Weighted Items Experience

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<<<eat4life@b...> wrote: Any thoughts on benefits or issues with the weighted items, i.e. pros/cons?>>

Weighted items have deemed highly beneficial in our son's (7½ Autism, SID, CAPD) case.

One day, he felt the need to take all the comforters from everyone's bed in the house and carry them around all day long. Some of these are very heavy--I have no idea how he was even able to even lift them all. He also had a habit of shredding his pull up in the night. The OT advised weighted items. I had a friend to make him a 17 lbs. weighted blanket. The moment it arrived, I placed it around his shoulders. He then placed it over his head and stood peacefully in the floor for approximately 26 minutes with his eyes shut. He looked like Darth Vader but he was so relieved! lol I was floored!

That night, he wanted to sleep under the blanket. Surprisingly, the next morning there were no more pull up shreds on the floor. His unusual calmness had the teachers/therapists scratching their heads the next day. This may sound strange but the only time we woke up to shreds was if the blanket slid off him onto the floor in the night. He now only sleeps under it when he wants the added pressure.

The weighted items (and squeeze vest) became a godsend for him-especially in class and therapy. He will ask for the weighted snake and lap pad in class if he's unable to focus. Sometimes he needs the all over pressure, so we wrap him in the weighted blanket and apply slight pressure for a few minutes. Ohhhh, he loves that! Afterwards, he's as my Mom says, "Cool as a cucumber!" I hope this tad bit of info helped some! Let us know how things go! :-)

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