Developing Dressing Skills

Dressing up toys – On a small scale practice the order of dressing and learning how to get the clothes the right way round and how to turn them inside out

Body Awareness games – Ask your child to point to different parts of their body and use concepts such as front, back, left and right, in, out, over and under . e.g ‘point to your left knee’, ‘put your hand out of your pocket’. Games like ‘Twister’ and ‘Hallabaloo’.

Songs – ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’, ‘One finger one thumb keep moving’, ‘The ankle

bones connected to the leg bone, the leg bones connected to the …’ and ‘Hokey Kokey’

Simon says – ‘clap behind your back’, ‘touch your head’…’ touch your nose on your right knee’..

‘stand on one leg’. Use small hoops to pass over right leg and left arm and then pass it around your back.

Musical dressing up – When the music stops put on a loose fitting top, trousers, shoes, socks or coat that are in the dressing up box.

Dressing up – Have a box of old loose fitting clothes or dressing up clothes. Make an obstacle

course and as the last challenge ask your child to rummage in the box and dress up like a ‘princess’, ‘pirate’, ’mummy’ etc.

Dressing up puzzles and dressing sequence puzzles – any puzzle where you put the person together and then add the clothes, and any puzzle where you put the sequence of dressing in order.

Clothing

For sensitivity to clothing please refer to the Sensory Processing Advice Sheet

• Make sure your child is well supported in sitting or standing so that their hands are free to use.
• Get them to sit on a chair or use a corner wall for support
• Start by teaching your child to undress as this is easier than dressing
• Talk your child through the order in which clothes are put on, and which ones are put on first
• Lay the clothes out in the order they are put on. Lay jumpers out with the bottom edge nearest the child and the neck furthest away
• Choose loose fitting clothes with minimum fastenings. Look for tops with easy openings, stretchy socks and elasticated waists
• Draw attention to different parts of the body and name them to help improve their body awareness
• Establish a routine to avoid confusion, so that the activity becomes predictable.
• Keep the sequence of dressing/undressing the same
• Try to practise when you are not rushed. Allow time for your child to cooperate in the process e.g. pause when their arm is placed in the sleeve hole so that they can push their arm through independently
• Practise dressing in the evening or at weekends when there is more time
• When you are assisting the child to dress, give simple verbal and gestural instructions e.g. “give me your foot”
• Dress in front of a mirror for visual reinforcement.
• Remember to reinforce their effort and give positive feedback.
• Set small achievable goals e.g. pulling up trousers.
• For children who are easily distracted ensure a quiet distraction free environment.

Socks

• Demonstrate to your child how to remove and put on socks correctly and allow them to help you
• Try buying socks that have different coloured heels and toes
• Trainer socks can help to establish where the heel goes without a lot of sock that needs pulling over the heel
• Looser socks are easier so let your child practice with your socks. A little talc can be added to the bottom of the foot to help the sock slide on easily
• Practice putting socks onto dolls or stuffed teddies
• Sit behind the child and demonstrate how to remove and put on their socks using hand over hand guidance

Shoes

• Ensure child feels secure sitting down, allow them to sit on the bottom step, against a wall or in the corner of a sofa.
• Start with taking the shoe off properly.
• Sit behind the child and demonstrate how to take off their shoes by undoing the fastenings, pulling the shoe open to loosen it and pulling it upwards with the hand under the heel.
• Repeat the task but allow your child to do the last step i.e. Pull the shoe off.
• Continue practising the task in the same way and as your child progresses, allow them to do more of the task e.g. pull open the shoe and then pull it off the foot.
• Allow them to practise taking off your shoes for you or shoes off their toys.
• Encourage your child to assist with fastenings
• Initially you may need to position the correct shoe by the correct feet. If your child has difficulty putting each shoe on the correct foot you can:
• Fix something bright onto one shoe and teach your child “bright is right”
• Buy shoes with a logo on the outer side
• Place shoes in front of your child in their correct position, so that the left shoe is matching the left foot
• Help your child recognise their left and right shoe by drawing arrows inside the shoes pointing together

Buttons

• Start by using large buttons on a doll, a jumper worn by someone else or a toy
• Once the child has mastered large buttons, move on to fastening items with smaller buttons
• Reattach the buttons with a thick thread, leaving about half an inch of thread between the button and the fabric for easier buttoning
• Make a “Button Box” for a fun and interesting toy. Use a shoe box and make slots on the top (horizontal and vertical). Let the child post buttons or coins through the holes
• Make a “Button Board” out of fabric and large buttons. Make the button holes at least a quarter of an inch larger than the button. Sew the button on loosely with strong thread. Place a nice picture on the button board under the fabric so that after the buttons are unfastened, it reveals the picture
• Make a button snake (http://happyhooligans.ca/button-snake/)
• Use threading cards/games/activities. The same skills are used in threading as used when fastening buttons
• When teaching the child to fasten shirt buttons, remember to start buttoning from the bottom to the top to ensure the button and button hole correspond correctly
• Encourage the child to check themself in the mirror
• Top buttons are often very difficult and can be replaced with Velcro or a popper (sew the button on permanently on the outside). Alternatively, all buttons, including sleeve buttons, can be replaced with Velcro fastenings or poppers

Zips

• Demonstrate how to fasten and unzip a zip by pulling on the tab. Allow your child to help you by pulling the zip up or down with you
• Zip tags can be adapted by attaching a piece of ribbon, a zip ring or a large paper clip. This makes it easier to grasp
• Start with heavy-duty large zips which have big tabs or rings as these slide more easily
• Velcro tabs can replace zips to encourage independence.