Weighted Vest - Hopefully the Ugliest Thing I Ever Make

A year or so ago a wonderful teaching assistant at my son's school recommended I make a weighted vest to help him settle in class.  They are known to calm kids with autism spectrum, sensory processing, attention and anxiety disorders.  They work upon the same principle as feeling cosy under a thick blanket, I know I do, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.

I watched Temple Grandin the other night and it seems the idea initially came from her being hugely calmed by some sort of cow squeezing machine, I don't know what it is, I'm a city girl.  Temple Grandin has been a pretty revolutionary force in the understanding and treatment of people with autism spectrum disorders.  As I google this I realise there are machines on the market for humans that do the same job, but a vest seems a lot more practical for a mainstream classroom.






So being the desperate-to-do-anything-to-help-my-kids mother I am, I immediately sprang about making one.  I used this online guide, and this pattern which in my opinion is one ugliest I've ever seen, but it was the only vest pattern light enough to wear in the Australian summer.  The pattern and school colours cotton drill I was buying actually caused the shop assistant to comment as they were so ugly, which is usually discouraged in the retail industry.

Anyway, despite springing into action it still took me several weeks to make as the sixteen pockets in the lining and sixteen bags filled with pebbles were very fiddly and repetitive.  I think necessary though so that the weight of the vest can be varied according to the wearer's preference.  In fact once it was finished my son wanted half the weight I had made, so it was lucky I did.  After hours of sewing I'd finally finished and realised the large child size I had picked was a bit on the small side, boooo!

So the vest in the photos is the second I made, a small adult size and looks like a dress on him, boooo!  So now I have one too small and one too big, just like Goldilocks.  I've just started a pattern-making course which I am LOVING so hopefully I'll never find myself in this position again.  However considering he was only encouraged to wear the first during his Naplan tests and it has spent the rest of it's time in the corner of the classroom I'm too worried.  I'm hoping he grows (a lot) over the summer and his teacher next year is more responsive to such strategies.

Its funny making the same thing twice, the second time around you look back fondly and remember all the silly mistakes you made the first time around, and then go and make some new ones.  Although I am actually very happy with how this one turned out technically, I just wish I ironed it before the photos.







It does however fit me perfectly, please be kind to my modelling debut, I figured it was about time.  I finished the vest ages ago but it took a long time for looking vaguely presentable, my husband being home and daylight to all happen at the same time.  I was able to look so cheery as I had a 6 year old pointing and laughing at me as I was posed.