We don’t know if Karan understands or appreciates the clothes Mom and I buy for him, but we certainly enjoy it. As you can see, we found a t-shirt that said “Mr. D” on it and I knew then we simply had to buy it:

I’ve transferred my love for buying t-shirts with phrases on them to when I buy Karan’s clothes. I don’t think we’ve bought anything for him (t-shirts i.e.) that are plain blocks of colour. There’s always something happening on his t-shirts…a graphic, a phrase, a combination of both! Like these t-shirts:

There are a couple of restrictions though, as Karan has a couple of requirements for his comfort. The fabric should not itch him, especially around the neck, otherwise he starts scratching himself, so cotton is a good choice. In addition, we don’t buy shirts for him. It’s not easy for him to button things up and we just feel he’s more comfortable in tees…and we’re worried he’ll nibble the buttons off! The only shirt he owns:

With regard to trousers, he doesn’t have any jeans. They don’t allow him the mobility trackpants do, and again, it’s simpler for him to pull the trackpants up than wearing jeans, zipping it and then buttoning it up.

He doesn’t wear caps because he doesn’t like anything or anyone touching his head. Lately however, we’ve trialled putting caps on and seeing how long it takes before he whips it off and throws it across the room.

Shoes are another consideration. His fine motor abilities, while improved over the years, are not that developed for him to be able to tie shoelaces. Velcro shoes work best. I must tell you though, it’s quite hard for us to find adult shoes that have velcro on them! But when we eventually do, we snap them up! So he wears sports shoes or sandals with velcro, which are easier for him to wear.

Clothes shopping for him is not without limitations, but even within that, I think he looks rather smart, doesn’t he? 🙂

Now, I love my brother very much. He’s the apple of my eye, my little pumpkin and a sweetheart. He’s also quite a fraud. And he pulls wool over my Mom’s eyes, and sometimes mine, quite convincingly. He’s a class actor in his own right.

Case #1: Wearing shoes

Karan is quite capable of wearing his own shoes. Velcro ones that is; he can’t handle lace shoes whatsoever because he doesn’t understand how to tie them. Which is why we get him velcro shoes and sandals only. Anyway, he’s learned how to wear them, so you’d think he’d wear them on his own all the time. Right? WRONG.

When Mom tries to make him wear his shoes, or I do, he fumbles. And crumbles. And cries. And tries OH-SO-HARD but those shoes will stubbornly not go on his feet and we end up making him wear them.

In school, when his teacher tells him to do it however, they go on OH-SO-QUICKLY. I saw this for myself two days ago, when Chirag was at our house. We were getting ready to go out and I, in a fit of laziness, asked him to give Karan his sandals so I could make him wear them in a bit. Chirag told Karan to wear his shoes. I protested saying he wouldn’t do it. Thanks Karan, for proving me wrong. That little acting hulk (read: Karan) just opened up the velcro at Chirag’s urging and slipped his sandals on just fine, thank you very much. No crying, no protests, no tantrums. That’s it, I’m going military on you Karan. Watch out…I know you’re acting!

Case #2: Eating food

Karan can eat his food with a spoon. Me, I’m toughie on this. When I sit next to him, he scoops his food fine and eats it all and just struggles towards the end when there’s very little food left and slightly harder to scoop. When Mom’s next to him, he takes AGES and ends up making her scoop for him. That little actor.

And he can chew his food just fine. Didn’t he chew all those chicken kababs and Toblerone chocolate in a hurry two days back? Ummm yeah, not when it comes to food he doesn’t like. He’ll keep it in his mouth for ages and just stare at us with his mouth stuffed but NOT swallowing. Karan, eat those veggies NOW (those who know me might point out that I don’t eat any veggies anymore; I’ve done my time. It’s his turn now!).

Although, once he turns his Puss-in-Boots eyes at us … no, no, stay strong and firm Devina, stay strong and firm!