When Jaxon was younger his OT characterized him as a “sensory seeker”, of course at the time I had to Google it to even understand what that meant, but now, years later I am all too familiar with that term. For those of you who aren’t familiar, a sensory seeker is one who just can’t get enough. They are typically impulsive, hyper, thrive on touch or pressure, and have a need to “feed” their nervous system. However, we have learned (through therapy) that if you give a sensory seeker enough stimulation or sensory input, they can calm down and focus.
We found early on with Jaxon that he LOVED anything that involved deep pressure, including his weighted blanket. At first we just used it at specific times throughout the day to help calm him down because he wouldn’t sleep with it at night. As he got older his sensory needs changed a bit and were met at therapy and on his own. After a while I just put the weighted blanket away (we had moved twice since then and it sort of just always got put in the top of the closet).
Well, Jaxon had been having such a hard time sleeping a few weeks ago and I couldn’t figure out why. He was up and down every hour or so and it wasn’t anything new in his diet/daily regimen so I was confused and frustrated. I was watching an episode of Parenthood the other week and one of the characters gave her little brother (with Asperger’s) a weighted blanket and that made me think of ours. I got Jaxon’s blanket out the next night and started using it on him at bedtime…TADA…we have a sleeper again, and he even asks for it at night now! I’m not sure if this will last long or not, but I am all about anything that helps him to get a good night’s sleep!
We found early on with Jaxon that he LOVED anything that involved deep pressure, including his weighted blanket. At first we just used it at specific times throughout the day to help calm him down because he wouldn’t sleep with it at night. As he got older his sensory needs changed a bit and were met at therapy and on his own. After a while I just put the weighted blanket away (we had moved twice since then and it sort of just always got put in the top of the closet).
Well, Jaxon had been having such a hard time sleeping a few weeks ago and I couldn’t figure out why. He was up and down every hour or so and it wasn’t anything new in his diet/daily regimen so I was confused and frustrated. I was watching an episode of Parenthood the other week and one of the characters gave her little brother (with Asperger’s) a weighted blanket and that made me think of ours. I got Jaxon’s blanket out the next night and started using it on him at bedtime…TADA…we have a sleeper again, and he even asks for it at night now! I’m not sure if this will last long or not, but I am all about anything that helps him to get a good night’s sleep!
The middle of the blanket is where the weight is, it feels like a bean bag.
***You will need to check with your OT before ordering a weighted blanket because your child will need to be weighed and "fitted" for a blanket, not all weighted blankets are created the same!***