Am I pushing too hard?

Well, I kind of disagree. My 8 yr old DD has some learning disabilities Kids with learning disablities really have to use their brains much harder then anyone else. Its very tiring and they can easily get frustrated. Plus, the brain is fluid, so if one day she wakes up and can tie her shoe and then the next day she is having a hard time, it doesn't mean she is being lazy, it could just be she is having an off day. We are talking about a kid with a disability. I am not suggesting you just do it for her. I do like what singingmama wrote, its more of a 'coaching' feel. Then a 'you can do that', as at that moment, she might really cant. especially if shes going to school. There are book bags to remember, where she put her shoes, her coat, blah blah blah. Just a lot to remember and when it comes down to something like tieing her shoes, her brain might be on overload and she just cant get her brain to wrap around all of it.