Compression vest/ Weighted blanket for Autistic Kids

Hi everyone, My brother-in-law called me last night. He has 3 yr old twin boys that were diagnosed with autism last summer. The occupational therapist has suggested compressions vest for them and using weighted blankets in their beds. I plan on making them for the boys since they are pretty expensive to buy. At this time they do not want the vest to be weighted since the boys are small. It is basically a tank top with velcro on the sides to adjust pressure and sizing. He wasn't sure of the material but thought it was dive/scuba suit material. Polypropelene? Has anyone ever made these and if so what did you use for fabric? I googled instructions for the weighted blanket.

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. Basically channels filled with dried beans or poly beads? I thought about using drapery weights in the squares. The weights or beads would make it washable or I could just make a removable cover that would be washed. Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated. I live in the north Texas area and haven't started searching for fabric yet. I will probably have to mail order the vest fabric from the Rain Shed or another source.Thanks,Judy

Reply to
Nick and Judy
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No suggestions, just wanted to let you know wet suit material is called neoprene.

Reply to
Lee & Cathi Thomas

I don't know about making the vest but my neighbor asked Thursday if I could make a weighted blanket. This is what I did......

Took a cotton, flat twin sheet and folded it in half, top to bottom. Sewed up the two sides, turned it, sewn seams inside, leaving the top (the fold was the bottom) open. I then laid it out flat and smooth and marked the middle and then marked even channels, running top to bottom about three inches apart, then marked lines the same width as the channels at right angles....now looks like little square window panes. I pinned then stitched the channels top to bottom. I used rice because I had over half a 50lb bag left from making rice bags. I used a funnel and poured 1/4 cup rice into each tube, shook all the kernels to the bottom and then pinned and sewed across the marked lines side to side to form the first row of little "rice pillows". I had my neighbor helping me hold and fill and pin before I sewed across to enclose each row of "rice pillows". This could be done by one person but it sure was easier with an extra set of hands, especially as the blanket got progressively heavier. After making the entire folded sheet of little rice filled squares I made a cover out of a twin, flat flannel sheet....like a big pillow case.

Next problem was keeping the 'blanket' from moving around inside the case.....solved!

We put the blanket in the cover, laid it on the floor and smoothed it all out and then marked all four corners, one square in, on the cover and blanket. We did this by putting a pin straight down through cover and blanket and out the other side, then marking both sides of the cover with a pen where the pin was and carefully folding back the cover and marking the place on the blanket the pin went thru. We did the same thing in eight other areas (because we had 24 matching buttons) around the center of the blanket and cover. While I was sewing 24 button holes reinforced with heavy stabilizer, on the cover, my neighbor was sewing buttons on the blanket. I should mention that these buttons are in the 'crossroad' of the window pane seamed channels, same place on both sides and a piece of stabilizer under the button before sewing it on. The button holes are on both sides of the cover to correspond with location of buttons on blanket.

This was a real seat of the pants project done with what we could scrounge up that would work well to do the job she needed done. I had fleece that would have worked for a cover but we decided that might be too warm. Both sheets had been washed numerous times but were in very good condition so we didn't worry about shrinkage and the flannel cover will be easy to wash and dry. The project didn't take any out of pocket expense, I can't tell you how much the blanket weighed because I forgot to load it on the scale before she left with it. It was very substantial however. This blanket was for her small 4 year old boy.

I'm sure somebody may come up with different/better ideas and she may have me tweak things later. I'll keep you informed how it works and any changes we make.

Val

Reply to
Val

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NAYY, just something I found while googling that I thought would help you. Washable seem to be the key!

I hope these do the trick for your nephews.

Sarah

Reply to
Sarah Dale

"Judy" wrote ...3 yr old twin boys that were

Judy - They also need to know about Temple Grandin - she is autistic with a Phd!

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She's written several books about autisim and she designs livestock handling facilities and teaches at Colorado State. She is a true inspiration!

Reply to
Chris Underwood

I have to agree with Chris' comment about Temple Grandin as I watched a documentary about her on TV just a couple of weeks ago.......what an inspiration!! Until that doco I had never heard of her and it was only by chance that I was channel surfing and fortunate to see it.

Br> "Judy" wrote

Reply to
HC

They know all about Temple Grandin believe me. Since the diagnosis we ALL have been researching the subject. They don't want a weighted vest, just a compression one. I will do the blanket with either beans or rice or the poly pellets if I can find them at a good price. Does anyone know of a source in the US for the poly pellets? My BIL thinks the neoprene for the vests will be too hot in the summer, so I will have to look for some other fabric, maybe some kind of heavy lycra used in athletic uniforms?

Reply to
Nick and Judy

Your local TSWLTH:

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if this is not what you mean by "poly pellets". Beverly

Reply to
BEI Design

Also:

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Beverly

Reply to
BEI Design

This one looks best because you can order various quantities, and they offer free shipping:

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Reply to
BEI Design

Reply to
Nick and Judy

Reply to
Nick and Judy

Not sure I would use rice in something that will need washing unless you can seal it away from any moisture. Rice is a very good desiccant and it will absorb moisture and odors from the air and when washed it will release a LOT of starch which could promote bacterial growth. Beans would be a problem as well since they could absorb water and mold.

Reply to
Steve W.

"Nick and Judy" wrote in news:Bkoxh.68491$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr13.news.prodigy.net:

tell them to stay far away from the Cure Autism Now & Defeat Autism Now (CAN & DAN) folks. i would use the poly pellets for the quilts if at all possible, for washability purposes. Autie kids can be really slow to toilet train (mine is 6 & he makes it about 75% of the time during the day. rarely at night). the usual weight for the weighted quilts i've seen for sale are 3-4 pounds. i get poly beads from CR's Crafts:

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look under bear supplies, stuffing. they charge $1.69/pound & a pound is approx. 5 cups. the nice thing about making your own weighted quilts (besides picking fabric the kids like) is you can customize the weight. i don't know about the compression vests because Boo doesn't like tight clothes.

lee

Reply to
enigma

"BEI Design" wrote in news:z9SdnbvtZew3tVvYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

no, those are basicly styrofoam. too lightweight to use for weighted blankets. however, i'm glad you posted it, as i want to make Boo a bean bag chair :) lee

Reply to
enigma

is one example. 10 lb for $20. I've never dealt with them.

Check with your local bead shop and see what they can do in terms of glass beads. I would recommend those over anything like rice or beans, since they'd be tough, waterproof and not prone to rot, decomposition, mildew etc. Glass and ceramic beads are also used industrially for grinding and manufacturing - a company that does shot-peening of big steel items could get you in touch with a supplier of beads. The larger of these (approx 4mm or a bit over 1/8 inch) would make good weights sewn into a liner. You could also use some metal beads, but they'd have to be stainless steel or a good brass to be laundry friendly.

If heat was not a problem, I'd suggest wool. I remember back in childhood living in a house with minimal heat in winter (we weren't exactly rich nor lived in the most modern of neighbourhoods). My mother made a bunch of quilts with cheap, heavy wool inside. A couple of them and we were pinned for the night :-) I still sleep easier in the winter with a cool bedroom and _heavy_ blankets.

There is a kind of lycra used in things like women's bathing suits that is used, well... like a girdle basically. They used to have it at Textile Outfitters, but I can't find it on the web site. It was flesh coloured IIRC and stiffer than regular lycra. If you don't need that much tension, perhaps someone can suggest a lycra mesh that would be cooler in the summer.

I noticed that some of these commercially-available vests have inflatable chambers to allow variation in the hugging pressure. I know that Grandin's "Squeeze Machine" (aka hug machine) is based on air bladders that inflate for changing the amount of squeeze. I don't know if that's what you want to emulate, but thought that you could vary the tightness with just a couple of strategically placed zippers.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Daly

Thanks, that is a great price! Yeah I was just reading something about CAN, how none of the $ they collect is going toward training or something sketchy. This is going to sound really stupid, but does a pound of the pellets equal a pound of weight? I think I read somewhere in my searching that you have to use 2 pounds of pellets to make the equivalent of one pound of weight. I had planned to make a washable cover if I didn't use the poly pellets, but I was still concerned about "fluids" leaking through the cover.

Reply to
Nick and Judy

Reply to
Nick and Judy

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these links mention possible fabrics for compression vests. HTH

Sarah

Reply to
Sarah Dale

There are a lot of things to consider when making a weighted blanket or vest, for sensory sensitive people. The size, weight and fabrics need to be appropriate and customized to each individual user for them to be effective. The site below explains alot.

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Luck , Jackie

Reply to
mtcustomblankets

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