Weighted stuffed animal, teddy bear or monkey, sensory toy with 5 lbs, AUTISM WEIGHTED PLUSH, , washable buddy

Sandy Giuliano
Owner, Maker, Designer

Sewing is a dying art and I love to think I’m keeping ‘handmade’ alive! I find so much pleasure in designing and creating that I’m just as excited to make the piece as I am to see the finished product. I love to let my mood dictate the fabric combinations I choose and the pieces I make. Letting the products develop organically, I start with the materials and let the ideas evolve from there.
I have been sewing since I was 10. Let’s just say I have over 50 years of experience! I used to make a ton of clothes for my nieces. In each piece I sewed in a handmade label that said “Made with Love by Aunt Sandy.” To this day the kids, now grown with kids of their own, still remember those labels and think everything I make should have one.
Among the myriad of items I enjoy making, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed developing both the sensory item and seat belt purse lines. Each line has its own individual qualities and are important to me in their own way.
I started designing sensory items and weighted products in 2009. Having started by making some needed products for a co-worker’s daughter, I quickly discovered the lack of options and was shocked at the price many of these banal items demanded. I started designing and sewing and haven’t stopped since. Every child and person is unique and I really felt they should have things that not only made them feel better, but had things they loved and wanted to use. My products not only consist of popular weighted products, but also custom made and uniquely designed items that I have created with input from therapists and parents. My product line continually grows and evolves.
WEIGHTED & SENSORY PRODUCTS:
Weighted Blankets are a simple solution that is guaranteed to help you or your child,
not only sleep through the night, but to get a quality night of sleep. A Weighted Blanket, Weighted Stuffed Animal, Weighted Shoulder Wrap or Weighted Lap Pad can help those with Autism or children learning to self-soothe. Uses include car rides, classrooms and areas where sitting can be challenging for an extended period of time. Our products can be to used to calm and relax in various ways by laying it across the lap or torso, wrapping around the shoulders, covering just the legs or covering the whole body for sleeping.   
  A weighted blanket molds to your body like a warm hug. The pressure also helps relax the nervous system. It’s a totally safe and effective non-drug therapy for sleep and relaxation naturally. Psychiatric, trauma, geriatric, and pediatric hospital units use
weighted blankets to calm a patient’s anxiety and promote deep, restful sleep. In a similar way to swaddling comforting an infant, the weight and pressure on an adult provides comfort and relief.
  Weighted blankets are “weighted” with nylon poly pellets that are sewn into compartments throughout the blanket to keep the weight properly distributed. The weight of the blanket acts as deep touch therapy and acts on deep pressure touch receptors located all over your body. When these receptors are stimulated, the body relaxes and feels more grounded and safe, and clinical studies suggest that when deep pressure points are triggered they actually cause the brain to increase serotonin production.
  Fortunately, weighted blankets may be of some help in managing common manifestations of autism spectrum disorders. Weighted therapy blankets allow for something called deep pressure touch stimulation, which in turn produces serotonin, a neurotransmitter thought to be very influential on mood (as well as appetite, sleep, memory and learning). Many parents find that draping a weighted blanket across the lap or shoulders of a child with autism helps him or her to feel more secure and stay calm throughout the day.
   Many parents also find that using weighted blankets for autism can help their children with sleep disruption at night. Sleep disturbances are extremely common for people of all ages with autism. These disturbances might include sleep latency (taking more than an hour to fall asleep after the lights are out), getting fewer than seven hours of continuous sleep, or other struggles to get restful sleep. Weighted therapy blankets can help children to fall asleep more quickly, stay asleep for longer, and get more restful sleep. The added weight sewn into our blankets stimulates the production of serotonin which, in turn, converts to melatonin, the hormone that tells the body to sleep. Serotonin, often prescribed to those with anxiety, suppresses feelings of unease and boosts our mood.  Then, as the melatonin level begins to increase, we feel tired.