Weighted vests for children and similar therapeutic weighted clothing are sometimes used to try to treat symptoms of certain

developmental disorder Developmental disorders comprise a group of psychiatric conditions originating in childhood that involve serious impairment in different areas. There are several ways of using this term. The most narrow concept is used in the category "Specific D ...

s such as

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

in children. There is however no evidence that they are useful for this purpose. The

vest A waistcoat ( UK and Commonwealth, or ; colloquially called a weskit) or vest ( US and Canada) is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear. It ...

s are weighted down with sand or other heavy materials. Terms used for such items of clothing include sand vests, compression vests or squeeze jackets.

Effectiveness

A review of the use of weighted clothing indicates that they are not useful with respect to hyperactivity, clumsiness, or repetitive behavior. A 2015 review of treatments for

found only a single study of five people that showed any benefit and six trials that showed no benefit resulting in the overall conclusion of no benefit. The use of weighted vests for autism is characterized as

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

Application

The use of weighted vests for children originated in the United States as a form of therapy for children with autism. By 2017, the use of weighted vests had become common in public schools in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany. Teachers there reported that students wore the vests voluntarily for up to 30 minutes at a time, and that the vests were popular with the children. Media reports about this practice triggered controversy and criticism because of the lack of long-term studies of the effect of wearing such vests.

References

{{reflist Alternative therapies for developmental and learning disabilities Vests Pseudoscience

Effectiveness

Application

See also

References