DS's weighted vest has been a godsend

[DeadlyNightShadeofViolet]

He has only had it a week but he is like a different child - no meltdowns at school time, sitting down to eat and much calmer. He has stopped crashing into everything on purpose too.

Even Pre-school say they have noticed the difference, which is fantastic as he is so close to starting school and I am so worried about how he will cope.

How about sewing curtain weights into clothes? Pack of 10 for £2.50, reduced from £4 (first result on google lol) which is probably less than the amount of coins you'd use ;)

I'm not sure anyone needs to post on this, or any other subject.

Or needs to read posts by anyone.

But we have all come to this open message board to discuss topics.

Where anyone can post.
And no-one is forced to read that post or respond to it.

I think my post (and link were relevant).

You think it's "tripe".
But have not said why.

If you just want to type in caps lock and swear at me, I'm available to PM.
And that way, it won't clog up this thread.

But I'd like to stay on topic here.

A handful of posters before me, including yourself, expressed an interest in trying this intervention.

This seems to be because they think it might be effective.

My post (and link) spoke directly to that, not in anyway disparaging anyone's experiences but to add another point of view, in the same way as if my personnel experience differed from those before me.

I think, but can't know, that people who have tried,or are looking to try, a therapy might be interested in the results of research into that therapy.

Not to contradict their views but to complement & inform them.

It's OK for you not to care what the best available research says.

It's not OK to try and stop other people who might.

P.S. for the record, the Cochrane Collaboration refuses commercial and conflicted funding and is staffed mainly by volunteers.

"What works for one child may not work for another."

I thoroughly agree.

Which is a good reason to think that an individuals personnel experience might not be the best way of assessing an intervention.

Formalised trials, like the ones reviewed by the Cochrane collaboration or by more larger, more recent studies can give us better information.

And at no point did I say or imply this was in anyway "whackjob" or "fringe" or likened it to "voodoo" or any other therapies.

This discussion will be better served if you critique what I say, or what I link to instead of what you think my motivations are.

If you feel more comfortable attacking what you think my motivation is than the information I post or link to, feel free.

But please consider doing so via PM as not to further clog up the thread.

Ladies ladies

I know a little about controlled trials, y'know.

The Cochrane Review doesn't say that weighted vests are crap.

The Cochrane Review doesn't say that the children are simply pinned down as DBennet suggests. I mean, 5% body weight is not going to act like a concrete block, is it?

The Cochrane Review doesn't say that weighted vests don't help.

What the Cochrane Review does say is that the research was so badly designed, so flaky, so variable in outcome and the data so difficult to specify, that on that basis, they cannot recommend that weighted vests are used clinically as a treatment.

However, that does not say that weighted vests are not useful, do not work, and the OP is lying

At worst, it can be said that the effects of a weighted vest is anecdotal.

Show me anyone who would refuse a weighted item simply because there is no double blind randomised controlled trial of it, and I will show you someone who doesn't have a child with behavioural and sensory difficulties

"Show me anyone who would refuse a weighted item simply because there is no double blind randomised controlled trial of it, and I will show you someone who doesn't have a child with behavioural and sensory difficulties"

I'm aware of two.

One I linked to earlier.

And here's another.

As a said, risks are likely small and the vests could be beneficial.

But best evidence we have does not indicate that.
But the evidence doesn't show that.

No, the evidence doesn't show that the vests do what the researcher decided to test for. Nothing more, nothing less. Sensory issues are wide ranging, and variable. They are very individual.

The point is, that there is no harm in using an appropriately weighted vest. At all. My DD1 is small for her age, and light for her age. She went for her Paed appointment last week, and in 7 weeks she has increased her weight by 5% (15.7 kg in September, 16.5 kg last week). To suggest that her weight increase is harmful to her is laughable. There would be no difference between her weight increase and wearing a 5% weighted jacket.

"There would be no difference between her weight increase and wearing a 5% weighted jacket."

I'm more than happy for us to disagree on absence of evidence vs evidence of absence.

But can we agree that some of that extra weight your daughter put on was bone & muscle.
Thus increasing her ability to bear dead weight.

While the dead weights in her jacket are just, well, dead weight.

I don't think the risks are large, in fact just the opposite.
The worst reported in the studies I've linked to are raised heart rates and increases in stress hormones.

But I've no time for inaccurate hyperbole.

No, actually I think we can disagree on that, too

Evidence is that when children with low muscle tone have a growth spurt, it causes more trouble with weight bearing, because the muscle lengthens, but needs time to build up to bear the extra weight and adjust to the increased height and altered centre of gravity.

DD would be much better off with 5% dead weight than a growth spurt. She is very wobbly right now and having extra blood tests as a result, but at least a little of that is down to her recent growth spurt.

Umm, having just re-read your post.

"The worst reported in the studies I've linked to are raised heart rates and increases in stress hormones."

Is that a bad thing, categorically, then? Don't we all have occasional increases in stress hormones?

Don't heart rates increase when we excercise, get excited, or experience new sensory input?

How did that get to be a necessarily bad thing?

Thanks Lougle - was starting to think I had done something awful.

However as the weighted vest has stopped his running into the sofas in our frontroom - an activity which has caused his two black eyes and a fashed cheek within the last 2 months, as well as numerous bumps to the head it would have to be pretty bad to be worse!

SOV I certainly found your post useful

Thankyou :)

I hope it works for your DD Leonie.