Weighted Vests/Blankets

[madmooch]

Has anyone got any experience of using weighted vests or blankets on their little ones?

Hayden is 4 and most of you will probably know from my past posts that he loves to jump on poeple and sqeeze them so i thought maybe a weighted vest or blanket might help him get the pressure of sqeezing But i dont know where to get them from or how to use them

So any help from you wise ones would be brill

 

 

Thanks Clare

[Tez]

Going to watch this with interest. A is 14 and nearly taller than me and still does it. Can be quite painful at times. Waiting for an OT appointment which we're hoping will give us some guidance.

[baddad]

Hi Madmooch -

Dear departed CarolJ (who will be back one day, I'm sure) had a thread running on this some time ago. Fairly sure her results were very positive; helped Scottie to get calm and feel secure at night, which paid dividends during the day too...

Here's a link to the original thread

weighted gear in the UK

 

Hope it's helpful

BD

[alibaly]

I get the feeling you think his jumping on people may be caused by sensory problems, maybe it is, but does he do it everywhere or just in certain settings.

 

Maybe someting for him to use as a squeeze substitue would be better than weighted blankets, a sqoosh ball, for example.

[madmooch]

Yes he only does it with family members and he doesn't like kooshi balls or sqeeze balls he likes his whole body sqished

 

 

 

Clare

[smallworld]

Hi Clare,

does your son like being 'squished' by being rolled up tightly in a blanket/duvet and then being quickly(without any warning!) being unrolled, or more accurately 'flung'out ? My 5 yr old son loves this and luckily our 12 yr old will do this for ages. It's as though he likes the pressure and then the sudden release of it.

Just an idea,

wac

[madmooch]

I've never tried that Thanks Waccoe i'll have a go, see if he likes it

[BusyLizzie100]

Hi, my son sounds similar. He loves to pile pillows/blankets etc over himself, even gets under rugs. He also loves pressing his face/head very hard against mine and all that stuff. Basically, he's trying to get as much feedback as poss. When he is lightly touched he cannot bear it and says 'ow' if someone even nudges him. It's all a bit back to front!

 

His OT suggested rolling him in blankets etc and unrolling him, but we have to be careful not to overdo it and overstimulate him. He doesn't like to be out of control. She suggested getting him to sleep in a sleeping bag at night, but I could never convince him to get in it - too out of his control, I suppose.

 

I heard about weighted quilts and eventually bought one off ebay, which was custom made and shipped from the States. Yes, it cost a lot of money - to buy and to ship!!!!! But he seems to really like it. Sometimes he even takes it off his bed and watches TV with it slung over his head. Has it made a big difference? Hard to tell, but I don't fancy taking it away from him! His OT was really interested in it. Don't know where to get them in the UK (business opportunity for someone!) but the US company was fantastic.

 

Lizzie

[katkin]

Some children seem to love the weighted blankets. I worked with a girl who loved you to throw the blanket completely over her. You could also try a large peanut ball or space hopper thing to roll over to apply pressure without force on the child's body. This is better if they are lying on something with a bit of "give" in it like gym mat or lilo, just to make sure you don't damage them. I think it's something to do with knowing where there body is in space and what we would see as extreme pressure is just right for the child, a sensory thing. Hope this helps a bit, love kat

[madmooch]

Thanks Kat & Lizzie, Yes they do help, Ill have to get saving and get a blanket

 

Clare