Training Ties® for Adaptive PE Teachers — Shoe-Tying That Travels With Your Students

Training Ties® for Adaptive PE Teachers

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Adaptive PE is one of the few places shoe tying actually has to happen — students change for class, move between gym and locker, and need their feet secure to participate safely. Training Ties is a checkpoint scaffold that attaches to a student's real sneakers, holds the laces steady at the hard steps, and lets you teach tying inside a PE setting without specialized equipment, special footwear, or a separate quiet room.

I am Bobby Morong, a special education teacher and the inventor of Training Ties. This page is for the APE specialists who keep coming back to shoe tying because every other goal depends on it.

What adaptive PE teachers actually face with shoe tying

Shoe tying in APE is not a fine-motor session in a quiet OT room. It is happening on a bench in a loud gym, with a student who has already changed clothes, and you have eight minutes before the next group rotates in. The tool that works in that environment has to:

  • Work on the student's own sneakers — not a board, not a model shoe
  • Set up in seconds and survive a real PE day
  • Let multiple students practice in a small group without specialized equipment per kid
  • Map cleanly onto an IEP goal so progress is measurable across sessions
  • Generalize so the skill transfers from gym to hallway to home

Velcro shoes solve the safety problem but not the goal. No-tie laces solve the speed problem but not the goal. A scaffold solves both.

Why shoe tying matters in adaptive PE

Shoe tying sits at the intersection of two things APE specialists own: independence (an ADL that ends parental and aide help) and safety (loose laces in a gym are a real fall and entanglement risk). Students who can secure their own footwear participate in more activities, transition more independently between settings, and meet the kind of measurable, observable goals an IEP team will sign off on.

How Training Ties fits adaptive PE

Training Ties® attaches to the student's real sneakers and holds the laces in place at the two moments where shoe tying usually collapses. The student does the actual tying — the tool just stops the restart-and-fail cycle that derails progress in the few minutes you have.

  • Works on real sneakers. No special footwear, no transferring laces between practice shoes and game shoes.
  • Travels with the student. Same tool in the gym, the OT session, the classroom, and at home. One method, multiple settings.
  • Fades out. As the student gains control, you remove the checkpoints — which is the trajectory an IEP goal is supposed to follow.
  • IEP-aligned. Because the student is doing the real skill on real laces, every session generates step-level data you can actually use.
  • Group-friendly. A small caseload of Training Ties handles a station-based PE rotation without re-teaching the setup each time.

Tools for adaptive PE — quick reference

Tool Fit for adaptive PE
Velcro shoes Solves safety; does not teach the skill or meet a tying goal
No-tie / elastic laces Fast and accessible; bypasses the skill entirely
Practice board OK for early sequencing in a quiet room; does not transfer to a real shoe
Two-color laces Excellent paired with a scaffold — removes directional confusion
Training Ties® checkpoint tool Built for real shoes in real settings; IEP-aligned; fades out

Equipping a caseload

If you are outfitting a caseload, classroom, or district program, Training Ties offers bulk options and accepts purchase orders. See for schools & institutions, request a free institutional assessment, or check the teacher & OT page.

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FAQ

Why is shoe tying an adaptive PE goal?

Because it is concrete, observable, and meaningful for both independence and safety. Loose or untied laces in a gym are a real fall and entanglement risk, and tying is an activity-of-daily-living goal that crosses easily from PE into the rest of the school day.

What's the best shoe-tying tool for an adaptive PE classroom?

One that works on the student's own sneakers, sets up fast, holds the laces steady at the hard steps so the student can practice the real skill, and fades out toward independence. A checkpoint scaffold like Training Ties fits a PE setting better than a practice board or a substitute like Velcro.

Will this work for students who already use Velcro or no-tie laces?

Yes — most families keep the Velcro or no-tie pair as the everyday shoe and use a separate lace-up sneaker for tying practice with Training Ties. The student gets daily convenience and a path to the actual skill.

Does Training Ties hold up to a real PE day?

Yes. It is designed for kids who run, jump, and play in real shoes, not for a stationary practice board.

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