“Hi, this is Declan’s teacher. This morning Declan walked into the classroom, sat down at his desk and fell asleep. I am okay with him sleeping here if you are. I just wanted to let you know.”
Sleep. There is so little sleep these days.
We have had difficulty getting Declan to stay in his bed at bed time. And then find him walking around the house at 4 in the morning.
Finally, it caught up with him. He made it to school and slept. Knowing that Declan has a hard time going to school, the teacher allowed him to sleep instead of sending him home and starting an unfavorable pattern. She woke him for lunch, but he lost three hours of learning.
So, my husband and I discussed the sleep issue that was rearing its ugly head. We were going to have to monitor his sleeping habits.
The past few days Declan has slept right next to me. Cool, dark room. White noise. No devices. Bedtime story.
And he is nestled under his weighted blanket.
With Declan’s sleep problems, I have had to face many days on little to no sleep. Those days are AWFUL. Declan can go with much less sleep than I – but eventually it does catch up with him. And it is evidenced in his behavior and lack of emotional regulation.
I can attest, Declan sleeps better with his weighted blanket. But there are many other benefits to the weighted blanket as well.
Autism Parenting Magazine provided me this infographic about weighted blankets. If you click on the infographic you will be taken to the Autism Parenting Magazine blog for more information on the subject.
Check it out!
Does feel like everyday is a school day for me. Never heard of weighted blankets – just looked them up on Amazon. Going to give them a go. Our son has never been able to sleep, even at baby stage. Tried everything. His Doctor finally said we just had to work round his different sleeping pattern. Almost every night he is still awake at midnight. Thankfully most days it seems to effect me more than him.
I can relate – I always feel so sluggish and Declan seems fine. I think it just caught up with him this week. We use Melatonin as well – I just don’t think it is effective anymore. I was blessed that my mom made Declan his blanket. The weight does feel nice. My mom liked it so much, she made a heavier one for herself. She finds it very soothing.
The Paediatrician said we could try Melatonin but he recommended that we didn’t as any benefit was only likely to be short term. Certainly going to try the weighted blankets. Thanks,
We tried it based on the recommendation of his OT when he was 2. And it worked – but we had to keep upping the dosage as the years went on and he got bigger. Now, at 7, he is on 20 mg. And it just isn’t working. The pediatrician said to use it as long as it worked and then go to a Psychiatrist for follow-up. I never really wanted to put him on anything not “natural” so trying to come up with another alternative was key. I have found the weighted blanket to have some benefit – so that is great.
I can’t read infographics because of my visual impairment, but I’ve been looking into these. Did you order yours online?
I was blessed that my mom made ours based on Declan’s size. But before she decided to take on the blanket, I did look at different options onlne – there were a lot out there. One that is recommended is Mosaic at https://www.mosaicweightedblankets.com/choosing-a-weighted-blanket/
or the magic weighted blanket at https://magicweightedblanket.com/
That’s so cool that your Mom could help! Thanks for the links – I’ll check them out!
I’ve always heard of these blankets, but never put it into consideration for Kyson. He wakes up a lot at night too and has difficulty concentrating. I’m definitely going to give it a try. Thanks for sharing Robyn!
Oh great – hope it works for you and Kyson!
I don’t sleep almost ever. It catches up with me too! Weighted blankets are not an option for me but isn’t it cool that something so simple can have such a big effect? It’s a great example of a simple solution that people on the spectrum basically came up with themselves.
Yes, I love that someone figured this out. It has been such a help in our house. Hope you get some sleep soon 🙂
I feel your pain. I would happily give a vital organ for a decent nights sleep. x
I hear ya! 🙂 x
I forget what a full night of sleep even looks like, so I’ll need to give this a wee investigation.
Thanks for the recommendation! 😍
You bet! Hope it helps!! 🙂
Does a cat on your lap count as a weighted blanket? I sleep best when there is a furry creature sleeping on my lap! (Only problem is the animal decides when I wake up.)
Haha – I absolutely think the cat counts! Same pressure on the body, same peace provided. And a cat probably provides some love too! Awesome! 🙂
It might simulate the presence of another person. Mine are grown and I’ve never heard of weighted blankets, but it seems a viable concept.
It might, I agree!
I have seen significant help with these blankets in many different uses, especially in the classroom. Excellent post.
Thank you!