Challenges Parents Face When a Child Has Sensory Issues With Clothing

There are many challenges for parents of children with special needs, and one that is often unexpected is sensitivity to everyday clothing.

 Challenges Parents Face When a Child Has Sensory Issues With Clothing

There are huge sensory issues that children with Autism, SPD, OCD, PDA commonly encounter with their clothing.  This can be a nightmare, especially for essentials like underwear, school wear and seasonal weather-wear.

There are many things that cause issues for parents of children with special needs, and one that is often unexpected is sensitivity to everyday clothing.  Many diagnoses like Autism, PDA, SPD, OCD overlap with sensory processing issues.  This can lead to meltdowns and stress while the family try to navigate everyday activities with this daunting challenge in the way.  With other conditions essential items like splints might cause sensory issues if there is rubbing in a certain area.  Skin related conditions can cause fragility and hyper-sensitivity.

 How do clothing sensitivities affect a child?

Sensitivities can be constantly on the mind of the child, making them irritable and anxious, if sensitivity becomes overlaid with high levels of anxiety and even OCD, it can tip into an unbearable overload.  Constant fidgeting impairs ability to focus and take part in activities.  Many children with clothing sensory issues either wear too tight clothing, too many layers at once, or frequently and compulsively strip completely. 

 Children who find clothing overwhelming and continually need to remove it may not have awareness of this being inappropriate in public, meaning their parents have to keep their eyes on them at all times. For some parents the summer holidays are a relief simply to have 5 weeks to let their child be free at home in their birthday suit, or their Crocs, or their favourite too-small pyjamas without judgement.  However, this is also isolating and makes family days out a massive challenge.

Most common type of sensitivities

It can be confusing at first if children are refusing to wear certain clothing – well-meaning relatives might suggest you are mollycoddling if you don’t work on getting the child to wear their clothes without a drama.  Usually by the time people find the Sensory Smart Store they have been having battles in the hall before school every day for quite some time and are beginning to realise there is more to it than simply a child who is making a fuss, or a parent ‘not putting their foot down’.  ‘Just put his socks on’ someone said to me, like I hadn’t thought of that! Putting some clothes on was painful to him, and really distressing.  It took forever to do and he could wriggle back out in seconds.  There was no simple fix.

The most common issue people come to us with is socks – particularly seams in socks – the way the fabric moves too much, or hugs too much.  Also with underpants, the leg holes, the gussets, the bands, some like tight, some need them super baggy.  Anything against the skin can cause issues if there are seams or labels – vests, tee shirts, etc.

Often there is sensitivity to certain types of fabric blends, colours or textures, especially if there is tactile sensitivity – and what one child can only wear, another might not be able to bear to even touch.  We have some customers who are so sensitive they can feel the difference between colours when the yarn is identical and the only change between the colours is the micro-effect of the dye on the

yarn!

Fabric that rustles or makes other sounds is a big NO for many.  Tags are a big issue and most parents I talk to are routinely cutting out tags before clothes can even be looked at, let alone tried on – which means you can’t exchange them or resell them if they aren’t right.  Most of the parents of sensory children have spent an absolute fortune trying to find something that works.  Then there are zips, buttons and other fasteners which can cause practical issues for children with gross or fine motor issues, and can also cause anxiety or phobia in others.

Wearing exactly the same set of clothes every day is a common feature in SPD.  If we found a top that was accepted we would immediately buy every size in exactly the same top in fear that the range would be stopped and he would refuse any other.  We used to buy the next size up in exactly the same pair of Clarks shoes second hand so they were worn out already.   Then we could try and swap them in for the previous pair.  There was no flexibility at all.  

Inappropriate clothing and expectations.  I was very fortunate that my son’s school accepted that sometimes he would go in wearing a onesie.  They would then use his first lesson to practise putting appropriate school clothes on as part of his life skills.  I know from the many conversations I’ve had over the years that this was unusually visionary on their part.  We would have had far greater level of school refusal if they hadn’t embraced helping me with this challenge rather than making it harder for us.  

Fancy dress was great fun for me growing up, but for both my children it was agony, and we were constantly on the lookout for soft sensory options for Halloween or posh clothes for parties.

In short, some children experience all of their senses differently.  They may not be able to regulate their senses, so while you and I can ignore the sensation of where fabric touches our skin to concentrate on something else like reading or writing, children with regulation issues can’t ‘switch off’ the feeling of an uncomfortable seam and ignore it.  

How would you know if your child has a sensitivity to clothing?

You will likely have noticed one or more of the following – constant fidgeting, itching and scratching.  Outright refusal of certain clothing items that are a certain fabric or texture, demanding extra tight or loose fit, rejection of any garment containing seams, certain colours, chewing parts of clothes, pulling at clothing – sometimes leading to ripping, agitation or constant stripping.  Every child might experience this briefly, but if it is persistent and getting in the way of everyday life, they may need extra help.