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Autism is a frequently misunderstood condition thought to affect one in every 100 people. People on the spectrum are frequently hampered by sensory issues linked to the feel and colour of certain materials, which in some cases can even make clothes difficult or even painful to wear. Now, a new range of clothing aims to make their lives easier by using soft fabrics, ditching labels, and replacing buttons with velcro fastenings.

The range has been developed by Thomas & Friends in conjunction with Character.com, the UK’s largest independent online retailer of licenced clothing.

In order to do so, they used the findings of a National Autistic Society survey of 1,500 parents of autistic children under the age of 16, which was commissioned by Mattel, owners of the Thomas & Friends brand, last April.

Peter Watt, Director of National Programmes at the National Autistic Society, the UK’s leading charity for autistic people, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Thomas & Friends and Character.com to create such an important range of clothing for autistic children and teens.”

He explained: “Parents and autistic young people often tell us how sensory sensitivities can mean that children on the autism spectrum struggle with certain clothes. For some, a label on a t-shirt, a prominent seam, or certain fabrics could be incredibly itchy, distracting or even physically painful.

“Finding the right clothing can make shopping difficult, time consuming, and stressful. So, it’s really great to have the chance to develop this autism-friendly collection.”

Claudia Caron, Thomas & Friends  Marketing Manager, said: “Thomas & Friends is an inclusive brand who invites all of our fans to celebrate friendship.

“We are very proud to be supporting our Thomas & Friends community of autistic fans through our partnership with our friends at the National Autistic Society to offer more choices and accessible clothing based on what mums and dads of autistic children have told us they want to see.”

Karen Hewitt, Character.com’s co-founder, said: “At Character.com, we value charitable relationships and responding to our customers’ needs. As a result, we are thrilled to introduce this Thomas & Friends range which Mattel developed in collaboration with the National Autistic Society.”

She added: “The Character.com team are thrilled to be selling a range that was unique to the industry and provided our consumers with exactly what they needed. 

“We are thrilled to be able to contribute to such a worthy cause, and we hope that this is the start of many such initiatives from Character.com.”

There are estimated to be 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK, and while their experiences are likely to vary, they are often under or over-sensitive to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours. They may also either be unable to speak, or find it difficult to do so, and struggle to maintain eye contact.

Additionally, unexpected changes and everyday social situations can trigger intense anxiety manifesting itself in debilitating physical and emotional ‘meltdowns’.

As one autistic person quoted on the National Autistic Society’s website puts it: “If I get sensory overload then I just shut down; you get what’s known as fragmentation…it’s weird, like being tuned into 40 TV channels.”

Another adds: “Every time I am touched it hurts; it feels like fire running through my body.” 

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