We've found cosplayers, who happen to have a disability, are happiest and most successful when things are quick and easy. They overlook imperfections and see beauty in even their simplest creations. They will need a little help to get started and continued help for some trickier or more challenging costumes but should be left to do at least some tasks or costumes independently to grow their skills and develop pride in their costume portfolio.
Let them struggle now and then to learn and to develop their skills. Bryce has started many costumes that he either asked for help on or just quit making due to difficulties or impatience. Feed their confidence and suggest ideas when they get stuck. With Bryce, when he does give up on a costume he moves quickly to a new costume.
Cosplay is fantasyland and such a great opportunity for parents and guardians to share fantasies with their kids with a disability and friends so drop your inhibitions and jump in with them.
Keep in mind most of our costumes are designed and built for a single photo shoot and thus disposable. A few are meant for wear at a party or cosplay convention and therefore need a bit more work to make wearable.
Instagram is free and easy so we encourage you to post your creations and share them with us, your cosplayer, and the world, by using #downsyndromecosplay. We also print our photos and tack to bulletin boards in the work area to allow our designer to admire what they've done and proudly show off to visitors.
Parents and guardians will benefit by using odds and ends they have at home to resource costumes in order to minimize cost and effort. Consider creating or joining a club, as we did, to share and reuse cosplay materials and also share the fun.
Now, here's a list of our top 20 around-the-house DIY cosplay materials plus inexpensive products to help you get started with DIY costume making.
