AN inspirational boy from Derbyshire has officially become one of the youngest inventors in the UK after his patent for a t-shirt that can help people with sensory issues was approved – and he has been showing off his creation on ITV’s This Morning.
Eleven-year-old Max Palfrey has used his own experiences of having additional needs to create a world-first range of clothing aimed at those who often experience an extreme sensitivity to certain materials, the seams and labels in clothing.
Max was five years old when he was first diagnosed as autistic with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at seven, as well as sensory processing and hypermobility.
Together with his dad, Matt, Max has set up his own business called Comfa clothing. The company’s first range of clothing is a range of affordable t-shirts which are made from super-soft material and have Pop-Its – popular fidget toys often used by neurodivergent people to help them sooth and self-regulate – in the seams.
The design for the t-shirt has been handed a UK patent with a European and Worldwide patent currently pending. It means that Max, who is neurodivergent and wants to help others who have experienced similar challenges with clothing, is officially one of the youngest inventors in the UK.
He was invited onto ITV’s flagship daytime programme This Morning to chat with presenters Alison Hammond and Paddy McGuinnes, who modelled the Fidget-T on live television. Paddy has three children he shares with ex-wife Christine and all three have autism.
Max said: “They help me as I find the Pop-Its are calming and they help to regulate me. I have something that I can fidget with, and I can do it without anyone knowing.
“My goal is to help more children like me and families.”
Called the Fidget-T, the unique Pop-Its that are sewn into the seams, where the arms naturally fall, can be used as a calming technique without it being obvious to others.
The material is 93 per cent modal, a semi-synthetic fabric that is made from beech tree pulp, and seven percent elastane, with the seams encased on the inside. The washing and care instructions are also on a sticker that can simply be peeled off to stop the need to irritating labels.
Before starting the business, Max and his family started carrying out market research with other families of neurodivergent children around the world and were overwhelmed with the response they received.
They found that, like Max, children needed clothes that were soft and comfortable; polyester material, seams and labels were found to be irritable.
“The response to our Fidget-T has been overwhelming,” said dad Matt.
“The first batch of t-shirts sold out really quickly, so we know that the demand is there, and we have a new batch arriving at our offices soon. The t-shirts are available in black, light blue and khaki green and fit children between the ages of three and 16-plus. The 16-plus one fits my wife, Lauren, who is a UK size 10 so it’s possible for adults to wear them, too.
“We are hoping to have more colours available soon. We’re thinking pink, purple and white as the white t-shirts can be used for PE sessions at school.”
The family has received grants from organisations including Erewash Borough Council, Connecting Derbyshire, NDV and the Accelerator Programme to help build the business and there are plans in the future to design other items of clothing such as school uniform and underwear.
Matt added: “There are so many directions we want to take the company in if it is successful. We want to tackle school uniform – imagine how much having a built in Pop-It would help kids who struggle to focus at school?
“We also want to expand to other clothing items, like long sleeves, jumpers, trousers. And we want to take the idea into adult clothing; so many adults are like us and discovering they are neurodivergent too, so it would be a great help to have something in the clothing to help them. Work would be so much easier if you had a fidget with you that you couldn’t lose.”
Most importantly, though, Matt wants the range of clothing designed by Comfa to be affordable.
He said: “Specialist sensory clothing can be expensive, so we have kept the cost of the Fidget-T as low as we can. Parents wanting to test that the material is right for their child can also get a free sample beforehand.
“We really hope that Comfa will be a success and that we are able to help so many people. Every other sensory clothing company we’ve looked at has been created by the adult.
“That’s why it’s so important to us that Comfa is Max’s baby. He’s been involved in every step of the way and every decision; it wouldn’t exist without him.”
More information is available at Comfa.
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