Getting your asd child used to a new coat.

[wooga]

Hi,having finally found a waterproof jacket that's not 'squidgey',or a bright pattern/colour,my ds is still unsure about wearing it as he worries that everyone will notice it's new and stare at him.

I managed to persuade him to wear it out for a walk today,but then he saw some children from school on the way home and hid behind me (in a really un-subtle way)as we went past them-cue odd looks from the children.

He's now adamant that he won't wear it to school,wanting to take his thick winter coat instead as he's used to it.

Have any of you got ways of helping your dcs get used to new clothes?The main issue ds has is that everyone will stare at him-it's just a plain dark blue hooded coat that I was relieved to find in debenhams!

[wooga]

Sorry,in case I offend anyone,can i change thread title to:

'Getting your child with ASD used to a new coat'

[coppertop]

Is there any way of slowly building up the amount of time he wears it so that it loses its 'newness'?

Either wearing it for a few minutes in the house or garden until he's more used to it, and then wearing it only part of the way to school to start with (weather permitting of course).

Lots of sympathy though. I have one who refuses to wear a coat at all and one who wants to wear his winter coat with the hood up all through the summer.

[magso]

Gosh it drives me mad when I hunt down the perfect item (soft pullup trousers without elastic ankles!) and ds rejects it!!
Ds wont wear his newer jacket (or just about any new clothes) when the old is available either although for him its sensory/ familiarity issues I think. He will wear it if it is the only coat available ie its the one I have in the rucksac when it starts to rain. I have got ds used to new coats and clothes this way. Ds seems to overlook his dislike in the face of getting wet!(ds will not wear wet clothes so we do have that er advantage !
We had a potential disaster when his favorite winter coat got lost. Fortunatly I had bought the bigger size in a similar design in the sale. It took about a month of complaining and minimeltdowns but now that is his favorite! What would happen if the winter coat got er 'left' somewhere you only visit occasionally would that just cause meltdown? I presume anyone making pleasant comments about the new coat would be unhelpful?

[kaz33]

I think when you do get them to wear it then they just need to wear it all the time so they forget that it is new if that makes sense.

We have no buttons, no elastic, no badges, no zips, no writing or decorations of any type.

Looking forward to the new school uniform in September which has badges, writing and to top it all is purple.

[wooga]

Some good ideas here to try out,I'll see about taking away the 'newness' and hope ds will accept it-I really wish I'd stocked up on last year's summer jacket!.Thank you!