Everyone loves fashion. Having a spinal cord injury never changes it. With adaptive clothing, we get a balance of comfort, safety and style.Things have improved since a 2010 study into the needs of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) discovered that finding suitable clothing was a big issue for people sitting in wheelchairs. Now being a wheelchair user doesn’t exclude you from being a favourite in the fashion stakes.

Gone are the times when one became almost resigned to wearing nothing but track pants and sweatshirts – not that there’s anything wrong with that! But the good news is that far more clothing choices are now available that are functional and look great. Everyone likes to feel positive about themselves, and wearing practical and stylish clothing can go a long way to boost your confidence and self-esteem.

Adaptive clothing is specially designed for people with disabilities and changing bodies. The top-priority factor of adaptive clothing is to meet comfort and safety needs according to different ranges of mobility. Meanwhile, adaptive clothes must be safe with various assistive devices such as wheelchairs. For example,

• The cords or ties on the clothing must prevent getting caught in wheelchair mechanisms.
• Pockets on the front of the clothing are easy to access for wheelchair users.
• Magnetic buttons make clothing more easily accessible than traditional buttons.
• A seamless or one-piece design is suitable for the sensitive areas of our skin when using a wheelchair.

Clothing has always satisfied us as a form of fashion, including adaptive clothing. So, adaptive clothes should reflect our personalities and present our style as meeting comfort and safety needs.

Because of the above, we have built a factsheet page to present more information about adaptive clothing. Don’t hesitate to read it if you are interested.