When Life Gives You Lemons, Add Sugar

The Inception

It was the summer of 2019. I was working as a summer school one-on-one instructional aide for the most unique kid, Dean. He had a deep love and uncanny knowledge of trains. He could memorize and recite entire movie scenes. That summer, he was obsessed with the famous “fish are friends, not food” scene from Finding Nemo. And nature seemed to respond to him differently, like they knew he wasn’t a threat. Dean was on the mild side of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but still used “fidgets” to help self-soothe when he felt over-stimulated. He loved fidgets that were spongy, spiky, soft, and sandy. Being his one-on-one aid helped me to understand the shared frustration of student and caretaker alike to constantly measure and meet the need to self-soothe in moments that were over or underwhelming.

The Birth

In October 2019, Plaxo Adaptive was born. Motivated by my time that summer, and by my personal experiences with ASD, I spent the months after that summer hand-crafting and prototyping a solution that would help ease this frustration. I set out on a mission to bring just a little extra relief (aka sugar) to the challenges (aka lemons) that people with ASD, and the ones who care for them, face on a daily basis. I felt like I had met this group of undercover scientists! These moms, dads, teachers, occupational therapists, siblings, and friends were in a state of constant experimentation. One day they were testing essential oils which seemed to help…until it didn’t. Then, it was a new toy which kept them occupied for a couple weeks until it got lost or destroyed. It was an endless cycle of hypotheses, test, observation, results. To me it was science. To them, it was life.

The Hypothesis

After the purchase of my first sewing machine, countless finger pricks, hours of tutorial videos, fabric shopping, and all kinds of new scissors, I had something of which I could be proud. The result was a future apparel line of adaptive clothing that would inconspicuously integrate complicated comforts into stylish clothing. With the help of my best friend, who also spent time in special needs classrooms, we began the patent process for our very first t-shirt design that would seamlessly integrate four kinds of fidget materials into the fabric of the shirt. The idea was people with sensory processing disorder (SPD), which is often experienced by those with autism, could have at their disposal a way to self-soothe at any time.

The Experiment

The next year was spent in research and development. After many iterations, we finalized a design that we felt was test worthy. We created a large batch of shirts by ourselves, in my room, over countless hours to begin testing. We solicited the help of an expert autism researcher at a local international university to begin a survey study. We gave shirts to friends and family that we knew had small and adult kids with SPD, including my nephew. And we recruited the help of special needs teachers and professionals, and all of the feedback came back as AWESOME! Everyone so far had loved it. It helped increase focus, increase time on task, and reduced stereotypies.

The Results

It was October 2020 that we decided it was time to bring it to market. Through a series of mini-miracles, we were introduced to a retail industry expert, a professional designer, and a local manufacturer who was willing to take on our difficult design. With all this help and all our savings, we had delivered to us the safest, tagless, seamless, softest, fitting, most comfortable, durable, and inconspicuous final product. And these aren’t marketing keywords, these are essential features for many people with SPD and ASD.

The Dream

My dream is to have a membership model that gives our families peace of mind through two major avenues. First, I want to offer them a central place to access trusted expertise for all things SPD and ASD. We have connections with doctors, teachers, therapists, and families all over the country that have so much revolutionary information to share. Second, I want to help remove some of the guesswork. I want to deliver to them, on a membership basis, a new box of apparel, fidgets, and other useful tools for them to use for their loved ones. As they test different products and find what works best, they can customize their box as much as they like.

The Facts

Autism is a fast-growing disorder that is still largely not understood and very unrepresented in the commerce space. With 1 in 54 kids currently being diagnosed by the age of four, there is a wide-open opportunity to provide new types of products and services to those who deserve them. These incredible people and those that help nurture them are dying for ways to live a “normal” life. I believe with all my heart that our model can be exactly what they need.