Sleepy feet!

So a few weeks ago I had a funny conversation with my OT. Not the one about whether I can put both feet behind my head, though that one was funny too. (It turns out I can, in case you were wondering and don't follow me on Facebook.)

On my agenda for our meeting was Item 4: Feet. He enquired as to the nature of what we should discuss about feet. I explained that my feet don't like being in shoes all day: they get very sad.

"Where is the pain?" he asked. 

What pain? When did I say they hurt? "There isn't any pain," I explained, "they just go sort of dead."

"Ah, so you can't feel them, like they're numb. Have you tried some different shoes?"

Insoles I already owned with a
massive metatarsal support and arch

Nope. It's like they're not there... they're not a part of me... I need to be able to feel them... They need more sensory input. We got there in the end! Luckily I'm pretty sensory-aware and was able to explain more to him about the exact kind of input I needed after I rejected all his initial suggestions because they were all wrong! Once he knew what I meant we came up with some great ideas. And I must get round to trying those toe socks we all had in the 90s, if I can find some cotton ones...

Trampoline park socks I already owned

The funny thing is, when I tell some people about the feet problem they know exactly what I mean straight away. Others have no clue what I am talking about whatsoever. Is this an example of the double empathy problem? We don't understand each others' method of communication. Or perhaps just that it is not a problem for some people (or not one that they are sensory-aware enough to recognise) and so they don't have language to describe it or to understand my description of it?

Compression socks (technically for
plantar fasciitis), dead thin and fit
easily under normal socks

Who knows, but it struck me as a good example of those times when I think I am talking about a simple everyday concept only to find someone has no idea what I am on about. Maybe I should start a running list of them, that could be interesting! I have a feeling the people that know what I mean tend to either be autistic/neurodiverse in some way or spend a lot of time with people with sensory differences...