Philadelphia University students and UCP Best Friends early childhood program worked together on a unique project that focused on creating fashionable clothing for children with special needs.

Twenty-four graduate students in the Occupational Therapy (OT) and Fashion Apparel programs at Philadelphia University collaborated on the project where they were matched with six children with motor impairments, including cerebral palsy.

The graduate student groups interacted with the children, teachers and therapists at UCP and visited the families at home.

With the information gathered and needs assessed, the graduate students headed back to Philadelphia University for the design phase. Prototypes were developed and fabrics were tested. Feedback was provided by Philadelphia University faculty and UCP parents.

It all culminated in a fashion show at UCP's center in Chestnut Hill where the fashion apparel and OT students presented their projects and the garments were modeled by the toddlers.

One graduate student group worked with Anthony Newman, a UCP Best Friends preschooler who has cerebral palsy. According to his mom, Johnetta Clarke, he is very active and spends a lot of time at home crawling on the floor. His knees are calloused and he gets holes in his pants a lot. Anthony wears knee pads to protect his knees and his pants.

Brooke Woodland is an occupational therapy student that worked with Anthony and his parents on this project. She observed Anthony in class and at home and saw how active he was. Johnetta told Brooke that she bought her son new pants about every two months.

Anthony’s graduate student group developed a special pair of pants just for him. The fashion apparel studies student, Bryan Huang used cotton twill and doubled the fabric for durability and abrasion resistance. He developed a pocket on the knee for a removable memory foam pad. The knee pad covers a large area to protect Anthony’s knees, it is removeable so that his pants can be washed, and the protection is not visible so he fits in with his peers. His pants have an easy-fit elastic waist band so that Anthony can help dress himself and include an appliqué of a car, a feature that he really loves.