Clothes, seams and getting dressed when touch hurts
If the school jumper feels like sandpaper, that is sensory, not stubbornness. We change the cloth, the order, or the ask — before we run a daily war at 7am.
Written by the Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center therapy team — our Speech & Language Therapist, psychology and ABA staff. This page is awaiting its clinical review.
What we try
Seamless socks. Tags out. A soft layer under the uniform. Practise the jumper at a calm time, not at the gate. Clothing tags, dressing skills, letter to school for a uniform exception while you work.
What we will not do
Make wearing the painful jumper a test of character. A child who is already in a flood cannot “get used to it” that morning.
What to write the school
A uniform exception for ten days. Letter to school. Guide: clothing tags. Force is not a sensory programme.
The morning is the session
Practise the jumper on Saturday, not at 7am on a school day. A soft layer under the uniform is allowed. Tags out. Seamless socks if you can find them in Multan; if you cannot, turn the existing ones inside out. Dressing as a skill still sits with daily living — this page is the feel of the cloth, not the last step of the button.
If they strip the moment they get home, that is a tank emptying, not sabotage. Home can be softer than school. Write the uniform ask anyway: letter to school. Haircuts and nail-cutting are different days on the blog, not this jumper war.
The idea behind the work (in the books)
If the jumper feels like sandpaper, that is sensory, not stubbornness. Change the cloth before you run a 7am war.
Ayres / tactile defensiveness as a map
Tags, seams, socks. Practise the jumper at a calm time, not at the gate. Formal SI is still not what we staff.
Life skills — the last step of dressing
Motor and dressing overlap: dressing, daily living.
What the research tells us
This isn’t just our opinion — it’s grounded in published research. Here are a few findings from trusted, independent sources:
Novak and Honan’s systematic review of paediatric occupational therapy found strong evidence that task-specific handwriting practice improves handwriting. That is about repeated, specific practice of the skill — not a claim that Inclusive delivers licensed occupational therapy.
— Novak and Honan, Australian Occupational Therapy Journal (2019). View source
Take a worksheet home
Print one sheet. Fill it in this week. Bring it to the consultation — a consultation is Rs 1,500 and lasts up to 50 minutes.
Sensory checklist
What they seek, what they avoid, over ordinary days. Not a diagnosis.
Motor skills checklist
Big movements, small ones, and everyday self-care.
Book a consultation
Contact owner Muhammad Salman Afzal first. No referral needed. A consultation is Rs 1,500 and lasts up to 50 minutes.
Clothes — questions parents ask
School will not allow a different jumper.
Ask in writing, one page, ten school days. We can help with the letter. Some schools still say no — then we plan the layer underneath.
They take everything off at home.
Home can be softer than school. That is not sabotage. It is a tank emptying.
Is this OT?
No. Practical sensory support. Licensed OT if the picture is medical or a full SI programme is needed.
How do we start?
A consultation is Rs 1,500 and lasts up to 50 minutes. Bring the jumper.
School will not allow a different jumper.
Ask in writing. Some schools still say no — then we plan the layer underneath.
Ask about clothes
A short, friendly conversation is the best first step. Call, text or WhatsApp us — we’ll listen and guide you, with no pressure.
MPS Road, Block A Model Town, Multan (near Bloomfield Hall School, Street No. 2) · Mon–Fri, 2 PM – 6 PM