Squeeze machine - Temple Grandin made her own. She modified a cow crush. Like a lot of things, walking into a shop somewhere and buying exactly what our kid seems to need, doesn't always work. I don't know - it may be possible to find one for sale. But there are other options. Maybe because in Australia we often have to improvise, it's what we look to first. The thing with Temple Grandin's use of pressure, is that it works best when it is self-controlled. SHE controls how much pressure, and knows she controls it. If someone else were doing it to her, she would feel frightened. Well, maybe not these days, if she trusted the person doing it. But I remember hearing her talk about it at a conference I attended, on one of her visits to Australia.
If you think pressure is something that will work, try a weighted vest. Despite what I said about improvisation, we did buy one. Trouble was, after all we paid for it, difficult child 3 wouldn't wear it at school because he felt self-conscious. Most of our schools have school uniforms and this was obviously not a school uniform item, even though we had it made in the same fabric colour. And at home he didn't seem to need it as much as at school. But a weighted vest has a similar effect to a pressure machine. Easy to make, now I've had a good look at what I bought. The vest is very simple, made from a strong calico. A lightweight denim would be great. French seams if possible (to avoid the "the seam is rubbing me" problem. And on difficult child 3's vest, there are 8 long pockets stitched around it, like vertical fingers. Two at the front on each side, four across the back. All placed evenly. Along with this come the 8 sandbags. These are made from strong unbleached calico, again with French seams and double-stitched. Each sandbag is a long finger of cloth filled with sand then the top folded over and stitched down firmly. Each bag weighs 200 g. Our reading showed that you adjust the weight to the level the child chooses, but the best therapeutic level tends to be 5% to 10% of the child's body weight. Start lighter, keep the sandbag distribution around the body balanced, and try the vest either worn constantly for hours, or maybe for half an hour before class (or during the most troublesome classes) and see which works.
A lot of this weight therapy/pressure therapy (it affects the same sensory areas in the brain) is trial and error. Every child is different so you have to do the research on each child to get the details right.
Another option for pressure therapy, is corsets. Again, the inventive difficult child led to answers for her own therapy - this time it's easy child 2/difficult child 2. And possibly a number of other, sometimes undiagnosed, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) people about town, because in Sydney and other areas of NSW there are shops (a chain of stores) which sell reproduction Victorian underwear as well as the latest in Goth designs. easy child 2/difficult child 2 bought several corsets of the industrial-strength variety form this shop, and laces herself in. Loves it. Says it's "like wearing a hug". Only she controls how much and for how long. She would wear her corsets either outside her outfits, or underneath (including underneath her demure Swiss maid work uniform). Her job was moderately active, she developed her own version of the "bunny duck" to get merchandise off the lower shelves.
Corsets can be bought form various suppliers for various reasons. People with hernias sometimes have to wear a truss or a corset. You can buy strong elastic wide belts, which can be cinched up tight. Sometimes the pressure can work while being limited to a part of the body, not the whole body.
All these ideas are more portable than a modified cattle press. Temple Grandin travels with her cattle press because she invented her own machine, it works for her and she can afford to do things her way. But there are other options.
What we did - we looked around to see what was available, then we set out trying to work out what the boys felt they needed and could use. I bought cheap weights, including cheap flexible hand weights, to then attach these to the boys' clothes. difficult child 1 had a vest he bought form an army disposal store which had pockets, we put the store-bought weights in those. He wold sleep in that vest, that is what worked for him.
We were pretty much experimenting with weights and vests, and also found that the need shifted over time so we don't really do it now. But you have reminded me - I think it's time to do this again. of course, difficult child 3's old vest will be too small for him now, but the sandbags are universal, all I have to do is make a new vest (following the pattern of the old) and make more sandbags, since the new vest will need more than 8 pockets. And living near the beach, we have plenty of sand!
I hope there is something here that you can use.
Marg
