Weighted blanket advise

[anon244]

My child 15 has recently disclosed they have been self harming and having suicidal thoughts (they are not non-binary I'm just using it for privacy reasons). We have seen camhs and the nurse there strongly suspects undiagnosed adhd and autism. A lot of their actions have been hidden and the school have not passed along their concerns regarding my child's behaviour until a minor incident last week. We did a couple of self-diagnosis questionnaires and the scores were very high. Looking back and hearing how they act at school we can't believe we missed all the signs.

My child's main comfort at the moment is laying with a wheat bag in bed. They say it feels comfortable. Tonight they have gone to bed with a very heavy weight blanket because the wheat bag isn't enough. So I have been toying with the idea of getting a weighted blanket but I have no idea where to start!

How do I work out what the correct weight is? How does it work with a duvet? Is it a replacement or are they thin enough to go under/over? How do you wash it? Any recommendations where to get a good quality one?

Look for one around 10% of bodyweight.

You can use it as well as a duvet if instead of. It doesn’t matter. Neither does it matter if you put it over or under a duvet. Some people advise caution about sleeping under them all night.

Washing depends on the type of blanket you get. Some have removable covers or weights to make washing easier. Some are made of a material that is wipeable.

Not much more to add about blankets, other than it's been really good for my DD1.
The period of discovery can be a very emotional journey for you all, but all good in the end. Be prepared, he's going to talk through his whole life under this new lens!