Clothing and Dressing

Keely has always had a strong preference for clothes that are soft – and clothes that hug her, which give her a sense of support and security. As a young child, she remembers being most comfortable in her pyjamas, and wanting to put them on as soon as she came in from school.

Over the years, she has come up with many ideas for getting around her dislike of certain types of clothes, which she is more than happy to share with the children, young people and parents/carers in our groups.

We have met some children who, if given the choice, would prefer not to wear any clothes at all, because their skin is so sensitive to the feel of anything against it. We work with these children to explore different fabrics and textures, to see what they feel most comfortable with – and in some instances, we can also work closely with the child’s school, to make reasonable adjustments so that the child is able to attend school in clothes that are tolerable to them, while still conforming to uniform colours. For example, one boy we work with now wears plain, dark grey running trousers to school, which he calls “joggers” – because his school trousers were causing him such discomfort that this was building up anxiety about going to school.

We also work with children who are unable to dress themselves, due to sensorimotor issues. Using fun, interactive games with themes such as superhero dress-up and role play, we teach these children to put on one garment at a time, in small and achievable steps, at whatever pace each individual child needs.

Clothing pic