New England Adaptive Equipment
Providing Adaptive Equipment to the Autistic and Special Needs Community
132 Station Rd. Etna, Maine 04434 207-269-2816
This page has been added to represent my products and how well they work to change the lives of kids and their families.
This is a picture of Ela who was born at 24 weeks and has been adopted but she is very small and has several diagnosis that cause her to have Sensory Integration problems and balance issues. Her OT suggested to her Mom that I could, perhaps, develop a product that would help with these issues.
I already had the compression vest and I used to make compression leggings years ago. The OT wanted the leggings to go just below the knee which is what I custom made for Ela. Mom reports that it has changed every thing in her daily life.
Me and Ela. She is so tiny.
This is a testimony from a parent who sent back a survey of how the products work. Her son had diagnosis of Night Terrors and ADHD. She said he would wake up every night and go running out into the street screaming. She had to sleep on the couch and catch him before he went out the door. Once he had my weighted blanket she then was able to sleep in her own bed because he was sleeping so peacefully. She told me she had returned to college and was getting straight A's. The only difference in daily life is that he was now sleeping with my weighted blanket.
Another parent filled out the survey, to let me know that her child has ADHD and Behavioral Disorder. It took him 2 to 3 hours to fall asleep and he would wake up every hour. With the blanket he falls asleep in 5-15 minutes and can sleep from 10-11 hours. The blanket has changed his day time behavior for the better since he is now sleep through the night. To the question "Would you recommend a weighted blanket to another parent? She wrote "Absolutely this blanket has changed my son's life" Quality "Extremely excellent" She also wrote in the comments section. "The lady who makes these blankets is changing lives for the better which in turn helps with mental health. Children can sleep now, which seems so small yet so important in every aspect of their life."
Another parent of a child with Downs Syndrome wrote, it would take 1-2 hours for her daughter to fall asleep and she would only sleep for 2 hours. With the blanket she falls asleep in 30 min and sleeps for 8 hours. Her response to quality "Excellent". She wrote in the comment section, " Kenzie has always been a very restless sleeper. She has had 2 sleep studies to rule out sleep apnea. She also had her adenoids removed in hopes that that would help. The weighted blanket has greatly reduced her restlessness and improved the quality and quantity of her sleep, and also her behavior in the day time. "
A grandma, who is a foster parent for this child wrote that her grand daughter has Autism, ADHD, Anxiety Disorder, Behavioral Disorder , and is Bi-polar. It would take her 1 hour to fall asleep, and she would sleep for 2 hours at a time. Now with the blanket she falls asleep in 10 minutes and sleeps for 8 hours. She also said quality is excellent and would absolutely recommend my blankets to other parents. In the comment sections she wrote," I am extremely pleased, as is my granddaughter, with the blanket we received from Ms. Hoffman. My granddaughter absolutely loves her weighted blanket and uses it regularly. She finds much comfort and a much better nights sleep. Thank you so much for your wonderful work."
Another Mom reports to me that her child has ADHD, Anxiety Disorder, PTSD and Reactive Attachment Disorder. Her child would take 2-3 hours to fall asleep and would wake up 3-4 times in the night. With the blanket he falls asleep in 30 minutes and sleeps for 8-9 hours. She also relates that she would recommend my blankets to another parent, that the quality is excellent and that her child's day time behavior has improved now that he can get a good nights sleep.
Going back through the years to one of the first blankets I made, the parent reported to the case manager that she wanted to give me a message. Her son was 5 years old with severe autism. He had never communicated in any way with his parents. He would run around flapping his hands and rocking. The first day he wore the vest he was able to settle down and watch TV or sit at the table to eat. He only slept 1/2 hour each the night. When he got the weighted blanket he slept for 12 hours and the parents kept checking on him to be sure he was alright. He was fine, just sleeping. When he finally woke up, the first communication he ever did with his parents was to get the weighted vest and motion "Put this on me." To me that made me see that these products are life changers. From then on I have been making weighted blankets and vests to help the kids and the families.