply insert the aglets into the eye holes in the shoe. Once inserted, they lock in place and provide pressure/tension, just like regular shoe laces. The big difference being, there’s nothing to tie. This is actually a big deal for families like mine and here’s why.

Just for fun and incase you don’t know what aglets are. This is how I first learned about them..

Kids with Autism, often struggle with fine motor function as well. This makes things we take for granted like tying shoes or buttoning buttons, very difficult if not impossible.

In our house, Emmett hated tie laces because each time he put his shoes on and we tied them, the pressure was never the same. He doesn’t tolerate shoes period but when he would, he loved the U-Laces because it was a constant, and consistent amount of pressure on his foot. In other words, the U-Laces were very Sensory friendly.

In Elliott’s case, he knows how to tie his shoes but (for that matter, so does Emmett) struggles with the fine motor skills needed to make that happen. It has been a source of aggravation for him. It also meant he had to always ask for help, even at school and that was embarrassing for him.

With the U-Laces, he simply installed them, and can now deal with his shoes, entirely on his own..

I’ve heard people say that these make you lazy. In my world however, they grant my son independence and that’s a big deal. He feels more confident and is no longer worried about what he’s going to do if his shoes came untied.

As a parent to three kids with Autism, I have too much on my plate already. Anything that can help my kids safely be a bit more independent, is something that I truly appreciate. These are cheap, durable and they come in tons of colors. I can’t express how much easier these have made life for my kids, at least the ones that wear shoes. Lol

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them. Also, I make no commission should you decide to try these out for yourself. As I said at the beginning, I like to connect people with tech that can make their lives a bit easier.

U-Laces not only make life a bit easier but also grant my kids some independence and that’s priceless.