Fashionable Clothing for Disabled Children

For parents caring for a child with a disability, there are many key factors to consider in general child growth and development. One area of concern, often overlooked, is the need for quality clothing, available to the disabled child for ease of dressing and undressing. As a parent, finding clothes for your disabled child often results in creative modifications of traditional clothing.

Because disabilities are varied across a spectrum, it is difficult for a clothing designer to make clothing universally fitting for all disabled children. Therefore, learning to modify and acclimate to the clothing styles, is crucial to ensuring proper growth and development in the disabled child.

For children confined to a wheelchair, the use of choice fabrics is key to optimal health outcomes. Because wheelchairs, generally, restrict movement, the child who is confined to a wheelchair will require easy-care fabrics that are soft and absorbent. Most often, this child will feel most comfortable in a pair of pants, with an elastic waistband, with pullover, Polo-styled, tops.

Children who require the use of crutches or braces, will require a different line of clothing. Because the brace or crutch is usually rubbing against the area of the body in which it is being used, such as the underarms, the clothing for this child must provide additional soft, absorbent, padding with reinforcement to endure the wear and tear of crutch and brace friction. These children also prefer clothing that is loose and more free flowing so as to allow for ease of movement with the crutches or braces.