Welcome to:

“Teaching Clothing Care”

•Presented by: Ben Chamberlin, TVI and Independent Living Specialist

Everything You Wanted to Ask about Clothing but were Too Afraid to Ask!

a Perkins Webinarwith Ben Chamberlin

Today’s Objectives•Things to consider when purchasing

clothes•Strategies and techniques for organizing,

matching and labeling clothes•Strategies and techniques for laundry care

and folding•Adaptations and modifications•Provide you with the confidence to go out

there and teach!

Potential Obstacles• Concerned about the child’s appearance

Self-DeterminationTailor the lesson to the student

• Lack of confidence/teaching experience Try it yourself, pre-teach, postgame, agreed upon language

• Finding Time: Will likely take longer than you thinkFocus on specific skills and fill-in blanks yourself Split lessons across days

Never too young Ways to learn and to help with household chores

•Put dirty clothes in hamper

•Help take clothes out of dryer, fold or put clothes away

•Being the timekeeper

•An active participant, “in the know”

Self determination 

•Choosing what clothes to wear

•Developing a sense of self and style

•Caring about appearance

•Encourage students to make choices

Selecting and Purchasing Clothing

• Appropriate level of challenge elastic waist, easy to orient clothes

• Students with hemiparesisloose fitting shirts, snaps on coats

• Tactile defensiveness remove tags, avoid scratchy clothes• Matching

Easy-to-match clothes, even clothes that all go together• Identification

Distinct feel to the fabric or shape or trim/insignia to make clothing easier to identify, e.g. all black socks of thin smooth fabric and all white socks of thicker, ribbed fabric.

• Easy fabric care read labels, avoid “dry clean only”

Organizing Clothes

•Labeling Dresser Drawers with Large Print, Braille or Pictures

Organizing Clothes

•Drawer dividers: Shoe Boxes, Cardboard Dividers

Click icon to add picture

Organizing Outfits

•Pre-made outfits sorted by day and labeled on drawers•Learn outfit sequencing (underwear, socks, pants, shirt)

Click icon to add picture

Organizing Outfits

•Dividing Outfits, or Types of Clothing by using Hanging dividers in your closet•Learning what to wear for types of weather, special occasions

Matching Clothes•Tactile labels (Few tops have tags now, so where

do you put labels?)

•Everything matches jeans!

•Rubber band around hanger

•Color labels have limited usefulness to totally blind student

•Descriptions in an electronic file

Matching Clothes

•Cutting the tags in different ways, and matching the same cutting technique from the shirt tag with the pants tag to match

Matching Clothes

•Using the same technique but with fabric paint. Designs could include Circles, X’s, Triangles, or even Dots

Matching Clothes

•Using the same technique but stitching or sewing in X’s or French Knots

Matching Clothes

•Using the same technique but with various shapes of buttons

Matching Clothes

•Using the same technique but with Match Makers placed on the undersides of tags

Matching Clothes

•Using the same technique but with Braille Markers placed on the undersides of tags

Teaching about Garments•Learning landmarks: tags, hems, seams, collars,

sleeves, cuffs

•Distinguishing features: buttons, zippers, shape, fabric, trim, design, insignias.

•Learning orientation how to put on properly, take off without turning inside out & how to correct if backward, inside out

•Knowing when clothes are outgrown or need mending

Laundry Pre-Game•Learning parts of the machines & what they do

•Listen to cycles

•Labeling washer and dryer

•Load Size

•Check info on label for fabric care

•Front loading vs top loading washers

Labeling Dials

•Washer and Drier dials can be made accessible by labeling them, using an assortment of tactile and Braille markers

Click icon to add picture

Sorting•Systems for light/dark tactile labels, sock locks, sectioned laundry hampers

•Systems for Special Careseparate clothing that could in some way damage

others, e.g. may run, or that requires special care, e.g. gentle cycle

•Empty pockets

Washing•Create laundry steps•Place basket/bag right next to washer/dryer for

convenience and to minimize spills•Make sure machine is empty before putting clothes in •Adjust temperature, degree of agitation and load size •Check floor to make sure none have fallen.•Use detergent •When emptying washer, scan drum to make sure all

clothes are removed.•Washing by hand is a good way to learn about

concept of washing clothes.

Detergent•Standard Liquid poured into cap

•Use of pump bottle

•Powder placed in separate container and measuring cup for scooping

•Single serving tablets

Click icon to add picture

Drying• Check lint filter

• Check labels to ensure no shrinking or melting

• Dryer sheets • Check floor to make sure none have fallen

• Empty dryer and scan drum to make sure all clothes are removed.

• Cleaning lint filter. • Fold clothes right away

Monitoring time

•Often overlooked

•Estimating time for cycles

•Can use a watch, a timer, or embed the activity in other routines (washer before dinner, dryer after dinner, or the cycles according to the length of a TV show)

Folding Clothes• Easiest to hardest

Start with wash cloth/hand towel, heavy sweater/sweatshirt, then advance to pants, shorts, t-shirts, collared shirts

• Different strategies, different surfaces to work on

• Agree upon language so that it’s consistent • Identifying clothing landmarks

Start when clothes are on you then go to just clothes

• Students with HemiparesisExperiment with strategies for stabilizing, use chin/teeth

• Hanging on hangers

• Putting clothes away

• Flip N Fold Great for participation in task

Folding a Washcloth

Folding a Sweater

Folding a Sweater Using the Body

Folding Pants

Folding Pants Using the Body

Placing Pants on a Hanger

Placing a Shirt on a Hanger

Postgame!•Things to consider when purchasing clothes•Strategies and techniques for organizing,

matching and labeling clothes•Strategies and techniques for laundry care and

folding•Adaptations and modifications•Provide you with the confidence to go out there

and teach!