Re: Question for the group on weighted vests

[Guest guest]

Making one is pretty easy.  You can get a pattern for just a vest at a fabric

store, get some material the kids will like, and sew in pockets on the inside

(if the pocket is on the outside, it's too easy for the kid to take the weights

out!).  Or, you can get a shirt, cut off the sleeves and put some binder on the

cut seams, then sew in pockets.  My mom had a jean shirt that she didn't wear

anymore and I cut the sleeves off, removed all the " girly " stuff on the shirt,

and sewed in pockets (my son wore a vest for a long time).

 

I would really suggest making little fabric bags to hold the weights.  I put

them in a baggie, then put the fabric around that.  You need to check with your

ST or OT to see how much weight is appropriate, and also how long your kiddoes

should wear the vest - too much time can have counter-effects.  I used pinto

beans for the weights, but you can use rice, anything.

 

The vests do have an amazing effect on behaviors.  Good luck!

 

Sherry and Josh

From: Jeanne <jamie199866@...>

Subject: [ ] Question for the group on weighted vests

Cc: 199866@...

Date: Friday, December 17, 2010, 5:34 PM

 

Hi everyone,

 

I have a question on weighted vests. My 4 year old nephew uses a weighted vest

at head start. At his IEP meeting yesterday his teacher suggested to his mother

(my sister) that maybe it would help him at home. He has behavior issues, they

claim he does not know where is in space, sensory issues, diagnosed as verbal

Dyspraxia (by Developmental Pediatrician) (same office who diagnosed my son,but

different doctor). Has ST 2x a week (for those who are wondering). Autism has

been ruled out at same appt at this time.

 

Question is this:

Please keep in mind she can not afford to purchase one at a store or online.

 

I know several of you have made your own weighted vests for use at home.

 

How do you make a weighted vest at home?

 

We know to use either sand bags or bean bags for weight in the pockets.

What can we use for the vest itself?

patterns,directions,ideas for materials (just what to use),websites we

could use to tell us how to make one. We plan on sewing this our selves. We

need to make 2 of them (3 year old little brother also needs one).

 

Thank you in advance for all replies.

 

Jeanne

NH

[Guest guest]

I'm a huge fan of weighted vests!! I've always made them myself because they are

too expensive to buy.  Funny you bring this up because I was just looking at a

toys r us catalogue and saw a vest that would be way cool for my son (who's

11).   It's from nerf and it looks like it holds the nerf dart thingys.  I'll

be

looking into that soon.  But for now, any vest that you find will do.

I go to walmart and buy the cheapest ankle weights as i've found that most of

these have the weights in little bags already and all I have to do is pop them

out and put them in little pockets i've sewn into the inside of the vest i'll be

using.  and trust me....i'm the worlds most useless sewer around and I managed

ok!!

 

Basically, for the vest, anything that he will wear will do.  I have a friend

who just cut off the arm section of her son's jean jacket that was too small for

him.  We have lots of stores around that sell second hand, gently used clothes,

and I find these a treasure trove for stuff like this.

Another thing that she should keep in mind is writing.  We just had our son

re-evaluated with an OT and learned we still have A LOT of work ahead of us.  I

had noticed a weighted pen at a trade show I attended, but again, way too pricey

for me!  So off the the hardware store I went to buy nuts.  I put about 3 or 4

on a pencil and wow, what a difference it has made with his printing!

hope this helps

Sandy

________________________________

From: Jeanne <jamie199866@...>

Cc: 199866@...

Sent: Fri, December 17, 2010 6:34:28 PM

Subject: [ ] Question for the group on weighted vests

 

Hi everyone,

 

I have a question on weighted vests. My 4 year old nephew uses a weighted vest

at head start. At his IEP meeting yesterday his teacher suggested to his mother

(my sister) that maybe it would help him at home. He has behavior issues, they

claim he does not know where is in space, sensory issues, diagnosed as verbal

Dyspraxia (by Developmental Pediatrician) (same office who diagnosed my son,but

different doctor). Has ST 2x a week (for those who are wondering). Autism has

been ruled out at same appt at this time.

 

Question is this:

Please keep in mind she can not afford to purchase one at a store or online.

 

I know several of you have made your own weighted vests for use at home.

 

How do you make a weighted vest at home?

 

We know to use either sand bags or bean bags for weight in the pockets.

What can we use for the vest itself?

patterns,directions,ideas for materials (just what to use),websites we

could use

to tell us how to make one. We plan on sewing this our selves. We need to make 2

of them (3 year old little brother also needs one).

 

Thank you in advance for all replies.

 

Jeanne

NH

[Guest guest]

According to my OT - a weighted vest should only be worn for a short period of

time (approx 20-30 minutes), then removed, it can be worn again after being off

for some time (I think this is so the body deons't get used to it and it stops

being effective). I use them during structured teaching times only. We also use

ankle weights for one student, and a weighted backpack that is loaded w/ beanie

stuffed animals for " heavy work " . There is also a compression shirt that I've

been using instead (it can be worn all day and is like a very tight fitting tank

top). My weighted vests use sand for the weights, there are different amount of

weights that you can use. If you're a person who sews it looks like it would be

easy to do, sew a vest w/ a zipper/velcro, add pockets for the weights

(removeable so that it can be washed). I really think these vests make a huge

difference for some children (we call them " special shirts/vests " in my

classroom). Good luck!

>

> Hi everyone,

>  

> I have a question on weighted vests. My 4 year old nephew uses a weighted vest

at head start. At his IEP meeting yesterday his teacher suggested to his mother

(my sister) that maybe it would help him at home. He has behavior issues, they

claim he does not know where is in space, sensory issues, diagnosed as verbal

Dyspraxia (by Developmental Pediatrician) (same office who diagnosed my son,but

different doctor). Has ST 2x a week (for those who are wondering). Autism has

been ruled out at same appt at this time.

>  

> Question is this:

> Please keep in mind she can not afford to purchase one at a store or online.

>  

> I know several of you have made your own weighted vests for use at home.

>  

> How do you make a weighted vest at home?

>  

> We know to use either sand bags or bean bags for weight in the pockets.

> What can we use for the vest itself?

> patterns,directions,ideas for materials (just what to use),websites we

could use to tell us how to make one. We plan on sewing this our selves. We need

to make 2 of them (3 year old little brother also needs one).

>  

> Thank you in advance for all replies.

>  

> Jeanne

> NH

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My son has the same sensory issues and we head about the weight vest and

purchased one...but talking to our OT, he advised us to only use it for 20 min

maximum with a 2-3 hours interval. He said he went to a conference that talked

about researches done on those and what they found was that kids get used to the

weight and after a while, it does not provide the same input. He also shared

with me that teachers tend to want kids to wear them, but they leave it on for a

long period of time (he said he one of his patient was wearing it for all day

while in school) and after a while the teacher would increase the weight because

the kid was no linger responding to it. He told me about the compression

shirts, that he prefer those because it gives kind of the same input, but with

no weights. You can purchase sport shirts of a smaller, they are pretty much the

same they sell for OT.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you because I thought it made sense...so,

use it, but make sure it's not for long period of time. I'm using it with my son

during his therapies, when he's hyper, and during times that I know he gets

super excited, like when he has play dates...he's very " touchy " and gets hyper

around other kids, so we use the vest and it helps.

Thanks,

London

CC: 199866@...

From: jamie199866@...

Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:34:28 -0800

Subject: [ ] Question for the group on weighted vests

Hi everyone,

I have a question on weighted vests. My 4 year old nephew uses a weighted vest

at head start. At his IEP meeting yesterday his teacher suggested to his mother

(my sister) that maybe it would help him at home. He has behavior issues, they

claim he does not know where is in space, sensory issues, diagnosed as verbal

Dyspraxia (by Developmental Pediatrician) (same office who diagnosed my son,but

different doctor). Has ST 2x a week (for those who are wondering). Autism has

been ruled out at same appt at this time.

Question is this:

Please keep in mind she can not afford to purchase one at a store or online.

I know several of you have made your own weighted vests for use at home.

How do you make a weighted vest at home?

We know to use either sand bags or bean bags for weight in the pockets.

What can we use for the vest itself?

patterns,directions,ideas for materials (just what to use),websites we could use

to tell us how to make one. We plan on sewing this our selves. We need to make 2

of them (3 year old little brother also needs one).

Thank you in advance for all replies.

Jeanne

NH

[Guest guest]

I made my son a weighted lap pad and it has helped enormously at school.

Basically, get a piece of material that the kids like (my son got a piece of

fleece material). I took (2) 1 pound bags of white rice and wrapped it with the

piece of fabric and then sewed it shut. (he is 70 pounds so a little child may

only need 1 bag or rice). You don't want too much weight.

My son is aspergers and stims alot in class-this lap pad actually helps him sit

still and not have to get out of his seat. He move it aournd (he puts it on his

lab, or feet or sometimes he sits on it). His teacher is OK with him doing this

as long as he does not disrupt any other student (which he hasen't).

[Guest guest]

anything with weight is great isn't it!!  The OT who saw my son at school got

him " lap dog " which looks like a dog but weighted. 

He also sits on a therapy ball instead of a chair which helps him attend to task

a lot better as well.  we also got a ball for home as well.

I went to walmart and got one of those excersise balls as they are essentially

the same thing.  Just that rules at our school board mean

that they have to pay extra for the same ball that is just marketed

differently.  The only real difference is the disc the ball sits in to keep

it in place when not in use. and they have to pay extra for that anyway.

A new teacher this year was doubtful about the ball and weights until she saw it

in action with her own eyes.  And by now, the kids in

the class know not to play with the ball when chris isn't on it.

________________________________

From: wandre_k <wandre_k@...>

Sent: Sun, December 19, 2010 3:17:12 PM

Subject: [ ] Re: Question for the group on weighted vests

 

I made my son a weighted lap pad and it has helped enormously at school.

Basically, get a piece of material that the kids like (my son got a piece of

fleece material). I took (2) 1 pound bags of white rice and wrapped it with the

piece of fabric and then sewed it shut. (he is 70 pounds so a little child may

only need 1 bag or rice). You don't want too much weight.

My son is aspergers and stims alot in class-this lap pad actually helps him sit

still and not have to get out of his seat. He move it aournd (he puts it on his

lab, or feet or sometimes he sits on it). His teacher is OK with him doing this

as long as he does not disrupt any other student (which he hasen't).

[Guest guest]

Polypellets make for a great filling on anything that needs to be worn/ washed.

They're durable, washable, dry-able, and dense so you can pack a lot of weight

into a small spot. I bought pellets from ebay for a weighted blanket (much

cheaper than buying from crafting sites).

I was also told not to use weighted products for any length of time, but it was

explained to me differently (easy to understand). If you walk into a room where

cookies are baking, you smell them. After a few minutes, you don't smell them

because you're accustomed to the odor. When you leave and come back, you smell

them again. A vest/ blanket works the same - once your body gets accustomed, it

doesn't help.

Sorry that I'm not answering your questions, I would just google " child weighted

vest " and hopefully there's a good site. I personally have used a neoprene

compression vest on my son. I need to learn how to make one of those! (rather, I

need a sewing machine that can handle it...)

>

> Hi everyone,

>  

> I have a question on weighted vests. My 4 year old nephew uses a weighted vest

at head start. At his IEP meeting yesterday his teacher suggested to his mother

(my sister) that maybe it would help him at home. He has behavior issues, they

claim he does not know where is in space, sensory issues, diagnosed as verbal

Dyspraxia (by Developmental Pediatrician) (same office who diagnosed my son,but

different doctor). Has ST 2x a week (for those who are wondering). Autism has

been ruled out at same appt at this time.

>  

> Question is this:

> Please keep in mind she can not afford to purchase one at a store or online.

>  

> I know several of you have made your own weighted vests for use at home.

>  

> How do you make a weighted vest at home?

>  

> We know to use either sand bags or bean bags for weight in the pockets.

> What can we use for the vest itself?

> patterns,directions,ideas for materials (just what to use),websites we

could use to tell us how to make one. We plan on sewing this our selves. We need

to make 2 of them (3 year old little brother also needs one).

>  

> Thank you in advance for all replies.

>  

> Jeanne

> NH

>

>

>

>

>