Abstract
Individuals with tactile defensiveness are dissatisfied with their clothing because apparel designers lack knowledge about sensory sensitivities. OTs can partner with designers to develop tactile sensory-friendly clothes.
Primary Author and Speaker: Chukwuma Nweje Udezeh
Tactile defensiveness, the hypo-responsivity and hyper-responsivity to touch stimuli, can hinder well-being (Kyriacou et al., 2023). Prevalent in neurodivergent populations (He et al., 2021), sensory sensitivities may reduce participation in daily activities (Kinnealey et al., 1995). This mixed method sequential, explanatory study identifies the clothing dissatisfaction of adults with tactile defensiveness by answering the research question: What clothing requirements do individuals experiencing tactile defensiveness have? A digital survey collected quantitative and qualitative data from 24 participants to better understand the sample’s clothing dissatisfaction. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling from their involvement in American disability community groups. Chi-square and One-way/Two-way/Three-way analysis of variance tests using a significance level of 0.05 were conducted to identify potential associations between tactile defensiveness and encountering clothing challenges. Qualitative data was analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis methods. Twenty of the participants were tactile defensive. Tactile defensiveness was significantly associated with having trouble finding fashionable and functional clothing and declining participation in activities due to a lack of access to tactile sensory accommodating clothes. Participants with tactile defensiveness experienced the most issues with shirts and sweaters and were not satisfied with their clothing options when engaging in personal, leisure, and work-related activities. Adults with tactile defensiveness want fashionable and functional clothes. Interdisciplinary collaboration between occupational therapists and apparel designers is needed to develop tactile sensory accommodating clothing. While working with apparel designers, occupational therapists will learn about fabric and clothing styles to recommend to clients with tactile defensiveness.
He, J. L., Wodka, E., Tommerdahl, M., Edden, R. A., Mikkelsen, M., Mostofsky, S. H., & Puts, N. A. (2021). Disorder-specific alterations of tactile sensitivity in neurodevelopmental disorders. Communications Biology, 4(97), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01592-y
Kinnealey, M., Oliver, B., & Wilbarger, P. (1995). A phenomenological study of sensory defensiveness in adults. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 49(5), 444–451. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.49.5.444
Kyriacou, C., Forrester-Jones, R., & Triantafyllopoulou, P. (2023). Clothes, sensory experiences and autism: Is wearing the right fabric important? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53, 1495–1508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05140-3