As parents of autistic children can attest, the act of chewing on objects or clothing can oftentimes soothe their child’s anxiety. Recognizing the benefit of this simple act, Kit Ford — an autism mom turned inventor — created a new line of chewable jewelry and her own Quad Cities company, Autistic and Loved LLC. The […]
Already a subscriber? Log in
Want to Read More?
Get immediate, unlimited access to all subscriber content and much more.
Learn more in our subscriber FAQ.
- Unparalleled business coverage of the Iowa City / Cedar Rapids corridor.
- Immediate access to subscriber-only content on our website.
- 52 issues per year delivered digitally, in print or both.
- Support locally owned and operated journalism.
As parents of autistic children can attest, the act of chewing on objects or clothing can oftentimes soothe their child’s anxiety.
Recognizing the benefit of this simple act, Kit Ford — an autism mom turned inventor — created a new line of chewable jewelry and her own Quad Cities company, Autistic and Loved LLC. The company produces chewelry — jewelry that is chewable.
“My son is a chewer. When he gets anxious, he chews on his arm or his clothing. Our family found chewable jewelry to be super helpful for him,” said Ms. Ford, who launched her new business and its creation to help other autistic children and parents.
Ms. Ford is the mother of two children, Imani and Justice, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Her daughter Imani began having speech and social development delays which were reported by her pre-school. She was tested and evaluated for those delays and tests were affirmed, which led to speech therapy and an individualized educational plan. Months later, the University of Iowa diagnosed Imani with autism spectrum disorder, level one at the age of 4.
Later, her son Justice, who at a young age needed a special formula, skipped crawling, began walking on his tiptoes, displayed repetitive behavior, speech and social delays and began chewing on his clothing when anxious.
“As a mother I knew this was different, but had no idea this was a sign of Autism Spectrum Disorder,” Ms. Ford recalled. By age 3, Justice was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, level three.
“This daily triggered something in my brain and heart, maybe even my soul,” she said. “Why not start a chewable jewelry line that celebrates the diversity of autistic children and their families.” Ms. Ford began to strategize the creation and her chewable jewelry invention. “I wanted to give a child a safe alternative for chewing and reflect their beauty.”
After months of advocating for her children, Ms. Ford said Imani and Justice were eventually accepted into the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Program at Balance Autism. While they were attending therapy for three to six hours a day, the idea for her invention was born.
“I would watch the kids going in and out of therapy. As one who studies and teaches on culture and diversity, I noticed that the children being served came from a diversity of backgrounds. I saw Black kids, white kids and Indian kids. Autism impacted a diversity of families,” she recalled.
She said she wanted to create a diverse array of chewable pendants so that children could wear them and be proud of who they are. The items can be worn in necklace or bracelet form and can prevent individuals from chewing on harmful items — such as pens, toys, shirts or even themselves.
Ms. Ford needed to understand the engineering behind her chewelry products. In collaboration with Western Illinois University, she researched, designed and helped produce the chewelry line.
Earlier this year, she competed in a SCORE Quad Cities pitch competition where one of the judges was Ann Friederichs, the Small Business Development Administration (SBDA) director and business advisor, who helped connect Ms. Ford with WIU Engineering Faculty Assistant Justin Scott.
“Justin used his mentorship and expertise to put me a step ahead by teaching me the engineering behind my chewelry pendants,” Ms. Ford said in a news release from WIU.
Partnering with graphic illustrators and mechanical engineers, she created a line of products that are made of food-grade silicon, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved, as well as lead- and aluminum-free.
The design process took a year to find the right manufacturer that could create it according to exact specifications requested by Ms. Ford and her designers.
She said Autistic and Loved is the first in the world to create chewelry pendants that reflect images of children. “It’s a really great quality silicon, so that it lasts for months. Some of the (other brands of) chewelry may not have a high-grade silicon and it may last two days, so you get a bang for your buck.”
Her goal is to have her products for sale in all children’s museums, gift shops and to partner with ABA centers. She also wants it available through occupational and speech therapists across the United States. For adults there is jewelry for Autism Moms and allies to complement children’s chewelry.
“I never want a child to feel ashamed of who they are, who they are is brilliant and unique. I pray that my chewelry designs help celebrate themselves,” she said.
Autistic and Loved chewelry and jewelry can be purchased at www.autisticandloved.com, which offers free valuable education and resources about autism.
