lab fairy

If you are using beans as stuffing to make something weighted for children you might consider using popcorn instead. Beans will sprout if they get damp (drooled on, spilled on, etc.) and popcorn won't.

watterstide

What about a fishing vest..it has tons of pockets, wonder if they make them for kids?

or it would be what you would look for pattern wise.fly fishing vest,i think. seems to me, i saw one on the rack at joanns..the easy pattern section. good luck!

sahm4605

will have to deffinatly check at jo anns for a pattern for a vest.

QuiltMania

I would suggest talking to the parents before you buy the fabric. Some autistic kids have particular fabric textures that really bother them. Some have particular colors that bother them. Some aren't bothered by either color or texture. Also talk to the parents about the amount of weight each kid needs. Some benefit from heavier pressure, some from lighter pressure.

I go To The Sea To Breathe

This web site shows really clear pictures and explains it. You could actually probably buy a denium jacket and then re do it , at the very end are some more articles in small print at bottom of page. Good Luck, I had never heard of it...Interesting, but makes sense, our 12 yr old is hyper and on meds for concentration and anger problems...

OTvest

I noticed that our website, www.otvest, was referred to buy another reader. As a sewer, quilter, and lover of vintage sewing machines--your site is of real interest!

I am the creator of the OTvest-weighted vest. As an occupational therapist, I had worked with autistic children for about 23 years when I created the OTvest because of the needs I saw with the children in the schools where I worked. I designed the OTvest and patented it because of the unique design. Now, after 35 years of experience--it is clear that a weighted lap pad does not provide the same results as the OTvest. The weights DO NOT hang inside the vest--but the weight lies on the sensory receptors inside the muscles that the weight lies directly upon. When they are in the trunk (across the upper back and upper chest)--as they are in the OTvest, they provide a stabilizing effect that a lap pad cannot create--nor weights only hanging inside a garment in pockets or the hem.
Imagine someone pressing gently upon your shoulders--like a massage--and you can imagine why person's putting the OTvest on for the first time always say the same thing--"IT FEELS GOOD". Yes, you can sew a weighted vest--but the OTvest is made out of fabric and a weight unit that holds up FOR MANY, MANY years--as schools, hospitals, clinics, etc purchase them as well as families--so they are WORTH the price. The weight unit is made of ballistic nylon--like that used for luggage--and the weight unit is purposefully designed so that the wearer won't loose the weights or play with them. The weight is based upon careful calculation and thousands of wearers---and hundreds of reorders! Please don't think that all weighted vests are the same--because WHERE THE WEIGHT IS PLACED makes ALL the difference in how effective it is in creating the calming, focusing effective of deep pressure and proprioceptive input!
Keep creating! It is that creative nature that lead me to design the OTvest for those who benefit from it.I am glad I found this new website.
Nancy VandenBerg, MS, OTR
OTvest, LLC www.otvest.com