The importance of sturdy shoes

I am pretty sure that I've mentioned in the past that Monster Man went through three pairs of flip flops last summer due to one of his tics, where he'd drag the toes under his foot and end up breaking the flip flops. He also manages to put a lot of holes in his socks, something that I hadn't realized until recently was also attributed to his tics.

Monster Man has a number of tics involving his feet. I discovered today, thanks to the National Tourette Syndrome Association's Facebook page, that tics involving feet are very common. So many people commented on how their own tics or the tics of their children have resulted in the need for one of two things. 1) Cheap shoes (why pay a lot of money for shoes that will need to be quickly replaced?) OR 2) Sturdy shoes.

We've gone both routes for Monster Man. The last time I bought him a really cheap pair of sneakers, he managed to put holes in the leather near the toes in just a matter of weeks. His next pair of sneakers was the skateboarding shoes that are so popular right now. They have extra thick soles, strong sueded leather, and thick stitching, and they are made to take some abuse. I bought that pair for Monster Man right before he returned to school last August. They are still holding up strong, though they have gotten pretty dirty and nasty over time. For the sole purpose of allowing him to have a nicer pair to wear for church or other places he should wear nicer shoes, I recently bought him a second pair of skateboarding shoes.

When it comes to feet tics for those with Tourette Syndrome, having a sturdy pair of shoes is of great importance.