Adaptive Clothing: Dress for Less Stress
Adaptive Clothing Can Be a Good Fit for the Rare Community
Pediatric nurse Cecilia Auth knew firsthand how challenging G-tube feeding could be for parents already overwhelmed with a rare disease diagnosis. Accessing the port for feeding and cleaning required parents to completely undress their child multiple times a day. Wasn’t there an easier way? To address the problem, Auth created an innovative tube-feeding “onesie” bodysuit that allowed parents easy access to the port. The garment was comfortable and had a colorful, fun design to entertain and encourage children. She founded her adaptive clothing company, Tubesies, with a goal of helping parents have more quality time with their children.
Put simply, adaptive clothing is clothing created to solve problems. Makers of adaptive clothing specialize in apparel, footwear, and accessories designed to make life easier for those with mobility issues and other special health needs. All aim to improve comfort and accessibility, promote independence and dignity, and make wearers look good and feel good.
There are two main categories of adaptive clothing. One is for people who dress themselves independently, but need help with certain aspects of the process. The other is for those who rely on caregivers to assist with dressing, including children and adults with rare diseases that impact mobility. Options also exist for specific situations, such as wheelchair use, ongoing treatment, and wound care. Some adaptive clothing companies are willing to customize garments according to individual needs, so if you need special accommodations, be sure to ask.
For independent dressers, adaptive clothing can reduce frustration and improve chances of success with daily tasks. Companies such as Buck & Buck and Silvert's carry a large selection of clothing for people who need a little extra assistance with difficult maneuvers. Their clothes offer special features for those with muscle weakness, limited range of motion, dexterity problems, and other issues. Adaptations include:
Garments with snaps, Velcro® fasteners, and hook-and-loop closures instead of buttons
Zippers with large, easy-grasp pulls
Pull-on pants with no zippers or buttons
Shirts featuring zippers at the sides or shoulders, to help with limited upper body mobility
Shoes with Velcro or magnetic fasteners instead of shoelaces
Extra wide shoes, socks, and slippers
Slippers that adjust in width to accommodate swollen feet and ankles
Some companies, such as Adaptations by Adrian, specialize in clothes adapted for wheelchair users, including pants, tops, and outerwear designed for a seated frame. Wheelchair-friendly features include seamless construction, long side zippers, drop-front trousers, easay fastenings, and back-opening shirts, dresses, and jackets that look like traditional styles from the front. Companies like IZ Adaptive and Authored Apparel pride themselves on providing clothing that is fashionable as well as functional.
Adaptive clothing can be a boon for caregivers who help people with mobility problems, too, including children and paraplegics. Former special education teacher Sandy Zeichner founded her company, Easy Access Clothing, to address the challenges of assisting special-needs children with dressing and toileting. Her collection includes practical styles for both children and adults at all levels of disability. Special features include open-back designs, wider cuts, deep-set sleeves, reinforcements, and easy fastenings.
Some adaptive garments offer the added benefit of facilitating access to body parts, ports, and other medical devices. Drop-front trousers, for example, make it easier to tend to catheters and stomas. Other adaptive clothing is designed for very specific purposes. Suzanne Moloney founded HidraWear to address unmet needs of people with a rare disease called hidradenitis suppurativa. Suzanne, who has HS herself, knew that one of the biggest challenges faced by people with HS is daily wound management. She solved the problem by creating a wearable wound management system that is comfortable, adhesive-free, and easy to use.
To further empower people with rare diseases, there is Rare. Billed as “a brand with a purpose,” the company sells apparel, jewelry, and lifestyle designs created to inspire and raise awareness about rare diseases. Rare. was founded by two members of the rare community with a mission of educating and advocating for those affected by rare diseases. Customized, personalized, and bulk ordering are available.
What clothing adaptations work for you? Do you have suggestions that might help other members of the rare community? KnowRare wants to know! Send us your tips and ideas, and we will feature the best ones in a future blog post.
Companies that make and/or sell adaptive clothing:
Able2 Wear
Adaptive clothing for wheelchair users, including waterproof outerwear and drop-front trousers (based in the UK)
Adaptations by Adrian
For wheelchair users, a large selection of ready-to-wear and customized clothing and accessories for the seated frame, including capes, open-back jackets and shirts, pants, and swimwear
Authored Apparel
Stylish adaptive clothing with hidden accessibility features for people with various physical constraints and health challenges, including wheelchair users
Buck & Buck
Adaptive clothing with a large selection of self- and assisted-dressing options, including cut-away styles and easy fastening rear-closure, wrap-back, and back-flap garments
Easy Access Clothing
Founded by a special education teacher, provides adaptive clothing for children and adults with special needs, including easy access bodysuits
HidraWear
Wound-care solutions designed specifically for people dealing with hidradenitis suppurativa
IZ Adaptive
Seamless, seated-cut clothing for wheelchair users, featuring men’s, women’s, and non-gendered styles
Silvert's
Dressing solutions for elderly and disabled people, for both independent and assisted dressers
Tubesies
“Onesie” bodysuits for babies and toddlers that allow easy access to G-ports at feeding time
Zappos Adaptive
Adaptive clothing department from the popular mail-order company features easy on-off shoes, diabetic shoes, sensory-friendly clothing, reversible shirts and pants, post-surgical garments, and more
