Sensory Vest

School.
It started great.
It is getting rough...real rough.
As her Aid put it:
Their spending her school day managing her sensory needs, and not a whole lot of "schooling" is happening.

Managing her sensory needs includes:
Joint compressions- 3-10 times a day.
Heavy lifting jobs to the office twice a day.
Visuals and constant de-escalation processing.
Supplements given (at the office).
Quiet time at her special desk with her miniatures to help her calm.
She also wears head phones throughout most of her day, and is allowed to sit away from circle time.

We have talked shop with her Sensory Occupational Therapist, her Pediatric Naturopath and her Developmental Pediatrician- typical school may, truly, be just too much for her system.
Quinny says it is too much for her system.
I KNOW it is too much for her system.


But for now- as we try a few more tricks up our sleeves- I decided to make her a weighted vest.

In the Sensory world- kids who have a hard time "Feeling their bodies" will wear a weighted vest, to apply constant pressure to the nerve endings. It gives a sense of grounding to these kids, which helps with anxiety and the challenging behaviors that come with such (this is also why we brush Quinn and give her joint compressions...and the "heavy work").

These weighted vests look like industrial, therapeutic vests.
As if Q needed another reason to stand apart.

SO- what is a mom to do?
Add a little something to the something and come up with something FABULOUS.

I bought a Denim Jacket ay Target, and cut off the sleeves.


Then I used the sleeves as the fabric needed to sew in pockets, inside the vest.

(In these pockets, I'll put 1 pound bean bags I made with rice and flannel)


Sew the "sleeves" in and up



And you have a CUTE sensory vest!




We'll see how the next few weeks go- but one thing is for sure:

We feel blessed to have a school district that is so rad, flexible and child centered.

We feel SO blessed to have a kid who is totally unafraid to try.
And TRY she did.