Weighted blanket recommendations?

[Cordelio]

My DS (6) is currently awaiting diagnosis (we, like his teachers and SENCo, suspect ASD) and is increasingly prone to full-on meltdowns that last for up to an hour. Nothing seems to help once he’s in the midst of one, we just have to help him ride it out with plenty of reassurance, removing potentially dangerous objects from reach, etc. The SENCo has recommended getting a weighted blanket and advised us just to google them /find on Amazon but I wondered if anyone here had a recommended site/brand they have used? Any advice gratefully received!

My mum ended up making ours as the cost of them can be painful.

We also have a weighted cuddly animal that curves either around shoulders, or (as we do it on the recommendation from OT) around the waist over her thighs when sat at the table. I've also made a weighted lap pad from a cheap cushion cover with the flip sequins on which helps sometimes as well.

Great ideas - thanks so much. I did balk at the cost when I googled them but hadn’t considered making my own, so will give it a go! Might take DS to choose some fabric he likes so that he feels it’s more like his.

I made one for ds. I used an old cot duvet cover (makes it easier as it's already hemmed in three sides. I used poly pellets to fill it (bought off Amazon) as I wanted it to be washable. You can used dried beans/lentils if you really want it to be low cost.

It sounds a bit like a beanbag when being moved so you might need to consider that if your ds has sensory issues.

My mum used an old charity shop duvet cover. It's bright pink (DD2 is the least pink girlie child going) and DD2 loves it if you make her into a giant pink marshmallow when she's a bit wired or squirmy or overtired.

www.southpaw.co.uk/weighted-kitty-cuddles-wrap.html This is the lap cat we have - it's curved so goes around DD2's waist nicely when she's sat at a table when her flipping teacher allows her to use it... back in for ANOTHER meeting at school about this this week There's a dog and dolphin version too.

This is all v helpful - thank you both I’ll have a go at making one using the tips here and see how we get on. Good point about the sound issue Liv - my DS does have a few sounds that set him off, but he actually loves anything that reminds him of the sea (beans, rustling, rain sticks, etc) so will give that a try.
Pantsy I hadn’t heard of those lap cats before but have actually just ordered one as I think DS would absolutely love it! Crazy to think your DD’s school have a problem with her using it in class - I hope her teacher starts to see sense. My DS is only in yr1, fortunately with a very supportive teacher, but I dread the inevitable battles we will have to start fighting to get people to understand his issues.

Sadly DD2 is only in year 1 as well - last year she had an amazing teacher who really got her (she has dyspraxia, sensory processing issues, speech problems as she's got verbal dyspraxia - needs to move and fiddle and fidget but is incredibly bright under it all) and it was fine... this year we've had a nightmare with a class teacher who just wants to dismantle all provision in place and not engage at all. Although the year's nearly over I'm still fighting it as this class teacher started insisting all the kids in the class suddenly didn't "need" their fiddle toys and the like - so I've been taking it up with the SENCO all year - things get resolved for a few weeks until the heat's off and it just slips back yet again... so I'm going to the Head today about it all today - for the benefit of next year's intake now more than anything else.

I got the pellets for the weighted blanket mum made from Amazon incidentally - just look up the formula for the weight required as it's based on percentage of body weight for balancing effectiveness with not trapping them stuck to the sofa for being too heavy! And the strong advice is not to let them sleep with it - we use it for DD2 to nod off and then remove it sometimes but mostly she likes it around her back and shoulders while she's unwinding on an evening.