Journeys with Autism » Blog Archive » Tactile Sensitivities: Do You Have Difficulty Changing Your Clothes?

Nov
16

Tactile Sensitivities: Do You Have Difficulty Changing Your Clothes?

Filed under: Sensory Processing Issues;

Several weeks ago, I received an email from a mom whose autistic son resisted getting undressed and changing his clothes. She wondered why he was having such a hard time. After writing back to her, I started to become more and more aware of my own difficulties in this regard—difficulties that have never really changed over the course of my life, despite my numerous attempts to “get it together” and be like other people

Unless I have to go somewhere, I find it very hard to get out of my pajamas. In the winter, I wear thermals at night, and I often find myself just throwing on a skirt in the morning and being done with it. If I manage to get out of my pajamas at all, I might put on workout clothes and spend a couple of hours on my bike. When I’m done, though, I feel quite attached to what I’m wearing. I only change into a proper set of clothes if I’m having a guest or going out. If I do manage to put on something suitable for appearing in public, I have to deal with the whole issue of putting on pajamas at night. I’ll remember to put them on if I’m lucky. Otherwise, I’m apt to fall asleep in my clothes.

For me, these difficulties all come down to my tactile sensitivities. I resist the discomfort of making a transition from one temperature to another. When I change my clothes, especially in the winter, I’m apt to get cold. Lately, I’ve been reminding myself that I can turn on the heater in the bathroom and have it direct warmth on me, but the resistance to actually getting there is very ingrained. And though I love to take a hot shower, getting myself to do it takes a lot of effort. There’s the chill before going in and the chill after coming out. There’s all this complicated transitional stuff having to do with the discarded clothing, the new clothing, the wet hair, the sound of the blow dryer, the floor mats that have to be hung up to dry, and the eyeglasses that get so fogged up that I’m apt to walk into a door on my way out.

I sometimes judge myself harshly for my difficulties around these issues of personal care, but I know that the challenges are sensory. So long as I keep my clothes clean and take a shower every other day, no one seems to mind. Yay!

Issues of temperature aside, the very prospect of changing my clothes makes me feel more sensory sensitive than usual. To a large degree, my clothes give me a feeling of having a “thicker skin”—something that people have always told me I should try to develop (with less than spectacular results). There are times that I can’t bear to go outside because I’m in such an acutely sensitive state that my skin feels as though it’s made of tissue paper. At such times, my clothing is like a security blanket with which I don’t want to part, not even for a minute. I wear baggy, comfortable, cotton clothing that I find at thrift stores or, better yet, in free boxes. I don’t know what the latest styles are, and I couldn’t care less. So long as my clothing feels like a comfort to me, I’m happy.

Do others have these challenges? I know I can’t be the only one, but it’s not a subject I’ve noticed others writing about. Many thanks to one of my autie mom readers for raising the issue.

© 2009 by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg

18 Comments

18 Responses to “Tactile Sensitivities: Do You Have Difficulty Changing Your Clothes?”

misfit November 16th, 2009 at 8:12 pm

My issues are more around fabrics. I dislike most synthetics and anything that makes me feel overheated. Unfortunately I am a plus size and only wear loose, non-clingy things which makes it even harder. Take a look at the plus-size section some time, they are the fugliest, slimiest, overheatingest, huge-floral-printedest, cling-to-all-the-wrong-bitsiest hideous garments known to man or woman… makes me so mad that I go on English-language-twisting rampages. Ethnic markets that used to have lots of cotton and natural fabrics have also fallen prey to the polyester monster.
Winter is tough for me too… haven;t thought it through as thoroughly or clearly as you, but much as I hate being hot, I hate being cold too, more so in recent years than before. Changing clothes is challenging for that reason, but as I can’t stand to go more than two days without showering, I have to grit my chattering teeth and go for it. At least in winter I get to pile on the snuggly clothes that feel kinda comforting, and ditto for blankets at bedtime…
BTW I have been meaning to ask – do the weighted blankets and jackets make you warmer, or just provide the weight that is comforting/grounding? I love the weight of wintertime blankets but can’t cope with the heat factor in the summer…
EquiisSavant November 16th, 2009 at 8:22 pm

I don’t have a problem taking a shower every day or even twice a day (like when riding horses), but I still have many of the same sensory problems you mention. Terrible to abruptly shift between hot and cold temperatures. Also, I don’t like changing clothing that is comfortable to me. Neurotypicals really don’t understand these Autism issues.
john November 16th, 2009 at 8:57 pm

yeah I think it’s that I don’t naturally separate my time into astronomical days.. I just go gto bed when i’m tired and by that time i’m too tired to change my clohtes.. And why change clothes anyway.. It’s like wearing a suit. I see reasons for changing them to be.. .. There can be a smell issue, or discomfort of regular trousers issue, so I may change in those instances.. if Ican find my pyj trousers that is
Adah Lee November 17th, 2009 at 12:05 am

Interesting topic to raise. Like the first commenter, I’m particular about fabrics. I will only wear natural fibres, and all my bed linen must also be 100% natural fibres. Personally, I actually dislike the feel of anything against my skin, and at home I don’t wear any clothes at all. Of course, this means that I keep my curtains drawn, and don’t answer the door! (I also have nightmares about forgetting to put clothes on before I go outside, since I’m so used to not wearing anything at home).
Stat Mama November 17th, 2009 at 2:50 am

YES! Though it has improved profoundly since childhood, I do still experience a heightened sensory ‘awareness’ when changing clothes. I think my body gets used to and comfortable with a certain thing I’m wearing. When I was younger, clothing had to be very loose, very plain (no lace, additional seams, etc.) and typically 100% cotton, or nearly so. I wore clothing that was much too large, just because it was so comfortable, for many years. I had many, many sensory issues surrounding clothing. I’m relieved that my challenges with that have diminished over time, but I do still have some of it.

So glad that you posted about this!
Soph November 17th, 2009 at 5:07 am

I’m only ASD traits so not sure if this is relevant, but I do feel much happier in clothes with some weight to them. Heavy boots, denim etc … I will wear thinner clothes if I have to, but as soon as the social pressure is off I’m back in heavy fabrics again.

I think lots of people in the neurotypical world don’t like getting dressed after a shower.
Klaire November 17th, 2009 at 5:05 pm

A lot of things really bother me, especially water. I used to feel like I was dying when I got into a shower. My pulse would race, I’d get dizzy and it felt like my heart was going to pop. Since I’ve lived on my own I’ve been able to remedy it by getting a better shower head and using the heater. Luckily I don’t sweat much and don’t need to shower much. I hate washing dishes. My parents would get into violent fights with me about this. I could have done any number of dry chores, but they wanted me to do the repulsive one that left me feeling gross for hours. I also hate the taste of water, it tastes like dirt and metal. When it’s cold changing clothes or just getting out of bed can be as bad as a shower. I’m also sensitive to sunlight. It makes my skin feel like it’s burning and my eyes feel like they’re imploding. People find all these things funny, people don’t take them seriously at all.
John Dale Lyons November 17th, 2009 at 8:02 pm

As a child I had an issue with bathing. Now, I do it because of social pressure. I enjoy being in the shower once I’m in, but I hate going in or out of it. I guess I don’t like the abrupt change. And I prefer loose clothing.
Rachel November 17th, 2009 at 9:23 pm

It’s most likely true that most people don’t like getting dressed after a shower, but I don’t think it causes in NTs the amount of resistance to actually taking a shower that it does in autistic people.
Rachel November 17th, 2009 at 9:31 pm

Misfit, my experience with weighted blankets is that they keep me warm in the winter, but are quite tolerable in the summer, too. Our bedroom tends to stay cool, so that may be why I can tolerate them in the warmer weather.

I haven’t noticed that my weighted vest makes me feel especially warm in any season.
Kate November 18th, 2009 at 12:16 am

Yes, most definitely, clothes are a big problem for me. That’s putting it very very mildly. It is so freaking not funny how true that is. Whatever I just wont think of it .’
Somewhere in my closet I have a bag of clothes someone sent me. I have to go thru it again to see if there are any I can tolerate. I should do that before I leave. I know I have 2 pairs of pants, thank God, from there that I can tolerate, but they’re a little long, so I should cut the bottoms to see if I can get them a more wearable length and maybe even go out in them. I have to see if there are any more shirts. 2 shirts won’t work that well. I wish to God I had more. Maybe I should take up the offer of that woman in this chat I know to try to make me some. I really need more clothes so I have more clean ones to wear. Yeah I literally only have 2 pairs of clothing I can tolerate wearing and the second one is very iffy. Must remember to go through that bag. Why in the world those two pairs are tolerable and the rest arent I have no idea. While I have a huge amount of sensory issues in terms of how the clothes feel a bigger one for me is how they smell and what kind of chemical reaction I have when I put them on, and most I cant tolerate at all – for both reasons. The feel of it used to be hard enough and excluded about oh 85% of clothes, now wioth the chemical sensitivity it excludes about 99% of clothes. That’s a really hard pill to swallow. If I could figure out where these clothes came from maybe I could get more but one is long sleeves and I really dont even like long sleeves at all. The slacks are just that, slacks; tolerable but not comfortable for a long time. Need cotton stuff. I don’t know, I must not panic. I am moving again and need to have decent clothes. And by decent I mean I have far low standards; I dont care if they look good but…. I wont get too specific. Let’s just say mine are not quite up to par. I better stop now before I get too ahead of myself and say something I might want to take back lol. Not that I usually care what I say but. What the hell made those 2 things okay to wear and the rest not? They came from the same person…I think. I can’t really remember. Okay I need to stop now. ANd be calm.
Soph November 18th, 2009 at 4:09 am

I know a youngster with ASD relatives who wasn’t diagnosed with ASD because didn’t meet the classical diagnostic criteria (as I didn’t), but who refuses to change clothing, to quite an extreme degree. Nobody understands and the kid gets shouted at. I’m glad I read your post because I can suggest to the kid’s parents that this might be the cause.

I think there’s a whole world out there of people with asd traits but who are not officially asd. I think it’s a great pity that autism is so poorly understood in my country that many people still have the cheek to claim it doesn’t exist. In an ideal world wider society would recognise it as a very long spectrum, with many people carrying traits. That would lead to wider acknowledgement of social issues like shops that are too overwhelming to shop in, because the corporations would see this as something that bothers a lot of people, and not simply those that meet the classical DSMV criteria.
DonkeyBuster November 20th, 2009 at 12:34 pm

I’ve got a couch sack (sac?) that I love and I’d sleep in it if I didn’t get too hot, but I can definitely spend the whole day in it, and it’s decent enough to answer the door in if there’s a delivery. In college I had a Delta Airlines maintainance jumpsuit that I wore 24/7… even I started to notice the smell, so I got a little more conscientious about that, but would wear it for days, wishing I had a second one to wear when I needed to wash the first. I hated bathing as a kid; my folks had to chase me down and drag me in. Once I was in the tub, though, things were fine. Oddness abounds here. =0) Now I shower (water conservation issues) and I “Just Do It”… about every 4 days.

Weirdly I loved swimming as a kid, spending hours upon hours turning into a prune in the pool… but baths and showers, unh-uh.

Now it is easier (I’m 50+) to switch from day to bedtime clothes, but everything is loose and soft and mostly cotton… though I’ve found synthetic hunting camo to be quite comfortable, oddly enough; protects from wind and vents heat well, not giving me that clammy suffocating feeling. Fits loosely and full of lovely pockets… also wears like iron, so I’ve had the same camo pants for 3 years now and they aren’t even beginning to wear through the knees. So I haven’t had to go through the shopping and trying on of new clothes, or the break-in period. If anybody cares to try them, they’re Cabela’s microtek pants… I think they have overalls, too.

I have to stay pretty well covered up because the air moving over my skin bugs the dickens out of me.

My partner is not ASD, but probably has dyspraxia and her clothing sensitivities are more acute. So it is just our normal. =0)
Taylor Selseth November 20th, 2009 at 10:32 pm

I like to wear very loose cotton clothes, I wear sweatpants and soft shirts whenever possible.

I don’t hate taking a shower, it’s the coldness when drying off I hate.
Belfast November 21st, 2009 at 9:16 am

Have so much to say on the topic that it impedes even making a comment, because I can’t narrow it down enough to decide what to tackle here-but I’ll try.

Every change of clothing is like breaking in a new uncomfortable pair of jeans or shoes-on a daily basis.
It’s like a game of musical chairs where every time one finds a comfy warm spot, the music begins anew & one is forced to abandon one’s cozy perch all over again.
What I’m wearing becomes warm & cushy through (recent/current) use-so I’m reluctant to switch out of those items & into something else (chilly & stiff, comparatively).

I have designated outdoor & indoor clothing/ensembles: the stretchy loose shapeless things I wear at home & the “decent-looking” pretty clothing (tighter & more flattering, form-accentuating) I wear for being seen in public.

Bras are so uncomfortable that I only wear them for a couple hours when out in public & as soon as I get home I wriggle out of that constricting harness-along with the rest of the “outdoor outfit”.

Underwear & sox are exceptions, I don’t mind changing those regularly, as there is very little “acclimation period” involved in getting used to any particular pair.
I recall fights with my mother over wearing tights, which I hated-at least, as an adult, I have the choice to eschew pantyhose-they’d be unbearable.

I don’t bother with special sleepwear, I hated having to put on a nightgown when I was a kid-how is it easy to rest when one’s twisted up in a dress ? I just wear what I’ve had on all day (at home), sweatpants & well-worn, decades-old t-shirts.

Showering leaves my skin/flesh feeling raw, rubbery, and repulsive, exfoliated to the point of excavation (subjective perception, not objective fact-but how I feel is what’s real to me, regardless of “external reality”). Can’t reduce it to a shorter shower, because it takes half an hour to feel clean (and my hair is always falling out, so I spend an inordinate amount of time just salvaging that material from clogging the drain). Afterwards, it takes hours for me to recover & feel like I fit inside my own skin again. Hence, I procrastinate taking shower-though I don’t like being grimy either-the optimal “happy medium” point is between these extremes.

If my clothes are sweaty, then I’d rather change out of them due to the odor-yet on a tactile basis (sense of touch), they’re still comfy (so long as they aren’t damp). Being stuck wearing moist or soaked clothing makes me panic, such as if my shoes/socks get wet out in the rain.

The exception to that guideline is during hottest parts of summer, when damp clothing is a cooling relief that rapidly evaporates dry anyway. When it’s that hot, I don’t mind taking multiple brief showers day after day-but the weather here isn’t usually like that.

I avoid getting into & out of the shower-but while I’m immersed, I feel okay-it’s the phase/state/condition transitions that disturb & upset me so strongly. Same thing with swimming-I love it, but I become hysterical-due to the physical sensation of being wet (and in clothing, the swimsuit)-immediately upon leaving the water.

Temperature changes are quite unpleasant & aversive to contend with as well. It’s really off-putting when I’m going from outdoors to indoors, if there’s a significant disparity between those environments (be it air-conditioning in summer, or heat in winter). The more often I have to adjust to different surroundings, the more miserable/grouchy I am for it.
Melissa November 23rd, 2009 at 3:23 pm

These are such great responses! Thank you Rachael and everyone!
Quirky Mom November 23rd, 2009 at 11:55 pm

I’ve definitely got the temperature issues, as well as general transition issues surrounding getting showered and dressed. It was ironic timing reading this, because I had just convinced myself to go get out of my dress clothes from work and put something comfy on for the evening. Which I did… And I am more comfy. Although I choose relatively comfy clothes for work, too, and THAT is definitely a tactile issue.
e November 24th, 2009 at 9:02 am

WOW Rachel ….thanks so much for posting this. You could be writing about me.

I too do not often change unless I have to. The exception is this : after I’ve been in clothes all day at work, I frequently can’t wait to get them off. Part of this is having to wear a bra – I can’t tolerate them and after a day of having one on, I can’t get it off fast enough once I am home.
The issue with being cold is huge. I don’t know if I can say it is painful to be cold but it is something like that. I experience much discomfort when I am cold or even chilly and find it really difficult to function. So, yeah, changing during the cold months and especially taking a shower are really hard. I am also sensitive to being wet. It’s weird … I love being IN water and playing with water but I do not like being wet. There is a difference.
Cotton clothes …..YES! Terry cloth and jersey materials are the best, especially if they are heavy. I don’t really like bulk but heavy materials are heavenly. I even like cotton when it is rough. A rough wash cloth or towel feels really good!