How to get my grand daughter to wear clothes

We are at loss as to what to do for our grand daughter. She was diagnosed with spd a year ago and has been seeing an occupational therapist. It is mainly a clothing issue although she does have sensitivity to light and does not like baths. She started kindergarten this fall and has to wear a uniform, it is getting worse, she fights my daughter and her husband every morning getting dressed and as soon as she gets home she takes her clothes off and puts on her one pair of pajamas. She will not wear clothes on weekends because of major panty issues (she has every kind imaginable in her drawer) and refuses to go anywhere because she does not want to get dressed. We hate her missing out on so many fun exciting things a little 5 year old should be doing.




Lately she is showing behaviors, a once sweet little girl gets very angry and hysterical. Once we get her to school she does great, even getting a top banana award and student of the month, which baffles my daughter. We don't know what to do, how do we get this little girl to start getting dressed again and back to her sweet little self. Thank you Janet White



Comments for How to get my grand daughter to wear clothes

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Nov 20, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		You shouldn't be stressed so much.
by: Anonymous

If i am reading this correct then i am assuming when you say she wont wear clothes. You mean she is only willing to wear her pajamas correct? We aren't talking about nudity are we?

I find it very promising that she does so good at school. This shows control over the urges screaming to her that she isn't comfortable in the uniform.

Has your daughter and son-in-law had her tested for SPD? If not encourage your daughter and son-in-law to schedule tests, it's very important at her age to get tested, this way if she is diagnosed with SPD the OT will be easier on everyone involved, and it will give her back years and years of normality. Pivotal years when who we are to become gets shaped. I can't tell you how many parents don't know about SPD and write off the symptoms as ADD/ADHD and home-treat the child for those disorders. They're basically taking away the child's innocent years at no fault of their own, the public don't know about SPD like they do autism, ADD and ADHD. Then in most cases of mis-diagnosis and treatment the child grows up to be like me. Trust me no-one wants that. LOL.

To even begin to understand what is going on in her mind. She must be tested now, there are several forms of SPD. Some are more serious than others, from your description it sounds like she might have a sensory avoiding form of SPD.

Tips to get her to wear clothes i suggest would be, find outfits made from the same material, color and coverage as her favorite pajamas. If you can't find them easily, consider speaking to a local church sewing group and purchase the materials and patterns, and see if they will volunteer to make a whole wardrobe for her. People have had success with this. My other suggestion is choice manipulation, what is choice manipulation? Well you or your daughter and son-in-law take her to a large clothing outlet. Let her freely walk around and choose things she likes and appears to be comfortable with. Have her try them on and calmly suggest if she would like to wear an outfit home. Doing this might not work the 1st time and may require several trips. Don't rush the process and plan all day around being at what ever clothing outlet you choose. If she doesn't think picking something is her choice it will not work. People have extremely great success with this technique. Also works well for potty training, letting them choose their favorite underwear decreases the chances they will have an accident in them.

Please update us on any progress in her journey.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to The SPD Q & A.