Design and Product Development

Proposed Fabric Preference Tests to Address Tactile Defenisveness While Designing Adaptive Clothing

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Abstract

Tactile defensiveness, the hypo- and hyper-responsiveness to tactile stimuli, is prevalent is autistic and ADHD populations. These tactile sensory experiences, influenced by fabric, can impact well-being. This introduces opportunities for clothing designers to address these sensory experiences when developing clothing for individuals with tactile defensiveness. Fabric preference tests can be developed to identify the subjective/objective fabric preferences of the population. Meetings with wearers can help to better understand their clothing preferences and will provide designers insight into potential fabric types to be included in future fabric preference tests. During these fabric preference tests, individuals with tactile defensiveness will rank the fabirc swatches from most preferred to least preferred based on the intended use of the future garment. With these results designers can ensure in the development of apporpriate adaptive clothing for individuals with tactile defenisvess, contributing to adaptive clothing by addressing the clothing needs for different disability communities. 

Keywords: adaptive apparel, tactile defensiveness, fabric preference, neurodiversity

How to Cite:

Udezeh, C. N., (2025) “Proposed Fabric Preference Tests to Address Tactile Defenisveness While Designing Adaptive Clothing”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 81(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18738