For the last few weeks, Catherine has been refusing to wear socks. She'll also only wear a certain pair of shoes (brown suede Mary Janes). I'm chalking the shoes up to a toddler control issue, and I'm OK with it, but the sock thing freaks her out. She goes into shrieking fits until she pulls them off, and then she'll put her shoes back on with no socks and be perfectly happy to wear them that way. I think that's why she prefers the Mary Janes -- she can get them off and back on by herself. She can't do that with her tennis shoes or sandals. No socks would be OK, except that it's WINTER. She pulls on the toes of tights, too. I've tried all different kinds of socks, but they've all got the seam across the toes. I don't know if that's the problem or not (or if she's just crazy). Is there a brand of socks without toe seams? If not, what can I do about this? Turning the socks inside out didn't make a difference. Thanks.

Hi Lesley:

First of all, a belated happy holidays. I am terribly sorry for dropping out of sight for the past 3 weeks. I will blame the RES-Q Infant Wedge and the holidays for keeping me busy :)

I have had other patients who have had a tactile hypersensitivity to the seam on socks, or just wearing socks period. I would not necessarily chalk it up to Catherine being a toddler again. Too many of her behaviors that you have described are "SI" oriented. For those patients (and your not going to want to hear it again) I have found that the Wilbarger brushing protocol helps significantly. My best friend, who is a speech language pathologist and fellow feeding therapist, has a daughter who wore rain boots to church for weeks. This happened until she started the brushing protocol. I am not saying that it works for every patient, because it doesn't, but it is worth exploring. You have had a number of situations with Catherine that have made me want to borrow her for a day and see how she responds to Wilbarger. At least ask your OT about it. The other thing to do is consider a slip on shoe.

Thanks,

Robynne

You mention the brushing protocol, but I was wondering what is the method used? We had a discussion on this subject on another thread. One person was told to do quick back and forth brushing, we were told to do gentle brushing but then to "pull" the muscle lightly between joints (arms...elbow/shoulder, wrist/elbow...)

Would you be able to enlighten us with the method you prefer used with your SI patients?

Hi Jane!

How are those sweet twins?

In order to do the Wilbarger protocol properly, it is important to have good demonstration. Describing it in a thread is not good therapy. Perhaps I can film a segment at my office and run it on my husbands blog? This way everyone could see how Wilbarger protocol should be performed. It should never be performed lightly because that is a noxious sensation on the skin. Think about a small insect crawling on your arm! Nor should one brush a child too firmly as to make them red or bruised. It is a firm sensation, but very much like a Swedish massage. The second part of the protocol that your are describing is called joint compressions, which absolutely needs to be demonstrated. You can actually hurt a child if you are not performing these correctly. This form of therapy should be guided by an occupational therapist. I'll see what I can do.

Robynne