Wellington Massey student's textile design could help those with ADHD

Jessica Bunnell created a range of fabrics that could be therapeutic for people with ADHD. Photo/supplied

A Massey University student has designed a range of fabrics with possible therapeutic benefits for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Wellington textile design student Jessica Bunnell created the pieces of fabric as part of the university's end-of-year Exposure Exhibition.

After speaking to someone who taught children with autism and ADHD and looking at estimates by the American Psychiatric Association the latter condition could affect between 3 and 7 per cent of all children, Bunnell decided to focus her project on a concept to help people with the disorder.

The fabrics could be put on the arms of chairs or in linings of pockets, Bunnell said. Photo/supplied

ADHD is characterised by a person's inability to concentrate for long periods and have a compulsive need to fidget or have difficulty controlling their behaviour.

Recognising the powerful sense of touch, Bunnell realised the tactile qualities of most textiles could help create a calming effect for ADHD sufferers.

Other research undertaken for her final year project showed such textiles could also help increase the attention span of a person with ADHD and help them remember information better.

"Everyone experiences textiles in a different way so I was keen to use a range of scales to create different effects," she said.

The eight textile varieties she made range between variations of 3D embroidery to silicone ridges, silicone and knit and embroidery on foam - the latter using digital embroidery made with foam to create a raised quilted-like surface.

"I've always been interested in tactile textiles. I have been drawn into the way it makes the user want to interact with the material," she said.

"I've always been interested in using innovative materials such as silicone to create unusual textures and want to make textiles therapeutic for an audience."

While there were already lots of objects known as fidget toys available, few had what she refers to as "surfaces of individuality" to accommodate the needs of older ADHD sufferers.

"Fidget toys are very bright to appeal to children but ADHD can affect adults too so I wanted a more sophisticated look."

Bunnell created an all-white colour palette so her fabrics didn't detract from the textile and were more engaging.

She is keen to use more colour in her designs in the future and while it still needed to be user tested, she believed such textiles could be applied to the arms of a chair or the linings of jacket pockets to help deter and soothe any fidgeting impulse.

Her designs won a textile design for embroidery award and an excellence in textile design award from uniform and corporate clothing manufacturer Booker-Spalding.