Autism and Sensory: Weighted Blankets

This is not a topic you will hear about from me on very much. But it is something that is an integral part of my life and has led me on the paths that have created my life as it is today. My son is an adult with severe disabilities that make his life difficult. One of the things that helps is bear hugs, squishes, and other sensory calming things. If you haven't heard of weighted blankets in the past few years, I don't know how.

My son has had compression clothing through the years until he expressed that he could no longer tolerate it. He's had weighted lap pads, neck rings, jackets, etc. And a few years ago, we tried weight blankets made with plastic pellets and glass beads. None of them worked very long term.

But I have a heavy weight quilt on my bed that I inherited from a family member. It's a commercially made quilt and it's got a good weight to it. But I haven't been able to find a similar weight quilt in any store. So I made the decision to try making one for him this year. But with a few changes. The first is that the quilt top and bottom are both made of a super soft fleece that he absolutely loves. And it's a queen size.  

Next was that the weight would be even across the whole quilt and would not shift as he does. This was the longest and hardest part of the hunt. I don't quilt. I spent quite a while digging through the internet trying to find information on how heavy different battings were before I finally tripped across a recommendation by someone who did quilt, and had decided to spend a year experimenting with different battings. That recommendation led me to Quilters' Dream batting. And after a phone call, to their newest batting that was even heavier.

The next part involved a wonderful friend who quilts and was willing to save my sanity. She has a long arm quilting machine. So once all the parts arrived, she pinned them all together and quilted them on her machine. She added lots of fun shapes and his name to the quilt. And then she delivered it back to me so I could finished the hems.

She was also the one who recommended that I look at Korean Mink blankets. And so he got an extra gift of an 11 lb Korean Mink blankets. It's not quite as soft as his quilt but he likes it and uses it.  The quilt is somewhere around 15 lbs.

The big difference here is that the weight is consistent across the entirety of the quilt and blanket. There is no shifting of beads. No seams breaking and beads leaking. And these can be washed in the washing machine without unbalancing it. And dried in the dryer, on low, without a proble. So just comfortable soft blankets that can be made of whatever material you want to use and will help calm the user.

Is it cheap? No. The Korean Mink blanket was about $80. The quilt ended up being about $125. But I'd paid close to that for one of the glass bead weighted blankets a few years ago. And for the level of calm deep sleep it helps him get, it's worth it. And it's a whole other added level when you add in how it helps him calm from meltdowns during the day.

I am including a link to the Korean Mink that I got him because there are many fake versions out there. So review the specs and make sure that you check that information on the version you choose to get if you get one. Korean Mink Blanket (And yeah, you can get a twin that is a lighter weight because of the smaller size. But still the same even weight as the other sizes.)

Practical and Useful: IKEA bags

Yeah, I know. I'm a crazy, hippie gardener who loves gardening, canning, sewing, and most basic homesteading things. And honestly, I've never set foot in an IKEA and am not likely to ever do so. But I do have a practical view on most things. And the IKEA shopping bags have proven to be affordable and practical.

A few years ago, Mom accidentally gifted me with an IKEA Frakta bag. I loved it and reused it quite a bit.  Then I got the new to me van and wanted to make sure that I wouldn't damage the seat/trim/whatever with the totes I used for my then job as a newpaper courier. It turned out that the Frakta bags would fit in the space and would hold as many papers as the plastic totes. They also wouldn't damage things. And they had good strong handles which made lifting them a lot easier. Even better, when I was done for the night, I could neatly fold them and tuck them away under the seat. Then I got really sick and had to give up the route. (Newspaper couriers are independent contractors that get no benefits whatsoever and paid very little. So if you get a newspaper, tip your courier well and frequently if they do a good job. Especially at the holidays.)

So two of the bags got used to pack up all the things out of my old van until I have the time and patience to sort through them. And the old van went away. The rest went under the front seat in the new van where I'd grab them occasionally to help move loads of grocery bags and other miscellaneous things.

Then I discovered that they were the perfect size for a load of laundry. Add to that the ability to fold them and store them in a small place... they've replaced my laundry baskets which have been destroyed by my son. That has come in really useful this last two weeks after my washing machine died. Because, while not waterproof, the bags themselves are not harmed by water. So bags were loaded, laundry washed, then put back in the van to come home and run through the dryer.

Now, that's the blessing of the big bags. Sometime in October I ordered the two smaller sizes because of the ability to easily wipe the bags clean. If needed, I can use Clorox with bleach on them which is something that most of my other reusable bags can't handle.  Just a note here: Yes, I make my own reusable bags from different fabrics. And I actually have some very strong nice ones, made in standard sizes, that I use. But they are not water resistant or bleachable, and sometimes that is needed.

Anyways, those smaller bags have gotten used quite frequently. And the rainbow version is slightly more waterproof than the regular blue version. As in it will contain leaking liquids a bit better because it's not a woven material, but don't expect them to hold water or any other liquid in large quantities for very long. They save my sanity when I pickup grocery orders to discover that whoever bagged it went a little wild with the plastic bags. As in one item, maybe two, per bag. (Yes, those bags get saved and used for garbage bags. And I was running low. But still...)  And last, but not least in any way, they cost less or the same as the reusable bags you can grab in any store, but they will last much, much, much longer. I'm just a little tired of semi fabric reusable bags that can't survive the washing machine, can't be cleaned, and tear up within a year or less.

And now I'm looking at getting the Frakta storage bags for storing the excess piles of blankets that belong to my son. Because I can pack them full and shove them under his bed where they will also provide a buffer between him and the cold floor. And maybe to also replace the underbed totes in my room that are full of fabric and other miscellaneous items. Why in my room? Because the same son, who I love dearly, has bounced enough frames off of the totes to break and crack them. The IKEA storage bags are cheaper, well made, and won't break if a son breaks another frame on top of them.

Now the good part, you can buy IKEA bags easily at their website. You can also get them on Amazon. And if you are looking for limited edition versions - Ebay has you covered. So I don't need to give you links. I bought my first set of 10 Frakta bags on Amazon. But I've gotten all the remaining bags directly from the IKEA website.