From a caring mom of twins, she shares her experiences of using ScratchMeNots for Sensory Processing Disorder, from the search to the results!
The concerns:
Because I have twins and both have Sensory Processing Disorder we have a number of issues we work with. The eye gouging was most concerning which is what made me do a search on the internet for anything that could help cover their hands. My foster daughters are “Sensory Seeking”, meaning they do repetitive behaviors even if the behaviors hurt, because it releases seratonin and makes them feel better. One of these is eye gouging which means she will put her finger in her eye and poke at it. She had sores around her lid from causing damage and getting little infections.
Having been a medical & DD foster mom for 5 years, I know first hand the challenges of self-harming behaviors. I’ve even had to use infant diapers to cover the hands of a child who was developmentally challenged. Knowing the girls would not tolerate the infant diapers and they would most likely just help each other take them off, this prompted my search. Searching for an alternative was not an easy. You get the weirdest things when you google things like “eye-gouging” and “hand covers”. I was so happy when I finally found your site — ScratchMeNots looked perfect.
The results
One of the girls likes to take all of her clothing and her diaper off in her crib, which is also a bit of a difficult behavior. I was duct taping the diaper on at night, but she would still take off her clothing and get chilly. I now put her “soft hands” on before bed and we have not had to tape a diaper on since. I know that some toddlers (not even ones with sensory issues) do this behavior and I was just about to order a set of jammies that zipper up the back — but with the ScratchMeNots working so well I have not had to make that order.
I showed the girls’ Occupational Therapist the ScratchMeNots this morning and she thought they were great!
Eye gouging is a distressing behavior and the ScratchMeNots have really helped. They like wearing them. I call them their “soft hands” and tell them how pretty they are when we put them on and that helps. Sometimes they get frustrated with needing to wear them, but usually forget about them quickly. They really seem very comfortable. I put the “soft hands” on in situations where I know the behavior is likely to happen or when she starts doing it. The sores around her eye are already healed up less than two weeks later.
The girls will also pull out eyelashes and chew on their hair and again having the ScratchMeNots has helped to curb these behaviors. I feel that by making the behavior impossible to do, will help them relax and we can replace this need with something else to help to regulate the behavior. At this time, I have sensory chewing necklaces, I encourage them to “chew their bitey” and they will, most of the time. They can still hold the bitey to chew on with the mittens on, which is also a plus.
I have been a medical and DD foster mom for 5 years and have worked with a number of children with these types of issues. My last little guy was eye gouging and we used infant diapers on his hands for 18 months. I keep thinking how I wish we had found this product during the time he was with us. I know there must be other mom’s out there not knowing how to help there little ones.
I have been so happy with how these work (and how cute they are too). It is hard when you have little ones who need these sensory type tools and making them feel special and beautiful, I feel, is really important. They have enough on their little plates to deal with and anything that helps and looks so special (like these) are a true gift.
Thank you for making these, I use the ScratchMeNots daily and I am so glad we found them.
Explore information about ScratchMeNots here.
*This mother chose to be anonymous. Thank you for sharing your experiences! We are overjoyed that you found us and were able to find ScratchMeNot Flip Mitten Sleeves useful for your family’s needs!