Our latest OT purchase... Behold, the Miracle Belt!
...Belt, that is. C headed to school today armed with her new Miracle Belt. It's a 3-pound weighted belt that she will (hopefully) wear in 30-minutes-on, 30-minutes off cycles during school. The purpose of the belt is to help calm her system and give her joints some extra input about where her body is in space (which will help with coordination and hopefully help her to be a bit less wiggly and fidgety). We've been experimenting with weighted items in OT, and decided that the belt was the way to go, since it moves with her rather than being something that she could only use while seated (like a weighted lap pad, for example).
In OT, C's therapist has been trying a weighted belt with her, and almost immediately saw an improvement in her coordination. She seemed just a bit more in control of her body so that she could concentrate on working those muscles that need to be developed, as well as her motor planning. On the very first trial, the OT had C jumping on a trampoline (something that she does often at home and at therapy). Usually, C would be flailing all over the place on the trampoline, and would often fall. With the belt, however, she was able to jump straight up and down in a very controlled, consistent manner for the very first time. We took that as a good sign. After a few more successful belt sessions while working on different activities, we decided to buy one for C to use at school and at home.
One of my girlie-girls getting ready for the pool in
Marco Island, FL this past February
C is quite the girlie-girl (M is, too). Getting her to wear something that didn't look cute, or was patterned with "boy stuff" (as she calls it), would have been impossible. I was thrilled to find that the Miracle Belt company sells colored covers for the belt, and I snatched up a pink on for C. She was actually excited when it arrived in the mail yesterday, and enthusiastically showed it to her teachers at drop-off this morning. She is going to use it first-thing this morning during free play, take it off when they go outside, and then wear it again for circle time (which is a time she struggles with). She also told her teacher she wanted to wear it at lunch. I'm not sure if she will follow through, but I was really proud to see her using some of her self-advocacy skills.
My fingers are crossed that it's actually effective. The Miracle Belt website claims that, "Within minutes of wearing the Miracle Belt, your child will feel more grounded, focused, and secure!" That seems like a tall order for a little belt to fill, but I am cautiously optimistic that this will help C better manage her senses and feel more successful during the school day. I guess we will have to wait until 1 pm - pick-up time! - to find out how things went. We'll keep everyone updated...
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