Wear Your Awareness.
Style Meets Support.

Wear Your Awareness — Style Meets Support

Meet Titus, our 4-year-old son. Titus was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

I have to give praise to my wonderful wife. She noticed that Titus wasn’t showing milestones and exhibited different behaviors compared to the other kids. When she mentioned it to me, I immediately shut it down. I didn’t believe it. I thought the signs were just him being a baby. He was about a year and a half when she first noticed signs. It wasn’t until after I did some research that I recognized all the red flags being discussed were things he was doing.

It became clearer to me that he might actually have autism. My mind immediately started to race: if this is real, what do we do? How is this going to affect everything? This is a challenge that we have never faced, and honestly, I never thought I would have to.

Then, there was the feeling of guilt. Was it something we did or didn’t do? You immediately feel sad for your child, knowing that they have this hurdle in their life.

But one thing I noticed through this journey with Titus is that this condition he has is not a curse. I wouldn’t say it’s a blessing, because obviously, nobody would want someone they care about or love to have any disability. But I can honestly say, in my opinion, it’s definitely not a curse. I always say that Titus, in my view, is pure innocence. He’s not distracted by the outside world. He travels down whatever path he wants, and he is the most loving and caring person.

I noticed that Titus did certain things, like chew on the sleeve of whatever long-sleeve shirt he was wearing, or chew on the neckline of something else. I believe he was doing this due to his stimming. I also noticed that during certain times, when there was something on TV, he would put his arm over his face to block out whatever he didn’t want to see. Obviously, this indicated discomfort, fear, or anxiety.

So, he became the inspiration for the clothing line. I wondered if there was a way to create comfort with accessories that could help with the things Titus was doing. I started thinking and researching, and this is where I came up with the plan to start with a hoodie that could be worn at all times. The child or person needing the accessories could have them on them at all times.

I had never done something like this before, so after a lot of research and talking with people, I created a hoodie that is 100% cotton, ensuring comfort is never an issue. This hoodie includes multiple accessories to help with stimming, anxiety, and noise. The hoodie features removable, washable food-grade silicone chew attachments. The drawstrings and cuffs of the hoodie also serve as chew attachments. There is a silicone-textured interior in the kangaroo pocket that acts as a fidget. The top section of the hoodie is waterproof to help with moisture from the chew accessory.

We have designed the hood to become the wearer’s safe space. The hood includes layered material to help reduce noise by up to 32 decibels. There is also a hideaway mask design to help block the wearer’s view.

My dream is to build this clothing line to help as many people as I can and to hopefully take some stress off of any loved ones or parents. In society, the notion is that the son looks up to the father. I’ve found that it’s the other way around for me: I look up to Titus. He is such an inspiring, loving, happy, and amazing gift. Titus has emotions and challenges that I will never have to face or experience.

So, the way I look at it, I look up to him. I’m inspired by him. Without him, the possibility of being able to make a change and help others might not have happened. Wear your awareness; style meets support.