Can't find school trousers for my disabled child gahhh

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Boys school trousers help! I am really struggling to find my disabled child some trousers, he's grown out of his last size. He needs:
Black
Age 12
Adjustable waist
Straight leg - they CAN'T be slim as we have to fit splints underneath.

I find that the easy fit trousers (pull up) have wider legs but I can't find any in his size 🙄 it's so annoying!

We've tried:
Marks and Spencers - don't fit properly
Next - their straight leg trousers aren't straight they are slim gahhh
Matalan - the ones with the better size legs only go up to age eleven

Can anyone who has trousers from shops such as Sainsburys, Asda, or anywhere else let me know if they have straight legs? They have to be properly straight ie the same width as the thighs. Imagine that they will need thick shin pads underneath. Got to get these by Monday!

Tesco do 3 different fits in school trousers: slim, standard and a wider one (might be called relaxed fit). My boys have the standard ones and they're great, sturdy with reinforced knees and adjustable waist. The relaxed fit might be an option.

With the keywords adaptive / adaptable etc you can sometimes find clothes that have velcro fastenings or simpler hooks than the standard versions. The mainstream retailers have started to catch on, so that these are easier to find than before when there were only specialist sites.

There was a thread here ages ago about some child who couldn't close buttons and didn't like the feeling of them, and one idea was to take them off and replace them with a velcro strip. Kind of adapting your clothes to your needs, because then you can buy normal clothes and alter them, as the regular versions are easier to find.

Maybe at age 12 there is a chance that small adult sizes would fit, so you have more possibilities.

Thanks! Annoyingly Matalan do those but they only go up to 11 as if the child disappears at age twelve 🙄. We normally use M&S easy dressing ones but the crotch size is really small so they don't work any more. Changing the hook / button for velcro is a good idea thanks!

Sympathies, my DS has left school now but the amount of trousers / socks and shoes we used to got through to find ones that fitted was crazy. I surly found M&S ones ok but that was a few years ago now. He left splints behind at 18 following an operation and I don’t miss them (although tbh he’s still benefit from them!)

I'm speaking as an adult with CP who wore an AFO prior to surgery when younger
My DM adapted my trousers and jeans by unstitching the trouser seams and replacing the seams from the knee down with Velcro!
Could you look for wide leg black smarter ones? Not necessarily in the school range
I do hope you find something which works well for him.

These look nice and roomy in the calf?

https://tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/product/tuc144185930

We always found M&S trousers a weird size. Next do a Plus size range that weren't ridiculously huge but just gave extra room.

Asda straight leg, my son gets his leg splints under these and the waist is adjustable

Try Very, it’s where I used to get my disabled sons trousers

Next do pleat front school uniform trousers which have looser legs.

You won’t be able to get them by Monday but this place is quite good for this sort of thing:

www.sturdykids.co.uk/happy-trousers-tivoli-fully-elasticated-pull-up-trousers-exclusive-to-sk.html

Thanks! Omg the shoes yes, they are a constant issue too 😂

Thanks!

Thank you! Yes that's a good idea about finding smarter trousers that aren't specifically school trousers.

I am useless at sewing unfortunately 😂 but that's such a good idea about the velcro!

I know what you mean about jeans - they are impossible with the AFOs so he just wears joggers most of the time which is not ideal.

Out of interest did you have the SDR operation or something else? Apparently my son is not eligible for SDR. He does however have Botox injections which are currently helping a lot.

Can't helping the trousers front, but have you tried Friendly shoes, they are great for over AFO's

Ah yes we have tried those, I can't remember exactly what but they didn't work for him for some reason 🤔. Thanks though. We did also for a couple of years get some special boots from orthotics but they changed the brand they used and they wore out after a month 🙄

In the end we managed to find some cheap all black Nike ones, that miraculously work with the AFOs, phew!

DS had SDR, it made a difference. Therapy afterwards was an enormous challenge (made harder by what we now realise was ADHD). Still worth it though.

I split the seams for when we had serial casting- didn’t bother to sew them up though. And yes, jeans always a nightmare, DS now wers wide leg jeans for preference, they may have worked. I always thought girls had it easier with leggings!

Ah yes it must be so hard, very tiring for them.
I think we'd have to go private if we wanted SDR but I'm not sure if he 100% needs it or whether the Botox injections/stretches can keep him walking relatively well long term. We'll see!

ETA am really hoping they don't suggest casting, they've mentioned it before but are not pushing for it. We love the Botox injections though they've really helped. Whenever old videos of him come up on Facebook I'm shocked at the difference.

We often had Botox followed by series casting, it did make a big difference but growth always got the better of the stretching! Even post SDR, hence the op at 17. He’s mostly independently mobile though now, still falls frequently and wears holes in shoes in 6 weeks but doesn’t want to use his wheelchair.

If you can find a good alteration shop, you can get trousers with the hook and eye fastening that fit him - as well as having plenty of elastic in the back. I used to sew the hook and eye fastening shut so my ds could use them as pull on trousers. If you get the M&S trousers in a generous size, you can get them altered to fit him properly and sew shut the hook and eye as they'll have the elastic in the back.

Ah yes I know what you mean - my son has growth hormone injections too, so his growth has been quite speedy the last couple of years 😂.

My son sounds similar to yours. He normally walks with a walking frame but can walk independently in our house. We push him long distance in a wheelchair. We are waiting for an electric wheelchair to arrive at school because he's just started secondary and it's exhausting. But I only want him to use the electric wheelchair when he absolutely has to, as I don't want him losing mobility/stamina. I find it difficult to strike a balance between helping him (I mollycoddled him in the past) and pushing him. I'm getting much better at pushing him.to be more independent and do exercise.

Thanks! Yes we definitely prefer the pull up ones. I'm not sure how he will manage the zip and hook, he says he will try but maybe sewing up will be better. Will see how things go with all the various options.

The balance between independence and support is so hard, we’ve been on the wrong side of it a number of times! DS really needs an electric wheelchair, he can’t self propel, but he is also unwilling to put up with the restrictions it will give him regarding living spaces and transport. He’s a student so living above shops and using underground etc. He would rather put up with regular falls, worry that one of the falls will causes serous damage but I think he’ll realise eventually a proper wheelchair will help with fatigue as well, he just has to come to it in his own time!

My ds wears George at Asda and they have a plus size that is a little larger.
Unfortunately the plus size are enormous in him, so we get the standard ones... but he will only wear his Grafos over trousers, and refuses to wear them at school.... so probably not the greatest help..sorry.