TOMSK, Feb 7 – RIA Tomsk. Employees of the Siberian Design Center of Tomsk State University (TSU) Anna Lychagina and Anastasia Merinova develop clothes for people with autism; as the authors of the idea told RIA Tomsk, these clothes will help to cope with stress in crowded places thanks to special styles and tactile accessories.
Anna and Anastasia explained that a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a crowded place may start stimming – a reaction to an external stimulus: he feels stress, tries to relieve it with some repetitive actions, which can confuse others and further aggravate his condition. To cope, a person needs to feel comfortable. The clothes that the girls create should help with this.
"I would not even talk about clothes in the first place, but about elements that can be sewn on and built into clothes. People with ASD are faced with the problem of finding a socially acceptable way of sensory tools. When such a person is at home or can reach a social relief room, he is able... to adjust to the surrounding conditions. Another thing is public transport or other places", – Anna said.
Anastasia explained that the models of clothing they create differ little from the basic ones. They just took into account the details that help the person with ASD feel calm. For example, a deeper hood, raglan sleeves with wide armholes. Faux fur trimming the inside of the pockets also gives a calming effect. "People themselves alter their clothes, remove the labels from the inside, take out the laces. We want... to make a kind of construction kit", – she clarified.
The girls are in charge of two laboratories of the Siberian Design Center of TSU. Now they are working on a model of a sweatshirt, doing research and creating a prototype. After the release of the first sample, they will work with a focus group. It is too early to talk about market entry, serial production and the cost of goods.
"There are very few analogues of sensory relief tools in Russia, and special clothing all the more so. There are examples of similar projects in the world, such as Eardley Designs and Fidget, and in many ways we are guided by them. It is mainly toys and accessories, but we want to make it part of everyday clothes too", – Anastasia said.