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Clothing

Mamma bear 🐻

Hi I am new here and I’m not sure if this is the right place for advice but if not if somebody could point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it please. 


My 5 year old son was diagnosed with ASD last year he is non verbal so communication is very hard (we are currently trying picture cards) 

He will not wear any clothes around the house no matter how many times I put them on him even just pjs he will take them off, but he will wear them if we are going somewhere. 

I have recently noticed that when we go out he will pull his trouser legs up to his thighs and will not let me pull them back down and with the cold weather this has been concerning me. He will not have a blanket or cosey toes over him on the pram either so I’m worried about how cold his legs are getting. If I try to pull them down he has a meltdown and pulls them straight back up. Could anybody please help me understand why he does this and if there is anything I could do to stop this as we have been avoiding going out due it being so cold as are worried about him, but I also have another child and he wants to go out so it’s effecting him also and I’m just a mum trying to make both my boys happy so any help would be very much appreciated please.

Thank you in advance x

Parents

  • Hi, a few years ago, I used to be pretty much the same to your son - I was very sensitive to clothes and refused to wear tights through most of primary school, even in the snow I had my legs bare all day. I was [and still am] the same with restricting materials too as they don't stretch and don't have enough flexabuility to be comfortable for me. I found that after a while of trying to be comfortable in those sorts of clothes, cotton materials and stretchy materials were much better for me. I particularly find that denim is horrible for me and so I avoid it completely. If his clothes also have large seems or stitches then that may also affect him as it does with me, even possibly long sleeved tops can be uncomfortable.

    As I have gotten older, I have found it much easier to wear a wider range of clothes without wanting to tear them straight off in frustration. I know for myself that I also hate wearing too many layers, having my coat hood up and wearing hats and gloves too, but pure cotton should be good to avoid as much discomfort. For me, I hate normal socks aswell so I prefer warm, winter socks intstead of those close to the skin and sitting on the ankle or below. Overall, it might be better to avoid materials too close to the skin, that are low waisted and woolen materials, as they can be horrendously itchy for kids and adults with ASD. 

    If your son maybe has a special toy or teddy to comfort him, you could bring it out so that if he approaches a sensory overload he can calm down from an uncomfortable or stressful situation, this may encourage him to be able to come out more if he has a way to relife himself from a difficult sitruation. You could also see if you can buy some cotton thermal underwear for under his clothes so he could maybe wear shorts insted of trousers but they may be too restricting for him ? 

    Extra info : If your going on a day out where it might be loud or busy [ this could even be walking down a road ] make sure you carry something like a soft toy or fidget toy [for a little distraction and comfort] , noise canceling headphones and even something to chew or suck as when I got really anxious I sucked my thumb for 10 years [ although took its tole on my teeth ]. I also find it comforting to hold someones hand while I am out as it makes me feel safe too. As he is non verbal, by maybe having a type of wrist band [e.g. with bells on it ] he might be able to let you know if he is having an overload and help you figure out his discomforts. 

    Unfortunately, it is very common to be so sensitive to clothes and materials but it may require a bit of experimenting, as it did for me.

    Hope some of this helped, 

    MJFR

Reply

  • Hi, a few years ago, I used to be pretty much the same to your son - I was very sensitive to clothes and refused to wear tights through most of primary school, even in the snow I had my legs bare all day. I was [and still am] the same with restricting materials too as they don't stretch and don't have enough flexabuility to be comfortable for me. I found that after a while of trying to be comfortable in those sorts of clothes, cotton materials and stretchy materials were much better for me. I particularly find that denim is horrible for me and so I avoid it completely. If his clothes also have large seems or stitches then that may also affect him as it does with me, even possibly long sleeved tops can be uncomfortable.

    As I have gotten older, I have found it much easier to wear a wider range of clothes without wanting to tear them straight off in frustration. I know for myself that I also hate wearing too many layers, having my coat hood up and wearing hats and gloves too, but pure cotton should be good to avoid as much discomfort. For me, I hate normal socks aswell so I prefer warm, winter socks intstead of those close to the skin and sitting on the ankle or below. Overall, it might be better to avoid materials too close to the skin, that are low waisted and woolen materials, as they can be horrendously itchy for kids and adults with ASD. 

    If your son maybe has a special toy or teddy to comfort him, you could bring it out so that if he approaches a sensory overload he can calm down from an uncomfortable or stressful situation, this may encourage him to be able to come out more if he has a way to relife himself from a difficult sitruation. You could also see if you can buy some cotton thermal underwear for under his clothes so he could maybe wear shorts insted of trousers but they may be too restricting for him ? 

    Extra info : If your going on a day out where it might be loud or busy [ this could even be walking down a road ] make sure you carry something like a soft toy or fidget toy [for a little distraction and comfort] , noise canceling headphones and even something to chew or suck as when I got really anxious I sucked my thumb for 10 years [ although took its tole on my teeth ]. I also find it comforting to hold someones hand while I am out as it makes me feel safe too. As he is non verbal, by maybe having a type of wrist band [e.g. with bells on it ] he might be able to let you know if he is having an overload and help you figure out his discomforts. 

    Unfortunately, it is very common to be so sensitive to clothes and materials but it may require a bit of experimenting, as it did for me.

    Hope some of this helped, 

    MJFR

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