Jul 08 2008
Weighing in on weighted materials for those with autism.
Weighted vests, clothing, and blankets help children who are over stimulated to calm down.
Wrapping a younger child with autism snuggly in a blanket that is upset may help them to calm down.
Wearing weighted vests helps to keep children prone to over stimulation to remain calm and to have better focus.
Children who have problems falling asleep or staying asleep have benefited from the use of weighted blankets.
Why does it work? One theory is that the weight is a physical stimulation that takes some of the focus off the other sensory stimulations. The added weight is comforting and calming for them.
It is one of many things that parents can try, besides medication, to help their child with autism to better adjust to their surrounding environments and to allow for them to have better success in therapy and school.
Any therapy that helps children with autism that is not in the form of medication will always be advocated for by me!
Weighted items are very interesting to me. Sometimes they work well for Gus, like at bedtime, and other times they don’t, like at school. I think his main problem at school is the noise, which is why the weights aren’t as useful. I’m going to get him some headphones. But I will continue with the weighty blanket even through the summer to help him wind down at night.
Weighted items help to reduce the brains sensory input by overcompensating with the physical presence of weight. However, when there are more sensory inputs, these measures can be less effective. I hope that over time he will learn to use his over focus ability to channel out the more overwhelming stimulis’. I first over compensated before I learned to pick and choose what I would pay attention to. Alas there are still days that it all gets to be too much and I just have to accept that fact.
I hope he is doing well.