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Dressing & Clothing Identification

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
Updated April 7, 2020

Independence in dressing is an important skill for everyone including individuals who are blind or visually impaired. It may take  longer to master these skill but it is essential to encourage independence and avoid the urge to do the task for the person in a rush to complete the activity. It is also important for the individual to develop clothing management skills.

​Dressing

Dressing skills can be taught best through hand-under-hand support and from behind the student, in order to guide the student’s hands in a natural pattern. It is ideal to practice dressing skills at natural times of the day (removing coat in the morning, taking shoes off/on before/after trampoline play, putting on/removing smock, etc.). Encourage the student to assist in dressing and undressing if clothes are soiled and need to be changed. Dressing time is a natural time to teach body image skills and spatial awareness concepts. It is also a natural time to talk about types of clothing and different fasteners. Discuss likes and differences in personal belongings. 

All activities involved in dressing tasks will promote independence in additions to developing finger dexterity and upper body strength. This includes pulling up a zipper after it is started, pushing a large button through a buttonhole and pulling up pants to name a few. Other important dressing skills include the ability to coordinate clothing, determine if it is appropriate for the weather, determine if it is appropriate for the situation (ex. type of work, leisure, social occasion, etc.) Students may need extra help in learning how to orient their clothing.

Clothing Identification

Students will need to learn methods for marking their clothes to make it easier to identify and select them. There are methods that can be used for braille readers as well as non-braille methods. Whatever method is used, place the pins or indicators in an inconspicuous location. Keep a master list of your coding system in an accessible format. 
  • Braille labels can be used to mark their clothing for braille readers. Braille tags are commercially available and can make identification easy. These tags are small metal tags that have color words and pattern words. The tags can be sewn onto the tag or the inside seam of the clothing. The tags may irritate the skin so it may help to sew them to the bottom hem as long as they are concealed. Alternatively, a label can be made by brailling on durable, but not too thick, plastic. 
  • ​For non-braille readers, buttons of different shapes can be used to match items or a certain shape can represent a color. The button, like the braille tags, can be sewn in the inside hem of the shirt. Iron-on tape is another method of labeling clothes. Cut the tape into various shapes and have a system for matching shapes similar to the button method.
  • Safety pins can be used as a coding system to identify color. Use one pin to stand for one color, two pins to stand for another color and so on.  

Clothing Identification

Students will need to learn methods for marking their clothes to make it easier to identify and select them. There are methods that can be used for braille readers as well as non-braille methods. 

Braille readers can use braille labels to mark their clothing, enabling them to match articles. Braille tags are commercially available and can make identification easy. These tags are small metal tags that have color words and pattern words. The tags can be sewn onto the tag or the inside seam of the clothing. The tags may irritate the skin so it may help to sew them to the bottom hem as long as they are concealed. Alternatively, a label can be made by brailling on durable, but not too thick, plastic. 

For non-braille readers, buttons of different shapes can be used to match items or a certain shape can represent a color. The button, like the braille tags, can be sewn in the inside hem of the shirt. Iron-on tape is another method of labeling clothes. Cut the tape into various shapes and have a system for matching shapes similar to the button method.
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