Sensory Processing Disorder and Layering for Cold Weather

Thanks to the Great Freeze and multiple blizzards we’ve had in the Mid-Atlantic this winter, this former California girl has finally learned a thing or two about layering.

If you have SPD or autism or know someone who does, you know how much fear this strikes in my heart.  I love J.Crew but J.Crew does not love me:

Tops

This is the part that used to drive me so crazy.  Why were other people able to wear button-down shirts, t-shirts, anything under their sweaters, and I couldn’t?  No matter what I wore, I ended up pulling and fidgeting.

One day I realized that part of the problem was t-shirts that bunched up, especially in the sleeve.  If the material wasn’t soft enough, I’d become aware of every tiny movement the shirt made against my skin.

Another problem was button-down shirts and blouses made of scratchy cotton.  They don’t feel scratchy against your fingers, but they sure do against your sensitive belly, chest, and neck!

The solution was to find tees made of modal blends and supersoft cottons (like what Soft Clothing uses) and have that as a base layer.  If you’re going a little dressier, try to find the silkiest shirt or blouse you can find, whether it’s pure silk, a blend, or just silky to the touch.  You’ll appreciate it when it’s pressed against your skin and not scratching you!

As for the outer layer, lightweight sweaters seem to work better for me than heavy ones, just because I get irritated with all that weight.  But YMMV.  If you want your neck to be covered, a silky/modal turtleneck feels nicer than a chunky high-necked sweater.

And if you’re wearing thin layers and aren’t bulked up, you can wear a heavier coat without fidgeting like crazy.  Until I figured this out, I was putting on my coat and then spending an hour (seriously, an hour) about to burst into tears and pacing around the home peeling off layers.

Socks

Since this silky inner layer/durable outer layer combination worked so well, it occurred to me one day to try it with my socks.  My Hunter boots are great for stomping around in the snow, but not so warm without the Wellie Socks, which I never got around to buying.

So I put on a thin silky pair of trouser socks and over that a pair of thick wooly socks, and then fold them over at the top.  Voila!  They don’t shift around, bunch up, get caught between my toes, and my feet are warm.