The Magic Socks
Who would have thought that a pair of socks would make my days as a mother easier?
That a pair of socks would take my tantrum and whine-filled mornings and turn them into calm morning with a kid eager to go to school?
They truly are magic socks, in more ways than one.
And this is why.
My twelve-year-old son lives with autism and cerebral palsy (CP). His CP affects his muscle tone and strength on the right side of his body. Because of this, he has to wear a leg brace. This is a rigid plastic brace that runs from his toes to right below his knee. It holds his ankle at or as close to a 90-degree angle as possible.
Our mornings were filled with protests, whining, and sit-downs accompanied by refusals to go to school. The brace is bulky, hot, and painful, but it is also a necessity for his health. To stretch his muscles over time and hopefully save him from the possibility of having surgery done when he is older. As you can imagine there is quite a lot of fight from my son when it comes time for him to put it on. You would probably fight too.
So I began wracking my brain in an attempt to come up with a way to make wearing the brace a better experience for him.
I came up with the idea to get him special socks. Some type of socks that he would only get to wear with the brace and they had to be fun. Something more exciting than just plain white crew socks.
So I was on the hunt.
That’s when I found this line of cool socks in the men’s section at my local Target. There are maybe two dozen different and fun prints. I try to pick up a new pair at least once a month.
My son’s collection is filled with different pairs:
- Tacos
- American Flags (Or as my son calls them “Uncle Sam” socks)
- Flying Pigs
- Robots
- Hams
- Donuts
- Whales
They are absolutely perfect.
Not only are they colorful and cool, but they are also the perfect length to go all the way up his leg. This protects his leg from uncomfortable chaffing that could occur if his bare leg was against the plastic.
These socks make wearing the brace a funner experience for my son.
It also empowers my son.
He doesn’t have a choice in regards to wearing the brace, but I can give him the power to make the choice as to which sock he will wear that day.
Not only does it get my son to wear the brace with fewer complaints, whining, and tantrums, but it has also affected his self-confidence. Where at one point I was worried about him being bullied for having to wear a brace and for being different. His teacher says that now when he walks onto the campus it’s like he owns the place. All his friends and classmates can’t wait to see what pair of cool socks he’s going to wear that day.
It’s not about being different because of the brace, it’s about showing off the amazing socks.
So yes, there is such a thing as magic socks and my son owns several pairs.
