Like many parents navigating the world of special needs, Aoife Cotter has faced numerous challenges along the way.

Yet, two particular obstacles inspired this dedicated schoolteacher to embark on a new entrepreneurial journey.

Enter Born Zippy, an innovative adaptive clothing brand from Ireland, dedicated to supporting children with unique needs. Set to debut on March 21, in honor of World Down Syndrome Day, Born Zippy caters to children aged four to ten with its premiere line of adaptive nightwear and swimwear. These garments are thoughtfully crafted, prioritizing comfort, dignity, practicality, and style.

For Aoife, a mother of two from Kerry, the creation of Born Zippy was driven by her personal quest for suitable clothing for her eight-year-old son, Ted.

“Ted has a dual diagnosis, with Down syndrome and autism,” she explains. “We also have Max, who is six and neurotypical.”

She adds, “During Ted’s toilet training, we encountered a common scenario where children, as they become more aware of their bodily functions, also become more inquisitive.”

Ted was unfortunately taking the contents of his nappy and playing with it in his bed.

‘It would be everywhere – in the curtains in the radiator, we’d have to just throw everything out,’ Aoife says.

‘He wasn’t trying to be bold, he was literally just curious and once Ted does something once, it becomes habitual – he’s likely to keep doing it. Smearing is an issue so many families face, and when a child removes their nappy due to sensory curiosity, it can quickly become habitual.

‘I was asking for advice going to psychologists and so on and the best way to stop the behaviour is to break the habit.’

Aoife found Ted’s behaviour was common among children with additional needs.

‘I was talking to other parents and obviously researching online,’ she says, revealing the solution was a pyjama set where the zip is at the back – but these were few and far between in Ireland.

‘I just thought it was absolutely mad that I was coming across blogs by mums who were saying, ‘what I do is I get the Christmas pyjamas and put them on back to front’.

‘Other parents were forced to adapt clothes themselves and parents have enough going on without having to take out the sewing kit, and get a sewing machine and all that.’

Colourful: Ted Cotter in his Born Zippy pyjamas

But the pyjamas with back zips were in short supply in Ireland.

‘Dunnes and M&S have a small range of adaptive clothing online, but for me this all started last June and if you look online they are always out of stock in the older sizes,’ says Aoife.

‘I needed pyjamas with a zip up the back to stop him undressing at night – and it simply wasn’t available here. I found them overseas but was horrified by how basic and bland they were. But they were the only options and you are paying a fortune for pyjamas that aren’t even cute.’

The fact that the pyjamas only came in greys and stripes was one thing but worse was the time Aoife spent waiting for them to arrive.

‘I was just quite frustrated by the whole thing,’ she says. ‘It’s such a basic thing that wasn’t available in Ireland and I knew there was a demand because I am in that community.

‘Last summer I just got really frustrated by it. I was waiting for the pyjamas to arrive and trying to figure out how I was going to stop Ted’s habit and I complained about it to one of his Special Needs Assistants.

‘She said: ‘Oh if you have one of his onesie swimsuits, put that on.’ That’s not breathable, it’s not lovely but I did have to put that on him for a few nights to tide us over till the other ones arrived.

‘I was just complaining to my husband, saying ‘Why doesn’t someone do something about this?’ and he replied ‘You could’.’

Although Aoife works part time as a teacher, she still didn’t think she had the time to embark on such a project but she was so passionate about children like Ted getting their needs met that she took a step outside her comfort zone and began to research.

And through that Born Zippy was created.

‘In Ireland today, there are children sleeping in clothes that don’t meet their basic needs. Parents are lying awake at night managing preventable crises simply because adaptive sleepwear isn’t routinely available. I found out the hard way about just how challenging night time can be for children with autism – and nobody warned me what was coming. Wearing typical pyjamas offers no defence to this, and the outcome can be distressing for all involved. Not only did I have to wait ages to get it, he was left wearing pyjamas no child would want to wear.’

Born Zippy offers colourful and fun onesie pyjamas with a zip-up back, designed to help prevent night-time undressing and smearing – and there are four colourful designs to choose from.

There is also a range of swimwear for boys and girls – with matching reusable swim nappies, something that was becoming an issue for Ted as he grew older.

‘Someone put me on to Change Clothes, a social enterprise in Dublin 8 who do small batch production. We started to work on the prototype then together with the pyjamas,’ says Aoife.

‘Children with additional needs are forgotten about in so many areas – school places, services, lots of things. Clothing might be down the list of priorities as you only have enough energy to fight so many battles at a time, but there are so many products that are really hard to get.

‘The second thing that I needed for Ted was swim nappies. He’s eight but he is small and we could just about fit him into the last size of swim nappies but they were very tight.

Lucy Hayles  in swimming gear from Born Zippy

‘So that’s my second product now – matching swimming costumes and swim nappies for older children and they’re reusable as well, better obviously than the ones in supermarkets.’

All Born Zippy products are made using OEKO-TEX® certified fabrics, ensuring they are chemical-free, and GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified, meaning they are ethically produced. The brand’s materials are selected for being soft, breathable, and comfortable, with thoughtful details such as external tags that can be removed easily for children with sensory sensitivities – or kept for those who enjoy them.

Born Zippy swimwear is also designed with practicality and protection in mind, featuring· UPF50+ sun protection and chlorine and seawater resistance.

‘My son is part of a huge community of kids with additional needs, and it quickly became very clear how so many of us are in a similar situation,’ Aoife says.

‘The more I researched, the more I realised how lacking the supply is for children’s adaptive clothing. When I spoke to other parents, they were dealing with the same issues — whether it was pyjamas or other daily essentials. I’m determined to make clothing for children with additional needs a priority, not an afterthought.’

Already the range is a hit with mothers in Aoife’s circle.

Naomi Britton with Lily modelling Born Zippy pyjamas

Naomi Britton, mum to Lily, who is four, says: ‘My daughter Lily has a very rare syndrome called Kabuki syndrome, meaning her whole life has been a series of challenges and intense learning for us as new parents.

‘Everyday things and milestones that other parents may take for granted, take months or years for us to work on, such as putting on her coat, even getting through a night without her unzipping her pyjamas or the ongoing saga of potty training.

‘Recently, I had to buy a simple piece of adaptive clothing for my daughter from the UK, and the shipping and customs alone added over €30. So it is amazing to see an Irish company provide high quality clothing, that not only includes all children but looks great and fun.’

Mary Fleming from Change Clothes said: ‘Supporting the development of this brand has been a powerful reminder that sustainability works best when it’s built in from the start.

‘The process was dynamic and demanding, but it resulted in a childrenswear product that proves zero-waste design can be both attractive and achievable.’

And the new clothes are making Ted a very happy boy too.

‘Ted has very little speech so he uses the Lámh system – he loves the gear and he really loves getting his photo taken.

‘And he obviously loves swimming as well, so he’s got comfortable swim nappies now instead of the ones that were just getting a bit tight.’

* For more information and to buy, see bornzippy.com