Can we use weighted jacket for my child? Is a weighted blanket beneficial? Can a body sock help?
These are questions that parents ask me frequently. But a clear answer is difficult without considering many perspectives.
Weighted vests and compression vests
have been used by therapists to provide deep pressure input to the trunk which
is known to improve attention, decrease fidgety movements, and promote self- regulation in a child. All of these lead to better performance in general.
The
purchasing cost of these products in India have significantly come down during
the last few years. Yet, in my perspective, the affordability of these equipment
for a middle-income Indian household remains low. When several sensory
equipment are available now in the country, how do you figure out which one is
useful or not, which one is better than another, and what would work for a
particular child during a certain time period?
There are
other equipment too - swings, rocker board, therapy ball, fine motor toys,
sensory fidgets. What can parents buy, what can they avoid buying, how much
investment can they make, and how do you decide one versus another.
Product Picture from AmazonThis post is
about the weighted and pressure vest, the body sock, and the weighted blanket. Each of these provides deep pressure input,
and in that they are similar but not the same.
The body
sock is made of lycra, one can think about it as a lycra sack with openings in
the centre. A child wears it, and moves their
body segments or moves the body as a whole while being in the body sock. Lycra
material provides some resistance and therefore proprioceptive input to the
body. Most children enjoy wearing this body sock, but there are many others who
are not willing to put it on, or cry when the mom attempts to make them wear
it.
Product Picture from AmazonThe weighted
blanket is useful during sleep time or nap time, or for draping it for a short
time during wake hours.
The weighted
vest and the compression vest offer deep pressure input. The proprioceptive
input through each is similar, but not the same. The weighted vest provides a
sense of grounding to the body. The compression vest provides a sense of ‘continuous
hug’ to the body.
In a
nutshell, each of the four equipment is beneficial to a child with autism,
ADHD, and sensory processing differences. Points to consider prior to buying-
1. Is the child
going to allow you to put it on in the first place? As described with a body
sock, many children are not willing to put on the weighted vest. It may take
many attempts to try putting it on before the child accepting it. This requires
parents to be extremely patient for many days or weeks.
2. If the child
does like it and wears it, will they leave it on for 20-30 minutes prior to
removing it? India is a tropical country and we don’t live in air-conditioned
rooms all the time. Except for winters, a child feels hot and perspires while
using the weighted vest. The compression vest has to be carefully worn, because
it may affect the child’s respiration and air exchange if there is increased
compression.
3. Some
children don’t like to cover themselves with a regular sheet or a blanket, which
rules out the use of a weighted blanket. But if the child has serious sleep
issues, a weighted blanket is highly likely to help.
4. The last and
most important information I would like to share is that there is no single
equipment that would be magical. It would only be helpful, but not a concrete
solution. For a child to make gains in therapy, we need a variety of equipment
and variety of material, as well as repetition / persistence.
5. Research findings
have not reported significant behavioral changes in children using weighted vests.
Using the
Indian ingenuity or jugaad, I use weight cuffs on ankles or the abdomen during
therapy sessions. But I admit that most children take them off immediately or
cry or refrain from allowing us to put them on. So we keep trying for many
sessions, sometimes for weeks and months.
The weighted
vest is viewed as a passive equipment. In order to provide active proprioceptive
input, do the following frequently and consistently. These are examples of
active physical work by the child; the brain always learns better during active
engagement.
· Have your child push a heavy chair frequently
and make a game out of it.
· Have them pull a weighted trolley bag
in the house, and in the apartment grounds.
· Have them wear a backpack that weighs
10% of their body weight and take them for a walk.
· Climb the ladders and use the wall
climbers in the park.
In my clinical
experience in India, I use the pressure vest for infants and toddlers to
achieve a better trunk control during therapy sessions…..only during cooler
weather in Bangalore. Very few parents,
about less than 5% have bought a weighted vest or a body sock. And after
buying, either they have not been able to use it for more than 3-4 months or
used sparingly due to personal reasons.
Some parents
have bought therapy equipment as suggested by other therapists, and then have complained
that it was not useful. For others, there was a complain of lack of space and a
sense of frustration as to ‘how much can we buy’?
Due to all the reasons discussed, I refrain from asking any parent to buy therapy equipment, particularly when cost is a factor, the weighted vest being one of them. Parents can try it out - but cost, usage, storage, and the amount of benefit it will provide to your child is debateable.
Note: Another option is to buy an inexpensive jeans jacket which most likely has 4 pockets in front. One can stitch patches of cloth behind too. Make small sand bags and insert them into the pockets. You have made a weighted jacket in the least expensive way. A few of my parents have done this many years ago.
Before buying a weighted blanket, maybe you can do a trial of using 2-3 blankets at a time to see if your child keeps them on.
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