IT LOOKS like an ordinary white school shirt worn by thousands of children, but it hides a secret that will bring some vital normality to a young boy’s life.

The garment is one of thousands altered and adapted by the nimble fingers of the team at Swindon-based charity Dressability to make the lives of elderly and disabled people more bearable.

Discreet zips and fastenings, bibs, bags for medical aids are devised by the experts stitching away in a large sewing room at the organisation’s base in West Swindon.

“As far as we know we are the only charity in the UK that offers a unique clothing adaptation service for people with disabilities and the over 65s,” said manager Sharon Tombs.

“We do some very, very specialised stuff. It’s what sets us apart from anything else.”

Simple actions that able-bodied people take for granted can be impossible for those with disabilities. Undoing buttons or zips or pulling on a top, for example, is a challenge for people with limited arm movement - or no arms even.

But with ingenuity and skill, the Dressability seamstresses make it possible for people to dress and undress themselves.

One client with curvature of the spine was able to act as a bridesmaid for her sister because the charity’s seamstresses took one of the bridesmaid dresses apart and remade it, reshaping it and removing the boning before adding a bolero top made from the surplus material.

It meant the world to the customer and the bride and made a special day even more special.

Sharon visited one customer and gave him his life back by substituting trouser zips for Velcro. He had suffered a stroke four years before and was unable to undo the zips. Fearing that he would wet himself he had stopped going out.

Fitting in is important, especially when it’s your first day at school. Parents of a young lad with autism feared he would struggle to dress himself as quickly as the other children so they asked the charity to come up with a solution.

Dressability inserted magnets behind the buttons, ensuring the shirt did up quickly and easily without looking any different. It was a simple solution but it was a fiddly task that required patience.

Fundraiser Andrea Hawker explained: “All of it is simple ideas but it just makes people able to be more independent. It is all about dignity, boosting confidence and self-esteem.”

A basic right to dignity is something most of us wouldn’t question unless we find ourselves helpless and unable to move.

The seamstresses went in to hospital to meet a man who had suffered a skiing accident and become tetraplegic as a result. He was in intensive care and couldn’t be got out of bed because she was in so much pain he could not be dressed.

All that could be put on him was a hospital gown. For a businessman who had always been well dressed, it only increased his sense of helplessness.

Hospital staff referred him to the charity and since that meeting the volunteers have adapted lots of his clothes, including his favourite jumpers and although it has had no effect on his disability it has at least improved the quality of his life and raised his spirits immeasurably.

Another client was told he could no longer make his regular visits to a day centre because it no longer had a bed where he could be changed. The seamstresses came up with the idea of taking out the back of his trousers and re-fitting it as a flap with Velcro.

It meant his social life could continue. “That was the only thing that he had to look forward to every week,” said Sharon. “It is a service that you never think about until you need it.”

Many people want the comfort of their own clothes. “If you have a stroke you don’t want to buy a new set of clothing, you want familiar things,” said Sharon, who was given her first sewing machine at the age of six.

Often it is a case of working with clients as well as for them, like the paraplegic customer who wants to be able to use his wheelchair in the shower after doing sport. They are testing a prototype cover that could make life easier for many disabled sportsmen and women.

In 2015 the charity, which has wheelchair tennis Paralympian Louise Hunt and Radio 5 Live reporter Andy Stevenson as trustees, was asked to act as a design consultant for the GB team’s day wear at the Rio Games.

“We have got some fantastic dressmakers. They are so skilled,” said Andrea.

The quality of the work is high even if the purpose is mundane. But a discreet pouch for a catheter bag, zipped fleece mittens to use on a wheelchair joystick or a magnetic tab to allow a zip fly to be opened and closed by a man with no arms using a metal stick all have a profound impact on lives.

The charity supports the over 65s as well as disabled people and covers an area of 25 miles. It helps people who are isolated and offers a free home delivery and collection service.

But word is spreading and some customers come from far and wide to have their clothes tailored to fit. One woman travels up from Southampton to be measured and another comes in from Essex, staying overnight before making the trip back home.

Last year it dealt with more than 350 people and adapted over 700 garments.

“We have seen every condition possible,” said Sharon. “Some are more reluctant to come forward if they have had a stroke and struggle with toileting.”

“I think some people are surprised about the standard of sewing. They don’t expect it to be as discreet as it is.”

Andrea explained: “We experiment until we get it right. Sometimes that takes a while. It is very, very specialised.”

Founded almost 20 years ago as a six-month project with a handful of volunteers and a part-time co-ordinator working from a spare room, Dressability became a full-time service in 2003 when it won a Big Lottery grant.

However it is still in need of support and sponsorship as well as skilled volunteers. Visit www.dressability.org.uk for more information.